Tiramisu

Tiramisu

It’s a popular dessert at Italian restaurants and always a hit when made at home. It is so loved by a friend of mine I make it for her birthday every year. Luxurious and truly a spectacular dessert. Most of the work is just making the egg custard. The rest is just about assembly. If you never made your own tiramisu before maybe now is the time to try it.

Classic Tiramisu

5 egg yolks

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. Marsala wine (not cooking wine)

1 c. whipping cream

2 T. sugar

1 lb. mascarpone cheese- Italian cream cheese- available in most larger grocery stores

2 c. strong coffee, room temp.

2 T. sugar

1/2 c. brandy

1 T. vanilla

48 ladyfingers*

3 T. cocoa

Make zabaglione (egg custard). In double boiler, over simmering water, beat together egg yolks and sugar until lemon colored. Stir in Marsala and continue cooking, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and will mound on a spoon. This will take about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool down. You can place in bowl in fridge 30 minutes or so. Beat together whipping cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Beat in mascarpone and chilled zabaglione. Chill 1 hour. Stir together coffee with remaining sugar, brandy and vanilla and set aside. Assemble tiramisu by placing 16 of the ladyfingers in the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan. Drizzle about 1/3 of the coffee mixture over the ladyfingers, about 1 tablespoon each. Top with 1/3 of the cream mixture and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the cocoa. Repeat this process 2 more times until all ingredients are used. Chill until ready to serve. Serves 12.

* There are 2 types of ladyfingers in stores- soft and crisp. Either will work but I prefer the crisp ones I find at a local Italian market. The crisp ones are also bigger.

The brand I use