Tiramisù roughly translates to “pick me up” in reference to the espresso, coffee and alcohol it contains. Frankly, any dessert this rich makes me want to take a nap after! Perhaps that’s why it’s common to serve coffee with dessert, or in this case a nice cup of espresso.

I’d never made tiramisù before because I’ve never been that thrilled with what I’ve gotten in restaurants. My dad, on the other hand, always seems to enjoy it. When the November/December 2007 issue of Cook’s Illustrated arrived with an article claiming to perfect the art of tiramisù, I decided to give it a try. I served it in place of cake when celebrating my dad’s 61st birthday last week, writing “Happy Birthday” on his plate in chocolate sauce. It was a big hit then, and again when he brought the leftovers to work.

The article uses strong coffee with instant espresso added instead of just using espresso. The argument is that not everyone has an espresso machine at home. Well, I can tell you that not many stores carry instant espresso, and when you finally find it, expect to pay five or six dollars for a tiny jar of it. If you don’t have an espresso machine, just visit the nearest coffee shop and buy a few shots of espresso to go.

I ended up with more than half of the espresso/rum mixture left over when I was done …another waste. So I’ve changed the amounts so you start out with half the amount of liquid. There will still be extra, but it won’t be nearly as wasteful.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups brewed espresso, room temperature
6 1/2 tablespoons dark rum, divided
6 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds mascarpone
3/4 cup cold heavy cream
14 ounces dried ladyfingers (savoiardi)
3 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup grated semi-sweet chocolate

Directions:
Combine espresso and 2 1/2 tablespoons rum in wide bowl; set aside.

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat yolks at low speed until just combined. Add sugar and salt and beat at medium-high speed until pale yellow, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once or twice. Add remaining 4 tablespoons rum and beat at medium speed until just combined, 20 to 30 seconds; scrape bowl. Add mascarpone and beat at medium speed until no lumps remain, 30 to 45 seconds, scraping down bowl once or twice. Transfer mixture to large bowl and set aside.

In now-empty mixer bowl (no need to clean bowl), beat cream at medium speed until frothy, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Increase speed to high and continue to beat until cream holds stiff peaks, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer. Using rubber spatula, fold one-third of whipped cream into mascarpone mixture to lighten, then gently fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Set mascarpone mixture aside.

Working one at a time, drop half of ladyfingers into espresso mixture, roll, remove, and transfer to 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish. (Do not submerge ladyfingers in mixture; the entire process should take no longer than 2 to 3 seconds per cookie.) Arrange soaked cookies in single layer in baking dish, breaking or trimming ladyfingers as needed to fit neatly into dish.

Spread half of mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers; use rubber spatula to spread mixture to sides and into corners of dish and smooth surface. Dust with 2 tablespoons cocoa.

Repeat dipping and arrangement of ladyfingers; spread remaining mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers and dust with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa. Wipe edges of dish with dry paper towel. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 to 24 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with grated chocolate; cut into pieces and serve chilled.

Serves 10 to 12.          tiramisu

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