My Favortie Dessert....Tiramisu

 I can’t tell you enough how much I enjoy this dessert. I had gone to and Italian Restaurant many years ago and ordered their Tiramisu. It was totally wonderful. I have never found Tiramisu that tasted like that again. They were either to sweet, to soggy or made with cream cheese. A few years ago I decided to make my own recipe. It took me three tries to get this to perfection.

1-1/2 lb. Mascarpone cheese
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
6 eggs
2 packages lady fingers
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
3 shots (3 oz) Cognac or Brandy
8 espresso sized cups of coffee (about 14 oz)
4 Tablespoons powdered unsweetened cocoa.

Dipping:
Combine the ingredients in a bowl. Espresso, two shots of cognac, one teaspoon cocoa. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Pour 1/8 inch of espresso mixture into a shallow flat-bottomed bowl. This step is very important because you don’t want to over soak your Lady finger so it becomes soggy. Set bowl aside.

Mascarpone cheese mixture:
In mixing bowl beat egg while tempering them, add sugar until creamy white. Let cool completely then add mascarpone, 1 shot of Cognac or Rum and mix until blended. Refrigerate until you are ready to assemble.

Prepare your heavy whipping cream by beating until it becomes stiff and then add powdered sugar. Fold in the mascarpone mixture and set aside.

Important tip: Quickly dip the lady fingers in the 1/8 inch espresso. Get the right amount of espresso on the cookie. Do not let the cookie stay to long in the Espresso mixture. If you soak the cookie in the espresso mixture to long you will end up with soggy cookie instead of it being firm & moist.

Assembly: Build a layer of dipped Lady Fingers across the bottom of the Glass pan. Spoon a layer of mascarpone mixture across the layer of cookies. Use about 1/3 of the mascarpone mix. The layer should be about (3/8in.) thick. Dip another layer of cookie in the espresso mixture and lay on top of the mascarpone cream. Spoon a second layer of mascarpone mixture across the second layer of cookies. Use the remaining mascarpone mix for a total of three layers. Sift cocoa on top of the final mascarpone layer. Hold the sieve over the tiramisu and tap the sieve on the side with your finger. The cocoa should sprinkle down in an even layer. Use this technique to cover the tiramisu with a very thin layer of cocoa. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. serves 12 to 15