Tiramisu

posted on October 3, 2009 in dessert with 1 Comment

Amir wanted a tiramisu for his birthday and so a tiramisu was made. It felt like too simple a dessert for a birthday, you’re basically just assembling ingredients. It’s like building a lincoln log house with cookies.

I tried to make it more difficult by making my own ladyfingers, which sadly, didn’t work out so well, a fact I blame entirely on the tininess of our kitchen and complete lack of counter space. (It’s not a good idea to leave your cookie sheet on the stove and then try to pipe your ladyfingers onto a hot cookie sheet, they deflate immediately, fyi.)

I did have to make coffee and zabaglione, so I felt there was some sort of effort made, and I made an unholy mess in the kitchen, which takes a certain amount of skill.

To write the message on top of the tiramisu I cut letters out of paper and laid them on the mascarpone before dusting the whole thing with cocoa powder (so crafty!).

In the end, the only truly difficult part about making this tiramisu was not eating the whole thing before our guests arrived. I made a little baby with the leftovers to tide us over.

Tiramisu
adapted from Gourmet

2 cups espresso
1/2 cup, plus 1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp coffee liqueur (I used Khalua, they suggest Tia Maria)
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup dry marsala
1 pound mascarpone (2-1/2 cups)
1 cup heavy cream
36 savoiardi (I think I used around 48; about 14 oz.)
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Stir together espresso, 1 tbsp sugar and coffee liqueur in a shallow bowl until the sugar has dissolved, and set aside to cool.

Beat the egg yolks, marsala, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water using a whisk or a hand-held electric mixer until tripled in volume, 5-8 minutes. Remove bowl from heat. Mix in mascarpone.

Beat the cream until it holds stiff peaks.

Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Dip both sides of each savoiardi in the coffee mixture line the bottom of a 13″ x 9″ dish, trimming the cookies to fit if necessary. Spread with half the mascarpone mixture and then cover with another layer of coffee dipped savoiardi.

Spread the rest of the mascarpone mixture on top and sprinkle with the cocoa. Chill, covered, at least 6 hours.

Let tiramisu stand at room temperature for 30 min. before serving.

Tiramisu can be made up to 2 days ahead.