Tiramisu

♪♫ * Here's a story,

Of a man who's crazy.

With his friend, they cleaned out the entire boooowwll ..... ♪♫

*(Sing to the theme song of The Brady Bunch)

Needless to say, the two of them were off tiramisu for a long while after that. The funniest part of the story is .... I'd made the coffee mixture so strong, they didn't get to sleep til 6:30 am the next morning!

I guess you should decide how strong you'd like the coffee with bedtime in mind .... unless you're immune to the effects of caffeine. And of course, eating the whole thing didn't help! :D

Since this was the first time I'm working with pasteurized eggs, I'm not sure if it's just me but it seemed like it took a much longer time to whisk the funny-looking, cloudy egg whites into peaks. But eventually, it all came together nicely ..... phew!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups strong black coffee

1/4 cup (or more, hic) coffee liquer of your choice (I use Kahlua, sometimes Dark Rum)

2 pasteurized eggs, separated

1/4 cup caster sugar

250 g mascarpone / ricotta cheese

1 cup cream, whipped

Savoyardi biscuits / Genoise sponge (here, I used savoyardi fingers)

Dark cocoa powder

SERVING DISH SIZE

6 1/2" X 8 1/2" X 3" deep dish

or

Create individual servings

METHOD

Combine coffee and liquer in a deep bowl, wide enough to dip the biscuits in.

Beat egg yolks and sugar until mixture turns pale and thickened. Add cheese and mix until just combined. Fold in whipped cream.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks stage and fold quickly and gently into cream mixture until well combined.

Dip the biscuits, one at a time, flat side down, one side only, into coffee mixture. * Do not over soak the biscuits otherwise it's gonna get all soggy. Line the base of serving dish in a single layer.

Spread half of the cream mixture over the biscuits. Smooth out the surface with a spatula. Dust with an even layer of cocoa powder.

Dip more biscuits and place over dusted layer. Spread remaining cream over biscuits. Smooth surface and finish off with another dusting of cocoa powder.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve chilled on its own, with fresh fruits or a fruit coulis.