The Best Tiramisu [a.k.a. TBT]

If there is one non-chocolate dessert that is universally loved, it has to be Tiramisu. The aroma of espresso, the mascarpone cheese, whipped cream all mixed into a wonderfully silky texture - what could be better! Tiramisu also happens to be the dessert I have made the most. Its very easy and once the technique is mastered, it gives spectacular results for little effort. What makes it easy for a lot of folks is also that it involves no baking at all. For all those who dread dealing with a temperamental oven, this is the best way to delight your family and friends with a stunner of a dessert. And you can easily make multiple batches without too much additional effort.

I have shared one recipe of tiramisu earlier and this is the same recipe but some of the steps vary a little and I've added photos of the process too. Overall this is an easier version of the original recipe that looks and tastes just the same. The recipe has been adapted from this recipe on the allrecipes website. Mascarpone cheese is used in the original recipe for Tiramisu but this may be difficult to find in some places and sometimes exorbitantly expensive. Mascarpone substitute can be made using cream cheese, butter and cream and tastes quite good. In fact if the quality of mascarpone cheese is not that good, cream cheese will give better results.

There are a few steps to getting the tiramisu right. The first is having the brewed coffee at the right temperature. It needs to be at room temperature or cold. If it is hot, the lady fingers will become soggy. When dipping the ladyfingers in coffee, place the liquid a little bit at a time in a shallow bowl. So that the coffee stays on the edges of the ladyfingers and does not seep all the way through. This will keep the ladyfinger layer very cakey and spongy making it an absolute delight to bite into. A correctly dipped ladyfinger will look soft in the middle with a light ring of espresso all around it. This step single handedly will improve the quality of the tiramisu by leaps and bounds!

The filling itself is very easy and forgiving and an absolute delight to lick with your fingers or to eat a heaping spoonful of it before you set out to make the dessert and lock all the satiny filling between the layers of ladyfingers, only to be relished once the dessert has set for atleast 6-8 hours or preferably overnight.

Tiramisu
Ingredients:
6 egg yolks

1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups mascarpone cheese or mascarpone substitute
1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
2 (12 ounce) packages ladyfingers
1 1/2 cups brewed espresso
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

Method:

1. Combine egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whip with a beater or in a kitchen mixer until thick and lemon colored.

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

3. Dip the lady fingers in the espresso briefly as explained above and layer them at the bottom of the dish in a single layer that completely covers the bottom.