My cousin brought these little bottles of tiramisu to our Thanskgiving potluck last year, and they were so delicious I had her give me the recipe – from the Internet of course. She skipped the rum from the recipe, since we had lots of toddlers at our event, but when I finally got around to testing the recipe and included it, I could barely taste it… perhaps just adds a bit of depth to the dessert. Note that I didn’t heat my custard enough so it was a bit watery in the pictures. But it tasted delicious and I will be trying this recipe again!
- Recipe:
- modified from AllRecipe’s Tiramisu II
- makes about 75 square inches of tiramisu (minimum 2″ high dish)
- takes about 6 hours
- serves 10 as a dessert
- You need:
- small saucepan – minimum capacity of 3 cups
- liquid measuring cup – 1 cup capacity
- serving dish, 2″ high walls minimum
- Whisks, spatulas, hand mixer if available
- Mascarpone custard:
- 6 large egg yolks
- 3/4 c granulated sugar
- 2/3 c milk, whole or 2%
- 1 lb (16 oz) mascarpone cheese
- Whipped cream:
- 1 1/4 c heavy cream, cold
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Ladyfingers and finishing:
- 6 oz ladyfingers (about 12 standard sized cookies)
- 1/4 c strong brewed coffee
- 2 Tbsp rum, spiced or clear, optional
- 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- perhaps in the future, 2 Tbsp dark chocolate shavings
At least one day before you plan on serving the tiramisu, prepare your mascarpone custard base. In a (cold) saucepan, whisk together 6 large egg yolks and 3/4 c granulated sugar until texture is uniform. Whisk in 2/3 c milk, then continue whisking over medium heat. Continue heating and whisking until custard thickens, then remove from heat to cool slightly before covering and chilling in refrigerator for at least one hour, preferable overnight.
When fully chilled, in a medium bowl, whisk 16 oz mascarpone cheese into egg yolk mixture until smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix 1 1/4 c heavy cream, cold and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Use a hand mixer or whisk and beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Cut 6 oz ladyfingers (about 12 standard sized cookies) lengthwise (hot dog bun style) and lay out on a plate or cutting board, open side up. In a small cup or bowl, mix 1/4 c strong brewed coffee and 2 Tbsp rum, spiced or clear, optional. Drip coffee mixture over ladyfingers as evenly as possible.
Assemble the tiramisu – make one layer of the soaked ladyfingers face up in the serving dishes. If using multiple dishes, note the fraction area of each dish for the next steps. Using half the mascarpone mixture, layer all over the ladyfingers, then the whipped cream. Repeat layers: ladyfingers, mascarpone custard, then whipped cream. Top with 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted onto the the top of the cake. (Perhaps at some point, I’ll add dark chocolate shavings into the layers and on top of the cake, like they do at Il Fornaio! But haven’t tried this yet.) Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight before serving.
