Homemade Tiramisu

Yum Yum! So I'm never made tiramisu, even though it's one of my favorite desserts. I think I always thought it was too difficult, though I never actually looked at a recipe.

But over Christmas I went through storage and rummaged out some of my old cookbooks and brought them back here. So I thought I'd try some of the recipes out- expand my techniques and reach outside my comfort zone.

This was an easy easy recipe. It is from Williams-Sonoma, www.williams-sonoma.com, and it's their "ITALIAN" cookbook. Italian is my favorite and some of these recipes are a little on the "expert" side, but always worth a try. Plus, you always learn from your mistakes, and become better, right??

Here are the ingredients:

LADYFINGERS
*1/2 cup sugar
*2 cups freshly brewed espresso (brew double strength Italian or French roast coffee)
*3 Tablespoons dark rum
*45 ladyfingers - they sell at most stores

FILLING
*6 large egg yolks
*1/3 cup sugar
*1/2 cup heavy double cream
*1 1/2 cups mascarpone cheese
*1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

*unsweetened cocoa powder for garnish

The cookbook! :) 

My coffee I used and my lil' rum!

DIRECTIONS:

-In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and 1/2 cup water and cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in the espresso, and let cool to room temp. After it's cooled, stir in the rum.

-Pour espresso mix into a wife, shallow bowl. Working in batches, briefly immerse the ladyfingers in the liquid. Then using a spatula, transfer the ladyfingers to a plate and set aside. NOTE- BRIEFLY is an understatement- this needs to be quick because you don't want them too soggy. 

-To make the filling, (in a heatproof bowl), whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mix is pale yellow (about 2 minutes). Then place the bowl over a saucepan that has about 2-3" of boiling water. Or use a double boiler. Use a handheld mixer on medium speed and beat until very thick- about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

-Then use the mixer on medium (in another bowl) to beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Then add the mascarpone and vanilla to the yolk mixtures. Beat until smooth and well blended. Then using a large spatula, fold in the whipped cream.

-Easy assembly! Use a metal spatula and transfer 15 of the soaked ladyfingers to a 9" square cake pan. Arrange them in a single layer. Then spread 1/3 of the filling over the ladyfingers. Place another 15 ladyfingers on top, then another 1/3 of the filling. DO one last layer of the 15 ladyfingers (so you have 3 layers in total), then top with the last 1/3 of the filling. 

-Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. 

-To serve sprinkle unsweetened cocoa powder on top- I used chocolate shavings! And served with fresh strawberries.

Can I tell you how much my lil' Jack LOVED this. He kept saying, "Awesome Mom" and tried to finish off Daddy's dessert after he had devoured him. Even Henry liked it. Granted it has a bit of rum in it, but certainly not enough to do any damage! :)

A great dessert for a dinner party- simple- and amazing! 

*I actually only did 2 layers because I didn't have enough, but still delicious!