Tiramisu

Ingredients:

* 6 extra large eggs (at least large)
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 cups espresso or very strong coffee, start making it early, it works best if it cools. Most of the coffee i end up throwing away, but i make a whole bunch so that i can put it in a bowl and dip the lady fingers. You can get away with a lot less coffee.
* 4 tbsp rum, I use dark rum. Possible substitutes: brandy, cognac, etc.
* 16 ounces (2x8 ounce packages) mascarpone cheese; if you happen to get the same brand as me, it actually has a tiramisu recipe on the side. Mine is a much better recipe.
* 2-3 cups heavy whipping cream (optional, but highly recommended for best tasting tiramisu)
* 2 packages lady fingers (usually 24 per package). 3 possible varieties in the picture.
* 0.5 lbs semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate; not an exact measurement, it’s really however much you want to use (optional, but highly recommended for best tasting tiramisu). I used Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate

I am actually making a double recipe, but you can make it with half of those ingredients. There's never been any left over so I don't see any reason to make less than this.

Preparation:
Required: bowls, mixer, and usual kitchen utensils. I use 3 mixing bowls, and a hand mixer. Stand mixer could possibly work also. You will need a deep pan about 9 x 13 in (larger or smaller based on how much you make).

Step 1:

First separate the egg yolk from the whites. Set the whites aside, you might end up needing them.

Step 2:

Mix the yolks with the sugar.

Step 3:

Whip the yolks with the sugar until it becomes smooth and a light yellow color. There should be no more sugar visible. It should take about 5 minutes; I like to whip it a little longer.

Step 4:

Add in 2 tbsp of espresso, and the rum, and mix again until smooth but a darker color.

Step 5:

At some point you will want to toast the bottom layer of lady fingers. This is as good a time as any. I think a toaster oven would work here, but I don’t have one so I just bake mine for a few minutes at 350 degrees. The whole point is to have the bottom layer be stronger; it’s all for structural integrity so you can chose to ignore this part if you want the tiramisu softer.

Step 6:

Next put the mascarpone cheese in a bowl.

Step 7:

This next part is very important, and can make the difference between a good tiramisu and an excellent tiramisu. I whip the mascarpone cheese until smooth. A lot of people ignore this step and just mix it with the rest of the ingredients and it will not be as good. This of course depends partly on the quality of the cheese you get. At first it is kind of grainy, but if you whip it long enough (usually more than 5 minutes, I do it for about 10 minutes) it will become smooth. It starts to have a consistency like frosting or a whipped topping. That is ideally how you want it.

Step 8:

Next mix the mascarpone with the egg yolk mixture and whip it for a few minutes until smooth again.

Step 9:

At this point you can use either the heavy whipping cream or the egg whites. I highly recommend the heavy whipping cream, but if you want to make it cheaper, or don’t have it the egg whites will work. The heavy whipping cream will definitely move your tiramisu to a higher plane of existence.
If you choose to use the egg whites beat them to stiff peaks with a little sugar. I used 2.75 cups of heavy whipping cream. You can use more or less (2-3 cups range).

Step 10:

When working with heavy whipping cream keep it refrigerated until you are ready to use. I also refrigerate the bowl. Whip to stiff peaks. This is very important, do not over whip. If you whip it to heavy peaks and keep going eventually it will turn bad. It will separate into water, and what looks almost like butter. So whip it just enough to get stiff peaks and stop. If you break it, throw it away and start over. If you don’t have any more heavy whipping cream, you can use the egg whites that you saved earlier.

Step 11:

Mix the heavy whipped cream (or egg whites) with the mascarpone and egg yolk mixture.

Step 12:

Mix it slowly. I use a wooden spoon, and I only like to mix it in one direction (this time counterclockwise). If you are going to take long on the next part refrigerate it.

Step 13:

Next we set the first layer of lady fingers. Use the ones that you baked/toasted. Dip them half way (or however much you like) in espresso, and arrange them in the bottom of the dish.

Put about half of the mascarpone mixture on top.

Step 14:

Finish placing the next level of lady fingers on top of the mascarpone mixture.

Step 15:

Pour the rest of the mascarpone mixture on top of the lady fingers.

Step 16:

Layer the mixture evenly.

Step 17:

Get out a grater and a huge piece of chocolate. This part is optional, instead of chocolate you can use cocoa, but I highly recommend grated chocolate if you want the best tiramisu.

Step 18:

Cover it evenly and completely in chocolate shavings.

Step 19:

Cover the tiramisu with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for 8 hours, or overnight. If you absolutely must have some before 8 hours, refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Step 20:

Presentation is important, but usually the first few pieces are hard to get out perfectly. Here is a picture of the first decent piece i could get. Use a verys sharp knife, and dip it in ice water, you should be able to get more precise cuts.

Also if you use pound cake instead of lady fingers it's a lot easier to handle, and can make for better presentation, but it's a tradeoff i'm not willing to make since this tastes better.