The Best Tiramasu Time
When you’re having friends for dinner, making a dessert like tiramsu is a nice thing to do—they’ll love you all the more! And when it tastes even better than the one you pay mucho bucks for at that little Italian bistro, it wouldn’t be fair not to let you in on a secret: it only tastes like you spent all day making it. After you whip all the ingredients together and assemble—your fridge and time (at least 2 hours) do the rest. When you only have hours to make everything, this one’s a keeper. It’s my new favorite ‘dessert-to-impress’ & you can too! Note: if you have an espresso machine you should use espresso, but if not, strong-brewed coffee works fine—I use coffee brewed in a french press. This recipe is adapted from italianchef.com. The addition of coffee liquor adds depth and the agave nectar is a low glycemic substitution that blends easily. It calls for a 9 x 13 pan but I found that for one box of lady fingers (Trader Joe’s, a box of 24) an 8 x 8 works perfectly. It will yield 12 nicely sized pieces.
1 pkg of Italian Lady Fingers
4 egg yolks (save the whites to add to a scrambled egg breakfast the next morning)
1/2 cup sugar (or agave nectar, if you prefer, like I do)
2-8 oz. containers of mascarpone cheese
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup espresso or strongly brewed coffee (preferably from a press)
3 oz. Kahlua or other coffee liquor (pour into the espresso/coffee)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar or agave nectar until the mixture is thickened and light lemon in color.
2. Mix in the mascarpone cheese until thoroughly mixed, light & fluffy.
3. In a medium bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the cream into the cheese mixture with a spatula.
4. Pour espresso/coffee mixture into a small shallow bowl. Dip the lady fingers in and let them soak it up for a few seconds before lining your dish with them.
5. Pour half the cheese mixture over the lady fingers and smooth.
6. Add another layer of the coffee-dipped lady fingers.
7. Pour the rest of the cheese mixture over them and smooth nicely.
8. Sift cocoa powder over the top and chill for 2 hours before serving.
~~~Tastes even better the next day if you have any left!
