By Izzy Giacoppo, Cover Photo By Lynda Kechiche (Unsplash)

Tiramisu is a classic sweet layered Italian dessert. The combination of lightly soaked ladyfingers and mascarpone is creamy and cocoa-y, topped off with a hint of coffee. While it is one of my favorite desserts to have after Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, it works as a dessert for any occasion, any time of year. Although the name sounds fancy, it is incredibly simple to make. 

Ingredients 

– 24 ladyfingers

– 3/4 cup espresso (you can use instant espresso)

– 1/3 cup sugar

– 10 ounces mascarpone cheese

– 4 tablespoons chocolate liqueur

– 1 cup of heavy cream

– 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (Droste Dutch cocoa is highly recommended)

Note: Typically, tiramisu is made with eggs, but I have omitted them because the absence of the eggs makes the dish lighter, and not everyone cares for raw eggs. Tiramisu is also traditionally made with coffee liqueur, but in this recipe we are substituting it with chocolate liqueur.

Directions 

Mix 1 tablespoon of the chocolate liqueur with the espresso and allow it to cool to room temperature. Gently dip 12 ladyfingers in the espresso and chocolate liqueur mixture. Line the bottom of a 9×9 dish with them. Beat the mascarpone, sugar, and 3 tablespoons of chocolate liquor until mixed together. Beat the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the cream in with the mascarpone mixture. Spoon half of the mixture on top of the first layer of ladyfingers, and dust with cocoa powder. Dip the remaining ladyfingers in the espresso mixture, and arrange them on top of the first layer. Spoon the remaining mascarpone mixture on top and sprinkle with cocoa powder, covering the entire top. Cover with either tin foil or plastic wrap without touching the top. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours. The longer you allow the dish to sit in the refrigerator, the better it will taste because it gives the ingredients a chance to fully come together. You can keep the dish refrigerated for up to 3 days. 

Although this recipe requires a little patience, there is no cooking or baking required and prep/cook time is short. The hardest part of the recipe is the waiting, but once you taste the spongy, fluffy dessert you will know that it was worth the wait!