Tiramisu

Serves 8-10 people

Ingredients

For the Coffee Dip
1 ½ cups Italian espresso coffee
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ cup Tia Maria or Coffee Liqueur

For the Zabaglione Filling
4 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
½ cup Marsala wine (if not available, substitute with another sweet wine like Port, Madeira or even Kalua Coffee Liqueur)
1 pound mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 cup or more heavy whipping cream
10 ounces Savoiardi (ladyfinger cookies) or approximately 40

For the Garnish
2 tablespoons bitter cocoa powder

Special Equipment

stand or hand mixer
8 glasses
double boiler

Instructions

Prepare 1 ½ cups strong espresso coffee. Add sugar while hot and stir to dissolve. Cool to room temperature. Stir in Tia Maria.

In a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler, beat the egg yolks for the zabaglione with a whisk until fluffy. Beat in sugar and Marsala wine. Now, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, and continue whisking until the mixture thickens. Do not let it boil. Once it has thickened, remove the bowl from the simmering water and continue to whisk as it cools a bit.

With a rubber spatula, mash the mascarpone cheese and add to the zabaglione, mixing thoroughly.

Whip the cream to soft peak stage. Fold the whipped cream into Zabaglione-cheese mixture until smooth.

To assemble, lightly soak the ladyfingers in the coffee, one at a time. (If you need extra coffee mix to soak the ladyfingers, just make a little more … don’t be shy; this makes it all the more fabulous.)

Place a layer of lady fingers in the bottom of a glass and cover with a layer of Zabaglione cream. Repeat with ladyfingers and then top with cream. Dust each serving with cocoa powder.

Layering the dessert in glasses for individual servings will allow it to set faster and makes a nice presentation for dinner parties.