Tiramisu from Bakingperfection.com

Ciao everyone! I am very excited to share with you a wonderful recipe for tiramisu from fellow blogger DJ at Bakingperfection.com. Bakingperfection.com is a great, very informative and helpful blog dedicated to baking and all the preparation that it takes. It walks you through some different methods to help make you into the best baker that you can be! One look at his cakes and you'll be sold. 

Tiramisu is made of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone cheese, flavored with cocoa and liquor. There is some debate regarding the origin of Tiramisu. It may have started as a variation of another layered dessert, called Zuppa Inglese .

Several sources say that tiramisu was created at the restaurant Le Beccherie by the god-daughter and apprentice of confectioner Roberto Linguanotto, Francesca Valori, whose maiden name was Tiramisu. It is thought that Linguanotto named the dish in honor of Francesca.

Others believe the cake to have originated in the city of Sienna. Some bakers were said to have made it in honour of Cosimo III (the Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany) on the occasion of his visit to the city.

The translation of tiramisù is “pick-me-up", thought to refer to the caffeine in the espresso and effect of cocoa used in the recipe. Whatever it means, this recipe from DJ sure is delicious and decedent.  Please visit his fantastic blog at http://www.bakingperfection.com/ and enjoy his tempting recipes!! Here is the original post straight from his blog!

So who doesn’t love a good tiramisu? If you said “I don’t love tiramisu” well you’re a crazy crazy person and I don’t like you…okay I won’t go that far but you are a bit strange. I’ve seen tons and tons of recipes but I always find something I don’t like about them. I finally decided to pick out the things I do like and put them together to make one really solid recipe. I think I have succeeded with this recipe but you may not like what I do so you be the judge.

What you’ll need:

5 egg yolks

¾ cup-sugar (fine bakers sugar works best)

8 ounces mascarpone cheese (1 tub)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 packs of ladyfingers

1 cup-strong coffee or espresso (I use Medaglia D’Oro instant espresso)

¾ cup-Kahlua

Cocoa powder for dusting (optional)

White chocolate for shaving (optional)

Instructions:

Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler, over boiling water. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. After 10 minutes, remove from heat and whisk until thick and bright yellow.

Add the mascarpone to the yolks and mix until combined and smooth. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the yolk mixture into the whipped cream.

Combine coffee and Kahlua in a pie pan or other shallow bowl. Dip the lady fingers in for about 5 seconds and then place them in a single layer in a 8 X 8 glass pan. Top the lady finger layer with the custard cream mixture. Make another layer of lady fingers and again top with custard cream mixture. Smooth the top and sift the cocoa powder over it. Use a fine grater and grate white chocolate over the cocoa. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours but overnight is better.

Tips:
I did not have my 8 X 8 pan so I just used a random one I found, you can do the same.

Mascarpone is kinda expensive, but if you have a Trader Joe's nearby (depending on where you live) they make their own mascarpone that is a lot cheaper and just as good. If you can't get the mascarpone cheese you can just combine the following for a substitution:

8 ounces cream cheese
2 tsp. sour cream
2 tsp, heavy cream