TIRAMISU

I love Italian food, and have always wanted to make 'real' Tiramisu. The last event I catered was our church's formal Winter banquet. The theme was "A Night to Remember" and it was decorated in Italian flair, complete with red & white checked tablecloths, drippy candles, imported cheeses, grapes and big crusty loaves of bread w/ seasoned olive oil. I served Chicken Marsala, Mozzarella stuffed meatballs, Angel hair pasta, Strawberry lemonade salad, Garlic bread, and then Tiramisu for dessert. If you like coffee flavored desserts, then you will love this. So easy to put together too.

TIRAMISU

3 egg yolks
3 1/2 oz. white sugar
8 oz. Mascarpone cheese (sub: softened Cream cheese)
16 oz. cream, whipped
(if you're pressed for time, you can use cool whip - but the REAL thing is so much better!)
8 1/2 oz. strong espresso or 3 tsp. of strong instant coffee in 250 ml of hot water
20 Lady fingers (can find these in the ethnic section of your local grocery store)
1 3/4 oz. cocoa powder

Cook egg yolks and sugar over hot water until thin (to do this, fill a saucepan 1/3 of the way with hot water, place pan over med-high heat, then place a mixing bowl in the top of the pan, making sure it doesn't touch the water. Then place the eggs and sugar in the mixing bowl and continue). After eggs are thinned and heated, add them to the Mascarpone cheese (or softened cream cheese), add whipped cream and gently stir until well combined. Dip lady fingers in coffee, layer in pan, cover with cream mixture, add another layer of dipped lady fingers and cream mixture. Refrigerate until firm. Before serving, dust with cocoa powder (do this by holding a small mesh seive over a bowl, place a couple of tablespoons of cocoa in the seive. Gently move over the top of the pan of Tiramisu and begin tapping the edge of the seive as you move it evenly over the top of the dessert.