Mamma Mia! I made a Tiramisu!

If there is one dessert besides a cheesecake, that captures my tastebuds,  it is the Tiramisu. Simple layers of ladys finger and a mascarpone cream topping finished off with shaved dark chocolate and dusting of cocoa powder. That's it. I have stayed away from attempting to make this for so long because it seemed intimidating. How can something this delicious be easy to make? And I don't consider myself a desert diva or anything... far from it actually. 


But this year for R's birthday I asked him if he would like me to make a Tiramisu instead of a traditional cake or a cheesecake even. I think it was like asking him would you like to go to the Carribean or The Bahamas for vacation. LOL. 


Let me first say this- If you have never tried making a tiramisu but love it, it is so easy to make, that the prep time takes all of maybe 20 minutes. The remaining 6-7 hours is the time it takes to set in the fridge. So yes it involves a bit of planning, not something that can be whipped up at the last minute. (I do have such other desserts for another blog entry).  Oh and not too long ago, believe it or not, I got to taste both my favourite desserts IN ONE SINGLE DISH!!!! I kid you not- The Cheesecake Factory has this most amazing, smooth Cheesecake Tiramisu, it's insanely yummy. They serve it with a huge helping of whipped cream which is not warranted but you be the judge of that. 


This recipe is loosely based off of Giada's Tiramisu but I made mine in a 8x8 baking dish so I adjusted the proportions to the best of my "baking" knowledge.

Tiramisu

Ingredients:

• 3 egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 8oz container of mascarpone cheese
• 1.5 cups of strong espresso cooled
• 2 Tbsp dark rum 
• 24 package lady fingers
• Unsweetened cocoa powder for garnish
• Dark chocolate shavings for garnish

Method:

1. In a large bowl, using an electric or stand mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar for 5 minutes until they become thick and pale yellow. Add mascarpone cheese and beat until smooth.

2.  Add one or two tbsp esperesso and mix till combine. At this point you could choose to add a bit of vanilla (1 tsp). The originial recipe doesn't call for vanilla so I didn't add any but I have come across other recipes that add vanilla. Personally I think it tastes great without the vanilla. 

3.  Add 1 Tbsp rum to this mixture.

4.  In a small shallow dish, combine the remaining espresso and rum. 

5.  Soak each ladyfinger into this mixture for no more than 5 seconds and arrange in an 8x8 dish.  If you soak them too long, they will fall apart.  Break them in half if needed to neatly arrange everything in the dish. 

6.  Pour half the mascarpone mixture on top of the ladyfingers and repeat for another layer of soaked ladyfingers and mascarpone. 

7.  Cover with plastic scrap and let it set in the fridge for about 6-7 hours for best results. 

8.  Before serving dust with unsweetened cocoa powder and garnish with some dark chocolate curls (use a vegetable peeler to get beautiful looking curls).