I ate so much tiramisu while shooting with the Food Network in Tuscany that Iโm going to change the name of the show from Ciao House to Tiramisu House! Tiramisu loosely translates as โpull/ lift me upโ in Italian and thatโs what this iconic dessert has the power to do. My version is classic: rich with silky egg yolks mixed with boozy notes in the filling of cocoa, whipped cream, and mascarpone. The most important steps are making the egg and sugar zabaglione filling (perhaps the hardest one, too, if you know what I mean) and having the patience to let the tiramisu rest 24 hours in the fridge before eating. A zabaglione (sabayon in French) is a fluffy egg-and-sugar mixture that adds richness against the boozy and cocoa flavorsโitโs so good you can even eat it as a dessert on its own. – Alex Guarnaschelli
SERVES 8 TO 10
Ingredients
- 36 to 40 ladyfinger cookies
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons dry
- Marsala
- 1 ยผ cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ยฝ cups (12 ounces) mascarpone cheese
- 2 ยฝ cups strong brewed coffee, warm
- 3 tablespoons coffee liqueur
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely grated
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 275ยฐF.
Get ready: Arrange the ladyfingers in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 10 minutes to dry them out slightly. Remove and cool.
Make the zabaglione: Place a roasting pan on a burner on top of the stove and fill about one-third full with warm water. Bring the water to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the yolks with ยฝ cup of the sugar. Place the bowl in the water bath and hold steady with one hand protected with a kitchen towel or oven mitt. Turn off the heat and whisk the eggs and sugar together steadily until they become fluffy and the eggs are warm to the touch, 4 to 5 minutes. Place the bowl on a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed until you see traces of the whisk in the eggs and the mix is cooled, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the Marsala. Transfer to another bowl and wash the mixer bowl.
Make the mascarpone cream: In the clean mixer bowl, beat the cream, ยผ cup of the sugar, and the vanilla on medium speed with the whisk attachment until you see traces of the whisk in the cream, 3 to 4 minutes. With the mixer running low, add the mascarpone in spoonfuls until smooth. Whisk into the egg mixture until smooth.
Make the coffee mix: In a medium bowl, combine the coffee with the remaining 2 tablespoons Marsala, the coffee liqueur, and the remaining ยผ cup sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
Assemble: Using a small fine-mesh strainer, dust the bottom of a rectangular 9 ร 13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the cocoa. Gently drop the ladyfinger cookies, one by one, in the coffee mix and quickly remove (so they donโt fall apart). Line the bottom of the dish with about half of the cookies, filling in gaps with half-cookies if needed. Spoon any remaining coffee mix over the ladyfingers. Spoon half of the mascarpone cream over the cookies, covering them evenly. Dust with another tablespoon of the cocoa. Repeat another layer of cookies and then the remaining mascarpone cream on top. Dust with the remaining 1 tablespoon cocoa. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours, or up to 3 days.
Serve: Cut into squares and serve on individual plates. Grate the chocolate on top before serving
