A couple weeks ago, Andy and I were at the bread thrift across the street, and we found a few packages of somewhat-freshly-baked ladyfingers. We picked them up let them get really stale so that we could finally make some Tiramisu.On a side note, living across from a bread thrift is so awesome. We stop in at least once a week and the guy always at least one item that we need.
Back to the Tiramisu. I got this recipe from Cook's Illustrated, and I didn't have to change much. They recommended using the ladyfingers sold in the cookie aisle instead of the freshly baked ones, but if you let the fresh ones get very stale they're just as good. Here's a little tip: if you get the freshly baked ones, they usually come connected, and you should try to break them up while they're still soft. We broke them up after they were ultra stale and ended up with a pile of crumbs.
First, beat together six egg yolks, 2/3 c. sugar, and 1/4 t. salt in a large bowl, then beat in 1/3 c. heavy cream. Bring about one inch of water to a gentle simmer in a saucepan, and set the bowl on top. (This step cooks the yolks, because we didn't want a dessert with raw yolks sitting around in the fridge for a few days.) Stir constantly for about 4-9 minutes until the temperature of the mixture reaches around 160F (we just used a finger to tell when it got hot). The mixture should thicken slightly and coat the back of your spatula when you remove it. Set the bowl on the counter to cool for around 15 minutes.
Mix in 4 T. of dark rum, and then add 1.5 lbs of mascarpone cheese and mix until smooth and well-combined. Set the bowl aside, and use a mixer to beat 3/4 c. cold heavy whipping cream. Beat for 1-2 minutes on medium until foamy, then beat for another 2-3 minutes on high until cream holds stiff peaks. Fold in 1/3 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten it up a little, then fold in the rest of the cream until everything is blended.
For the coffee mixture, you can either use day-old strong coffee or just use room temperature water mixed with some instant coffee. Mix together: 2.5 c. strong coffee (room temperature), 3 T. instant coffee powder, and 5 T. dark rum. Working with half of the ladyfingers, dip them into the coffee mixture and put them in a 9x13 glass dish.The best method to coat the ladyfingers with coffee is to gently dip one side into the coffee mixture, then flip and dip the other side. Make sure to coat the entire outside of the cookie. Each cookie shouldn't take more than a couple seconds to prepare. Do not submerge the cookie, or else it will become too saturated and your dessert will be mushy. Try dipping a test cookie, then break it in half and check out the middle. If the middle is soaked with coffee, it's too saturated. If the middle is white and even a little crunchy, it's perfect. The middle will become spongy when the dessert is ready to eat.
Arrange the ladyfingers in a single layer, breaking any cookies if necessary to fit in as many as possible. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers, and smooth it over and make sure it gets into all of the corners. Dust about 2 T. cocoa powder over the top to cover the mascarpone mixture.Dip and arrange the rest of the ladyfingers, spread the rest of the mascarpone mixture on the top, smoothing it out again, and dust with another 1-2 T. cocoa powder. If you have some chocolate laying around, grate some on the top of the dessert. Refrigerate for at least six hours, then enjoy!
I hadn't eaten Tiramisu in a while, so I forgot how rich it was. Fortunately for my friends, this means that this is one dessert where I have plenty leftover to share. (As Andy knows, trying to take my dessert usually results in a fork in the hand, but I'm willing to make an exception this time.)
