The Ultimate Tiramisu

There are so many versions of Tiramisu and I have tried them all, with angel food cake and ladyfingers; with various alcohols, etc.  I found the best way is with this recipe I found from *Wolfgang Puck who gets the credit of course for the recipe.* You can find his original recipe on Foodnetwork.com.  I only changed a few things.  I also layered it in a wine glass for individual portions to serve to guests.  The only thing I would suggest to you if you decide to layer in wine glasses is to only go half way up instead of all the way to the top.  It's such a rich dessert and a full wine glass is almost 2 servings.  Ok, it IS 2 servings in our size wine glasses.  Unless you don't plan on serving dinner and just will be serving dessert, fill 'er up! =)  This is an advanced version of Tiramisu which requires patience and of course time.  The recipe below will fill 4 Burgundy size wine glasses to the top and more if you only fill half way up.  I would imagine 8 servings half full.  Up to you!

What you need:

For the Ladyfingers:

~6 Eggs separated reserving both yolk and white in separate bowls

~1/2 Cup sugar

~1 Cup flour sifted (stirring with a whisk does the same thing)

~Melted butter for brushing the pan

Let's get to work with the Ladyfingers:

1) Preheat your oven to 350F and butter a 12x16 baking pan

2) Whip the egg yolks until light yellow and silky looking and set aside. (about 5 minutes depending on your mixer speed)

3) Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form, then slowly add the last 1/4 cup of sugar and whip until medium peaks form.

4) Fold 1/2 cup of flour carefully into the egg yolk mixture and then fold in half of the egg white mixture, then half of the flour and then the last of the egg white mixture.

5) Pour the batter into your prepared pan and very carefully spreading evenly in the pan.

6) Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temp before using.  The beauty of this cake is that you can prepare it in advance and freeze it up to 2 weeks.

Now that the ladyfingers are done, let's get to making the yummy cream!

What you need for the Mascarpone Cream/Sabayon):

~6 egg yolks 

~1 Cup sugar

~1/2 Cup Marsala (NOT cooking Marsala) OR you can alternatively use 1/4 cup Brandy and 1/4 cup Marsala

~2lbs Mascarpone cheese.  Use the real deal here, don't skimp on a lighter version.

Let's get to work:

1) Whisk together egg yolks and sugar.  Add the Marsala (and Brandy if you want to do it that way)

2) Place in a double boiler and mix until it reaches 160 degrees. (This will form the Sabayon  A double boiler is an absolute must for this, otherwise you could burn the sugar and ruin the whole Sabayon.  Continue cooking for another 5 minutes until it looks like a paste.  Remove from heat and place in an iced water bath until room temperature.

3) Place mascarpone in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form.  Carefully fold into the Sabayon.  It's now ready to use and can be prepared 4 hours in advance.

Last step before assembly....

What you need for the Espresso Syrup:

~1 Cup hot fresh espresso

~3 Tbsp Brown sugar

~1 Tbsp Sugar

~1/2 Tsp Fresh lemon juice

~2 Tsp Pure vanilla extract

~1 Cup bittersweet chocolate grated

Let's get to work:

1) Easy here, combine all the ingredients until combined and chocolate is melted, reserving 1/2 cup of the grated chocolate for assembly. I would put this in a small bowl with a spout or cup with a spout for easier pouring onto the cake layers.

OK, now that we have all the step ready, time to assemble this yummy dessert:

So for assembly, it depends on what you are using to serve in.  I served it in wine glasses which makes such a beautiful presentation of the dessert, so I will tell you how to do that.  

Choose which wine glasses you will use and then use a spare wine glass that you are not filling to "cut" the circles of ladyfinger layers for your glass (this ensures that you have the perfect size for your glass!!)  So the layering in a wine glass is as follows:

1) On the bottom of the wine glass, mascarpone cheese

2) Grated chocolate

3) Ladyfinger layer

4) Pour espresso syrup on until soaked in (use sparingly depending on how many layers you are doing, but cake must be soaked!)

Repeat steps 1-4 until desired layers have been made.  The last layer towards the top should end with Mascarpone and grated chocolate.  Store in fridge no less then 2 hours before serving.  The longer the better, but 2 is the minimum.  To serve, place on a serving plate sprinkled with grates of chocolate.  You can also sprinkle chocolate covered espresso beans on the plate as well or crushed chocolate espresso beans in the grated chocolate layer of the layering process.  I didn't have any on hand the time I made this so I didn't use them.  I love to make those and is a recipe for another day!! =) I created such an amazing recipe for those a few years ago and often give them away in pretty food gift bags over the holidays.  =)

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