Tiramisu

Tiramisu is one of those desserts that are so impressive, but in truth, it's so easy to make! You don't even need to turn on the oven. I found this recipe for tiramisu a while ago, and I haven't even been tempted to look for another recipe because this is so easy to make and it's so delicious.

This recipe comes from Vince Tyler at Carlucci's. Apparently, Carlucci's is an Italian restaurant in Chicago and they supposedly have a very good tiramisu. I have never been to Carlucci's, so I can't say if this compares to theirs. But this tiramisu is very very good, earning a lot of mmmmmm's from my family (it's music to a baker's ears). I now measure all tiramisus against this one...rarely do they measure up. Here's the recipe, with some changes:

Tiramisu
adapted from Carlucci's tiramisu recipe
makes one 9" square pan
total time: 30 minutes

3 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 egg yolks
2 oz cream cheese, softened
5.5 oz mascarpone
3 tsp + 1 oz marsala wine
7 oz heavy whipping cream
1 cup espresso or strong coffee (see note)
1/4 cup warm water (see note)
24 ladyfingers
3 tbsp cocoa powder

For the cream mixture:

1. In a heat safe bowl, combine, egg yolks, 3 tbsp sugar, and 4 tbsp of the whipping cream. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Using a whisk or a hand mixer, beat the mixture until it is pale yellow and thick. Test the temperature of the mixture, it should be 139 degrees for egg safety. (see note)

2. With mixer on medium speed, add cream cheese and whip until smooth.

3. Then add mascarpone and 3 tsp Marsala wine and mix until incorporated.

5. In a separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks are formed. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture in thirds.

6. While making the espresso mixture, refrigerate the cream mixture.

For the Espresso Mixture:

1. Combine espresso, 1 oz of Marsala wine, 2 tbsp sugar, and warm water.

Assembly:

1. Dip ladyfinger in espresso mixture. Do not leave the ladyfinger in the espresso mixture for too long, only about 1 second on each side.

2. Place one layer of dipped ladyfingers on bottom of serving platter.

3. Top with half of the cream mixture.

4. Add another layer of dipped ladyfingers.

5. Top with the rest of the cream mixture.

6. Sift cocoa over top.

Note:

• The original recipe calls for 2 cups of espresso or strong coffee, and 1/2 cup of warm water. The first time I made this recipe, I ended up with way too much of the espresso mixture. I halved the recipe and still had more than enough to dip the ladyfingers.
• The original recipes uses raw egg yolks. I thought this would be a bit risky, so I heated up the egg yolks for safety reasons. I read in a Cook's illustrated article, where they said you can omit the yolks all together, and add extra whipped cream. I haven't tried this myself. I think the yolks add a richness to the cream that shouldn't be omitted.