Valentine’s Dessert Idea: Tiramisu

Tiramisu is an Italian cake made with mascarpone, custard, and lady finger biscuits dipped in espresso and topped with cocoa.

Tiramisu is said to have originated in Treviso at “Le Beccherie” restaurant by confectioner Roberto Linguanotto. The original cake contained no alcohol as children were expected to consume it, but that’s changed over the years with the addition of rum and Marsala wine in most recipes.

The cake is believed to be a recent invention as there is no record of it before 1983, though other layered cake recipes have been around for decades and the belief that the cake was created in Treviso dates to 1971.

Classic Tiramisu

6 egg yolks
3/4 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups mascarpone cheese
1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
2 (12 ounce) packages ladyfingers
1/2 cup coffee flavored liqueur

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler, over boiling water. Reduce heat to low, and cook for about 13-15 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and whip yolks until thick and lemon colored.

Add mascarpone to whipped yolks. Beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold into yolk mixture and set aside.

Split the lady fingers in half, and line the bottom and sides of a large glass bowl. Brush with coffee liqueur. Spoon half of the cream filling over the lady fingers. Repeat ladyfingers, coffee liqueur and filling layers. Garnish with cocoa and chocolate curls. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

To make the chocolate curls, use a vegetable peeler and run it down the edge of the chocolate bar.

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Easy (Alcohol-free) Tiramisu

2 cups whipping or heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons sugar
1 cup strong coffee or espresso
3 tablespoons strong coffee or espresso
8 oz of marscapone cheese
1/8 cup of cocoa powder
20 lady fingers or sponge cake

Whip 1 cup of the whipping cream into stiff peaks, refrigerate while completing the next steps. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar, or to taste.

In a separate bowl, whip the marscapone cheese, sugar and 3 tablespoons of espresso. Set aside.

Dip the top sides of 1/2 of the lady fingers in the coffee and place in the bottom of serving dish. You will need to cover the bottom of the dish, so only use as many lady fingers as needed to do so.

Take refrigerated whipped cream and fold into the cheese mixture. Spread 1/3 of mixture over lady fingers and dust with cocoa powder. Repeat steps 3 and 5, ending with the cheese mixture on top.

Take the reserved 1 cup of whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of sugar and whip till soft peaks are formed. Spread mixture over top of cheese layer and garnish with cocoa powder. Chill tiramisu for at least 2 hours before serving.