Hey lovers! It’s Valentine’s Day/my birthday weekend! I’ve gone all out in previous years for this fun weekend. Last year it was Amy’s amazing almond butter brownies and the year before that it was a chocolate-hazelnut-cake-roll-dream come true. So I gotta keep with the tradition and serve up something totally delicious, amiright? YASSS! Tiramisu has always been an obsession of mine, right up there in the top five favorite desserts (matter of fact, I can’t even think of the other four right now). Just tiramisu. Period. It’s been my mission to try and make it myself for some time now. Well mission completed. This stuff is amazing. Contrasting layers of rich and creamy rum-spiked marscarpone and cloud-like sponge cake soaked in an intense brew of strong coffee with a shot of kahlua. I’m telling you guys, this stuff in next-level. No need to get intimidated either – it’s way easier to make than I thought! I even served it at a little dinner party I had a few weekends ago. It’s an awesome make-ahead dessert because you can just make it, assemble it, and chill it until go time. I served them in individual champagne coupes for an extra festive touch. Hope you all have a lovely weekend! Mark and I have reservation to here for tonight! I’m so excited and I’ll be sure to report back with the all the details!
Ingredients for the Sponge Cake
4 large eggs, separated, room temperature
1 cup sugar, divided
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch (I used arrowroot flour)
Pinch of kosher salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using an electric mixer on low speed, beat egg whites in a large bowl until just combined. Slowly add ½ cup sugar, gradually increasing the speed to medium, and beat until a stiff meringue forms. Transfer to a medium bowl; chill until ready to use.
Whip egg yolks, 2 Tbsp. water, and remaining ½ cup sugar in the still-messy bowl you used for the meringue on high speed until a fluffy, ribbony mixture forms. Using a rubber spatula, gently add reserved meringue and fold until just combined. (Be nice. Streaks are fine. The less you manipulate this, the fluffier it will be later.)
Sift flour, cornstarch (or arrowroot flour), and salt into a medium bowl. Gently fold into egg mixture until no dry spots remain. Carefully transfer batter to prepared pan with spatula.
Bake cake until top is golden brown and still soft to the touch, 7–10 minutes. Let cake cool completely in pan. I picked the cake up by the parchment paper and placed it on a flat surface where I cut out circles the same shape as the glasses I was using.
Ingredients for Mascarpone Cream
2 cups mascarpone
½ cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Pinch of kosher salt
Assembly
½ cup freshly brewed espresso or strong coffee, cooled, divided
1 shot kahlua or coffee liqueur.
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Directions
Using an electric mixer on low speed, beat mascarpone, sugar, egg yolks, rum, heavy cream, and salt in a large bowl. Gradually increase the speed to medium as mixture becomes stable and beat until soft peaks form, but don’t over-whip.
Cut out sponge cake shapes the size of your dessert dish. Mix together the coffee and liqueur. Generously soak each cake piece with this mixture. Dollop the cream on top and then repeat with the sponge cake soak layer. Repeat this layering until you you have filled up the glass or container and top with a dusting of cocoa.
Notes
Recipe from here.
Can be made up to 8 hours ahead. Just store in fridge.
If you’re worried about raw eggs you can use pasteurized eggs but really fresh eggs should not be an issue.
I preferred this recipe when I used scant cups of sugar, wherever sugar is called for just use a little less to achieve the perfect amount of sweetness.