you can find hundreds of recipes online for tiramisu. but i found three major problems with them. one, most of them call for raw eggs, and since allan won't eat anything with uncooked eggs, i had to find a work-around; two, if they didn't have raw eggs, they had lots of heavy whipping cream, i'm lactose intolerant and i have to keep the raw milk protiens down to a dull roar; and three, the cognac/brandy dillema, an ingredient that i almost never have around and that allan can't stand (the smell makes him sick). so i had to do some recipe combining and changing. the result is a very light and fluffy *cooked* egg tiramisu that has a wonderful combination of flavors and isn't overpoweringly alcoholic.
ingredients
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3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar, plus a pinch
8 ounces mascarpone cheese (that's 1 package)
2 cups strong espresso
2 tablespoons creme de cacao liqueur
2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
4 egg whites worth of powdered egg white
36 lady fingers (that's 3 packages), toasted
some unsweetened powdered cocoa
1. beat eggs until uniform in consistency,
add 1/2 cup sugar and whip until lemon
colored. place on top of double boiler
over simmering water and cook 10 minutes,
stirring constantly.
2. remove from heat and stir in mascarpone,
2 tablespoons espresso, 1 tablespoon creme
de cacao, and 1 tablespoon amaretto.
3. in another bowl combine powdered egg whites,
the correct amount of water according to
package directions, and a pinch of sugar.
beat until mixture forms soft peaks.
3. fold half of the egg whites into the cooked
egg and sugar mixture, then gently fold the
egg and sugar mixture into the egg whites.
4. combine the remaining espresso, creme de
cacao, and amaretto. sprinkle over toasted
lady fingers (putting it in a kitchen squirt
bottle works great for this).
5. layer lady fingers in the bottom of serving
dish. spread a thin layer of the mascarpone
over the lady fingers. dust with powered
cocoa. continue layering ladyfingers,
mascarpone, and cocoa finishing with a
chocolate-dusted mascarpone layer.
6. refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.