Spiked Tiramisu - Candie Version

The first time I've ever heard and tasted Tiramisu was when I was in Japan.  Naturally, I thought Tiramisu originated in Japan because it sounded Japanese.  Tiramisu literally means "pick-me-up" in Italian, the reason being the ladyfingers being dipped into really strong espresso coffee.

Tiramisu traditionally also has fresh eggs in them, but the recipe I found did away with the eggs.  Basically, like any recipe in the world, you can recreate it to suit your taste.  Whether you want it less coffee, more rum, less cream, more cheese, it's really up to you, but I follow the guidelines of Laura Vitale's recipe to create my Tiramisu.

1 lb of Mascarpone Cheese, softened

1-1/2 cup of heavy cream

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp of vanilla

2-1/2 cups of espresso, cooled

2 tbsp dark rum

unsweetened cocoa powder

~30 pcs of lady fingers

In a large bowl whip the heavy cream and set in the fridge until you are ready to use it (cream stays stiffer longer if  kept cold) .
In a large bowl cream together the mascarpone, vanilla and sugar, fold in half of the whipped cream into mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whipped cream being careful not to over mix.

To assemble, in a large bowl mix together the coffee and rum and set aside, also have ready the cocoa powder and ladyfingers. Have a 9 by 9 square baking pan ready to start assembling. Dip each ladyfinger into the coffee mixture and lay in the bottom of your pan, once the whole bottom of the pan has the coffee and rum soaked ladyfingers ready pour over half of the mascarpone and cream mixture, spread evenly over ladyfingers and sprinkle the top with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder.
Arrange the remaining coffee soaked ladyfingers on top of the layers and spread over the remaining filling. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder.

Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours before serving.

As I say, third time's the charm, I made this recipe 3x and I got the perfect taste for me the 3rd time around.  Here's what to watch out for:

• Measure, Measure, Measure! at first I forgot to measure my cream and my first tiramisu ended up being really creamy.  Depending on your taste, don't put too much of the creamy mixture.
• Freeze! Cheese Police! depends on what you like, i used Cream Cheese instead of Mascarpone, not only they're hard to find, they're a bit expensive too.
• Rum, Rum, Rum! I like my tiramisu spiked!
• Coffee is not espresso!  You do not dip the lady fingers in coffee because it's already been diluted with water, to get perfect espresso, order it from Starbucks!
• Not all lady fingers are made equal! Look for a good brand lady finger, try dipping it in milk then eating it soggy, that's basically the texture it'll have when you finish the tiramisu; you want it smooth with no lumps.  Laura recommends Savogliardi brand of lady fingers.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know how it goes! :D