Metric Imperial

HERDRecipes

HERD RATING

Nonna’s Tiramisu

Prep Time:
20 minutes

Makes/Serves
quite a few

Filed under Cakes, Desserts

Dietary Notes: Gluten Free

by Robert Williams

Here’s the recipe straight from an honest-to-God Nonna.

Ingredients

  • 6 eggs, room temperature, separated
  • 6 tsp white sugar
  • 1 tub mascarpone cheese, room temperature
  • 6 Espresso-sized cups of espresso, cooled to room temperature
  • 1 oz Kahlua, Bailey's or rum, optional
  • 2 packages gluten-free ladyfingers
  • Cocoa powder

Directions

  1. Beat egg yolks together with sugar until creamy and very pale.
  2. Beat in the mascarpone cheese. Once mixed together, set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to hard peaks, about 5 minutes. (If there is any yolk mixed in with the whites, it won't start peaking, so just give it about the right amount of time.)
  4. Fold in the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Set aside.
  5. In a bowl suitable for dipping, mix together the espresso and liquor.
  6. Quickly dip the top of each ladyfinger into the coffee - do not saturate the ladyfinger or it will be too watery. Place a layer of the cookies, top-up, in a 9" x 12" pan to cover the base. Keep all the ladyfingers in the same direction for the entire layer.
  7. After one layer has been completed, add half the egg mixture and spread evenly over the layer of ladyfingers.
  8. Build a second layer of ladyfingers, with the orientation of the ladyfingers opposite to that of the first layer. Once second layer is completed, spread remainder of egg mixture evenly over the top layer of ladyfingers.
  9. Sprinkle cocoa powder over top and cover, using toothpicks to keep foil off the surface of the cake.
  10. Refrigerate overnight and serve.