See Also: Cooking Club · Desserts · Italy
Tiramisu
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. It's rich! Do not eat all of this by yourself! Serves 12-18, and can be kept up to a week in the refrigerator. When serving, bring it out of the refrigerator about 1 hour ahead of time as it tastes better when not "refrigerator cold".
1 carton (17 0z.) mascarpone cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar (organic is best)
3 cups whipping cream
1 tablespoon real vanilla
pinch of salt
1 1/2 pkg. Italian lady fingers
1/3 cup cold strong coffee
1/3 cup white rum, or your choice of brandy or Amaretto
unsweetened powdered chocolate, for sprinkling
In a large bowl, lightly beat the mascarpone to smooth it out. Add the powdered sugar, cream, vanilla, and salt and using an electric beater, beat this mixture until it is smooth and thickened like fluffy cream. Using a 9 by 13 inch pan, line the bottom with ladyfingers, flat side down. Combine the cold, strong coffee (use 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder to 1/3 cup of cold water if you do not have any left in the pot) and the rum in a cup. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush half of the coffee/rum mixture over the ladyfingers. Cover with half of the mascarpone mixture. Sprinkle liberally with powdered chocolate. Add another layer of ladyfingers, and repeat as above. Sprinkle liberally with the chocolate on the top. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours. This is important, as it blends the flavors and the ladyfingers soak up the liquid. A perfect tiramisu should slice easily, but be a little soft and perhaps even a little runny when served, rather than holding its shape perfectly.
Recipe created 1995-10-07.
