My Mom… I inherited her love of cooking and short stature. That beautiful nugget is only 4’10” and the sweetest thing I have ever met. At 5’2″, I feel like a giant when I’m around her. She is a breath of fresh air and does not have a mean bone in her body. She has the biggest heart and is the nicest, most selfless person I have ever met.
My Mom gave me this recipe and I can’t help but smile every time I make it. She is 100% Italian and the best cook. My parents live in Kansas City which is about 3 hours from Des Moines. I miss them dearly and would give anything to have them live right down the street from us. I talk to my Mom at least 3x a day and sometimes that is not enough. When Doug and I decided to stay in Des Moines after college my first thought was my Mom. I always pictured Doug & I moving back to my hometown of Kansas City so our future little ones could be minutes away from my parents. My mom always tells me that we tell God our plans and he laughs. Even though we are 3 hours away, Ripken & Roman have the closest bond with their Nonna & Nonno. Our 4 year old thinks that his Nonno can fix or build anything (he’s right!) and his Nonna makes the best bread and chocolate chip cookies (he’s right about that, too!). I am so grateful Doug convinced me to stay put because I know this is exactly where we are supposed to be.
Ok, onto the best dessert EVER… This is the best tiramisu I have ever had. Ever. Tiramisu means ‘pick me up’ in Italian because it has coffee & coffee liqueur in it. It gives you a nice little jolt and has the best flavor. It’s a decadent dessert with mascarpone and lady fingers… true heaven. This is perfect for a crowd or you can portion it out into 2 or 3 smaller dishes. Our friend had a birthday this past weekend and Doug went to a friends house to watch the fights Saturday night so I divvied the recipe into 3 smaller dishes (we needed a tiny one for our household, of course). Prep takes about 10 minutes. Super easy and DELICIOUS!
You will need:
- 2 cups strong coffee, cooled
- 2 Tbsp. coffee liqueur + 1/4 cup (I use Kahlua)
- 1 Tbsp. instant coffee
- 5 Large egg yolks
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 16 oz. Mascarpone
- 16 oz. Cool whip
- Lady fingers (20-25 cookies)
- 3 Tbsp. Cocoa powder
- 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish
Coffee Mixture
– In a small bowl, whisk together coffee, 2 Tbsp. coffee liqueur & instant coffee until dissolved. Set aside
Custard Mixture
– In a large mixing bowl, whisk yolks on low until combined (about 5 seconds)
– Add sugar + salt and beat on high for 1 minute. Add mascarpone + 1/4 cup coffee liqueur. Beat until combined. Add cool whip & combine. Set mixture aside
Assembly
– Quickly (do not soak the cookies, just dip them) dunk each side of the lady fingers into the coffee mixture (about 1 second her side)
– Lay the dunked lady fingers in rows on the bottom baking dish. Once you have a crowded layer, add a layer of the custard mixture and spread evenly. Repeat another layer of dunked lady fingers & the rest of the custard
– Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or over night (this allows the lady fingers to soak up the coffee mixture & become soft)
– Right before serving, dust with cocoa completely covering the top
I think it’s safe to say Ripken was pretty excited to be my assistant for the day 😉
Give this recipe a try… You will not be disappointed!
-Madeline
