Birthday Wishes!

I love to bake and my kids have given me their orders for their birthday cakes.  This year, my daughter (her birthday is today!) gave me her birthday gift list and it included what she wanted to eat for dinner during her birthday week.  Yes, I did say week. So, list in hand, I made her the veggie lasagna and tiramisu. Tiramisu is an Italian dessert that is so delicious and a favorite of my family.  Tiramisu means pick me up in Italian.  The recipe below includes raw eggs. If you are looking for a recipe with cooked eggs, please try PW's Tiramisu recipe.

Here's my recipe:

Tiramisu

5 egg yokes (from the freshest eggs you can find)
1 pound Mascarpone cheese (Italian dessert cheese)
6 egg whites
1 3/4 cups of cooled, brewed espresso
1/2 cup of brandy, amaretto or cognac
3 Tablespoons of powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons of granulated sugar
1 - 1 1/2 packages of lady fingers (I use Balocco Savoiardi - a crispy cookie)
1/2 cup of shaved dark chocolate (or cocoa powder)

Mix egg yokes and granulated sugar until thick and frothy, about 5 minutes. Yes, this is raw eggs.  If this really bothers you, you can "coddle" the eggs over a double boiler, whisking constantly with the sugar for 2 minutes after the water in the double boiler has reached a boil.  If you don't whisk, you'll end up with scrambled eggs.  Add  mascarpone cheese and stir until smooth.  2 Tablespoons of cooled, brewed espresso, stir until incorporated.

Take egg whites and whisk until you have the stiff peaks of a meringue.  Gently fold egg whites into mascarpone and egg yoke mixture.

In a small shallow dish, add remaining espresso and brandy. Dip each ladyfinger into espresso for only 5 seconds. Letting the ladyfingers soak too long will cause them to fall apart. Place the soaked ladyfinger on the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch baking dish, breaking them in half if necessary in order to fit the bottom.

Spread evenly 1/2 of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers. Sprinkle 1/2 of the shaved chocolate.  Arrange another layer of soaked ladyfingers and top with remaining mascarpone mixture. Sprinkle with rest of shaved chocolate. You can shave more chocolate depending on your taste

Cover tiramisu with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 8 hours.

ENJOY!!!!