Tiramisu in 11 Steps

Tiramisu, which means "lift me up" in Italian, is the most literal pick me up dessert you can eat after a long day of fasting. It is such a decadent, cooling and comforting dessert. The recipe I am sharing with you is alcohol free, and does not have raw eggs. Instead, I make a beautiful custard over a double boiler, and whisk in mascarpone cheese once the custard has cooled down. The addition of fresh cream makes the dessert very comforting in a hot summer day. This recipe takes less than one hour to prepare. But, you must let the tiramisu sit in the refrigerator overnight, to give it that ice cream quality.

Ingredients:

Custard

3 large egg yolks (preferably cage free)

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar

3 tablespoons of whole milk

1 inch of vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Filling

8 ounces of mascarpone cheese

3/4 cup of whipping cream (using Trader Joe's organic whipping cream)

Layering

6 ounce of water

3 tablespoons of ground espresso coffee

1 tablespoon of cocoa powder for sprinkling on the top (using Guittard's cocoa rouge)

12 ladyfingers (or Savoiardi)

Step 1: In a french press, add 3 tablespoons of ground coffee, and brew it for 3 minutes. Transfer it into a bowl and leave it to cool. If you do not have a french press or coffee maker you can get espresso from a local coffee shop. 

Step 2: In a double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, milk, and vanilla. If using an inch of vanilla bean, split the bean pod in half, scrape off the the beans, and add both the beans and the pod in the egg mixture. If you do not have a double boiler, just heat up water in a sauce pan, and put a metal mixing bowl containing the egg mixture over the sauce pan.

Step 3: Continue whisking for about 10 minutes.

Until the sugar has dissolved, and the mixture has turned pale.

And, until it has reached the beautiful ribbon stage.

The custard is ready. It should not have a granular texture. It should be smooth and luscious. Remove the vanilla pod, and leave it to cool.

Step 4: In a stand mixer, whisk the fresh whipping cream until stiff.

Do not over-mix.

Step 5: In a cool custard mixture, combine the mascarpone cheese. Whisk until smooth. It would take a few minutes to achieve the smooth texture.

Step 6: Gently fold in half of the whipped cream.

Step 7: Combine the remaining whipped cream.

Gently fold it in. Starting from the bottom of the bowl, and fold over.

Keep turning the bowl as you are folding over.

Gently scrape the sides.

Step 7: Get ready to assemble the Tiramisu. You will need a 6x9 baking dish, espresso, the custard, 12 lady fingers, and cocoa powder.

Step 8: Dip lady fingers, one by one, into the espresso for a nano-second. Make sure the lady fingers remain crunchy.

Continue assembling them into a 6x9 inche baking dish. I am using a slightly bigger dish.

Step 9: Spread the custard over the lady fingers.

Step 10: Place another layer of the ladyfingers, dipped in the espresso, over the custard layer. Repeat, and spread the second and remaining layer of the custard over the ladyfingers.

Step 11: Using a sifter, sprinkle cocoa powder over the tiramisu. Cover and place in the refrigerator to set.

The luscious tiramisu is ready.