Birthday Tiramisu

My favorite thing about my birthday is the chance to make myself a birthday dessert. I usually spend weeks -  sometimes months - deciding what to make, looking for the perfect recipe, and generally making a big deal out of dessert. You know, like I usually do... but around my birthday I have a great excuse!

To illustrate how bad I am at this blogging thing (and also how hectic December was), my 25th birthday was over a month ago and I'm just getting around to posting this! But, true story, this was unbelievable. I must have said "I can't believe I made this!" at least ten times. That good.

This year I  had wanted to try making tiramisu, and my birthday provided the perfect opportunity. Not only do I love tiramisu a LOT more than cake, my December birthday gave the procrastinator in me the chance to shine. I made the ladyfingers from scratch as well, but don't be impressed: rather than ambition or ability, the decision to bake them was due to some rather painful memories of my mom sending me to 1,048,934 grocery stores in search of ladyfingers every time she had to make a charlotte rousse. Thankfully, this wasn't often.

I loosely followed Mario Batali's recipe, mostly because I felt like he knows his desserts. However, the cheapskate in me couldn't justify using 2 egg whites and 4 egg yolks - no matter how good my intentions, I never end up using leftover egg whites. Instead, I used 3 each of eggs and yolks. I found a number of recipes that included whipping cream and I liked the idea of a fluffier dessert, so I also added that to the original recipe.

Without further ado,

Tiramisu
adapted from here

4 oz espresso, strong
2 oz liquor (I used dark rum)
3 eggs, separated
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

8 oz mascarpone cheese
2 cups heavy cream, whipped
24 savoiardi (lady fingers)
6 oz shaved chocolate


Mix coffee and liquor together and set aside.
Over a double boiler, beat egg yolks and sugar until mixture lightens in color and forms ribbons. Allow to cool 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold mascarpone cheese and heavy cream into egg yolk mixture one quarter at a time. Add vanilla, then gently combine the mascarpone mixture with the egg whites. Set aside.

Dip each ladyfinger into the espresso and lay along the bottom of several small glasses or a large dish. Top this layer with half of the mascarpone mixture and sprinkle with half of the shaved chocolate. Repeat, then enjoy