Along with Valentine’s Day comes the inevitable mad dash for chocolate. However, try considering other ingredients when making a dessert to impress your significant other or group of friends. Even items typically found in your kitchen can be useful in creating a romantic masterpiece like tiramisu. Coffee is the primary flavor in tiramisu, and juxtaposed with chocolate, everyone is sure to love this dessert.
Tiramisu is a traditional Italian dessert famous for its indulgent texture — soft and substantial — and the robust strength in its sweetness. This dish takes approximately 20 minutes to make and can serve six people.
Ingredients
5 eggs, separated (egg whites and yolks)
3/4 cups of superfine sugar (caster sugar)
2 cups of mascarpone cheese
Dash of salt
About 30 ladyfingers
1 cup of strong, cool coffee
7 squares semi-sweet chocolate, grated
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Directions
Whisk the egg yolks and superfine sugar until pale and creamy.
Carefully fold in the mascarpone cheese, beat the egg whites and salt together until very stiff, and fold them into the mixture. Spread a thin layer of the mixture over the bottom of a large oval serving dish.
Soak the ladyfinger cookies briefly in the coffee until they are soft but not soggy. Then set a layer of them over the cream mixture on the bottom of the container. Cover this with a layer of the cream mixture and sprinkle with a little chocolate.
Set another layer of coffee-drenched ladyfinger cookies on top of this layer, followed by the cream mixture, and then repeat this until you have exhausted your supplies or reached the top of your dish.
Once at the top, finish the dish with a fine roofing of powdered chocolate atop the cream mixture. Let it chill in the refrigerator for three hours or so before serving.
Optional: For a more robust and pronounced flavor, mix some chocolate or coffee liqueur into the cream mixture.
Nikolas Reda-Castelao is a contributing writer. Email him at dining@nyunew.com.
A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Feb. 11 print edition. Nikolas Reda-Castelao is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].