Tiramisu

Abominations and experimenting aside, most people agree that I'm a rather good cook. I agree that I am ridiculously vain, and therefore concur.

This right here, though? This is the one thing I go out of my way to brag about. My tiramisu may possibly be the best thing in the history of ever.

Am I able to follow my own recipe to the letter? Of course not. There were factors outside of my control, see.

As I mentioned in the previous post, my sister was in charge of doing the groceries for her own demands. She went to the store quite late last night, and no liquor stores were open at that hour. We don't have any Kahlúa in the house. Today is Sunday. All of these things are bad.
The in-laws have Kahlúa. That's good!
But that would be stealing, and that's bad.
I'm pretty sure we'd pay it back. That's good!
Then I could make my tiramisu, and that's REALLY good, but I'm home without a car and J didn't go borrow the Kahlúa from his folks'. (That's bad)

So we make a non-alcoholic version. That's meh. I had something like a third of a shot of raspberry schnapps, and might as well get rid of it, right?

Okay, then.

2 cups strong coffee (or espresso) (I used the Mexican coffee from earlier today)
2 tbsp. sugar (skipped this, since my coffee had sugar already)
6 tbsp. Kahlúa (... ... ...)

Mix well, set aside to cool.


2 1/2 pkgs lady fingers
3 large eggs, room temperature, separated
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla*
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
1 oz. Cream cheese

*I've been known to use almond extract, raspberry extract, or 2 tsp Amaretto, instead

In a non-plastic bowl, beat egg whites until hard peaks form. Set aside.

In a non-plastic bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Set aside. (Make sure that both the bowl and the mixer attachments are chilled for this. I stuck them in the freezer a few minutes before mixing).

In a separate container, beat egg yolks, sugar & vanilla for about 2-3 minutes until pale-yellow & creamy. Add mascarpone and cream cheese (softened) and mix until well combined, about 3-5 minutes. The addition of cream cheese serves the purpose of giving depth, not flavor or texture. Just go with it.

Gently fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture, and once combined, fold about half the whipped cream as well. Put the other half in the fridge for later.

You'll need a pretty big container, or several. Line the bottom with the lady fingers dipped in the coffee mix (don't soak them too long or they'll fall apart, but make sure they ARE properly soaked), layer mascarpone mix on top. Repeat until you run out of room, finishing with a mascarpone layer. Cover and refrigerate for about 2-3 hours. Spread the rest of the whipped cream on top and sprinkle with cocoa powder.



Ack, midnight kitchen lighting won't allow for a good shot.

I don't have cocoa powder, but I do have about 3lbs of Easter chocolate in the fridge......... poor bunny never saw it coming.