Since the last recipe was a bit complicated, I figured I'd stick with that theme and give you one of my favorite alcoholic dessert recipes. This is not for children! There is about a cup of liquor in the whole pan, which won't get you tipsy unless you eat the whole pan and even then you might not get too much of a buzz because of all the other good stuff in there. BUT if you're hell bent on a dessert inspired bender may I recommend mixing 4 oz of coffee, 2 oz of Kahlua, 2 oz of Brandy and 4 oz of Baileys (shake over ice and pour into a highball) and then a large helping of this tira and you might feel pretty good. Or just savor this dessert and all of its alcoholic goodness on its own. You can make this non-alcoholic by only using espresso, sugar and cream to dip the lady fingers in and just make a plain 'ol custard with the mascarpone... But where is the fun in that?
The first time I made this dish was when I was going to meet Matt's extended family for the first time and I wanted to make a good impression. To me this said, alcoholic dessert... and I was right! Since I was not 21 yet I had to ask my mom to buy me brandy and because my mom doesn't drink much (a tumbler of Baileys/year is more her speed, though I think I've gotten her into pina coladas too!) this was a bit tricky and we ended up with "Cask and Cream" instead of of regular brandy. This turned out to be brilliant and an excellent addition, but Maryland is no fun and I couldn't find it here so this time I just went with straight brandy. Moral of the story... If you want to impress your future in-laws bring alcoholic desserts, and Maryland is like prohibition lite.
In terms of time this takes, I'd give yourself an hour to do it mostly because of making the custard, which you have to do over a double boiler. Now as another disclaimer, this is not a true custard because it is made with whole eggs. If you'd prefer a richer TRUE custard, use 9 egg yolks instead of 6 whole eggs. This will also make your custard a more yellow color which some people might not find as attractive, but is so darn delicious! I originally got this recipe from Epicurious and although its a very nice recipe I have made some modifications to increase its alcoholic content and also make it extra tasty!
BUT just in case, here is the original link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tiramisu-with-Brandy-Custard-103162
Tiramisu with Brandied Custard
Ingredients:
6 large eggs
1 1/3 c. sugar
5 Tbs brandy
3- 8oz containers of mascarpone cheese
1 1/4 c. strong coffee/espresso
3/4 c. Kahlua
3/4 c. whipping cream
2 packages of lady finger cookies (~44 cookies)
1/4 c. unsweetened coco powder
Whisk eggs and 1/3 cup sugar in medium metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water.
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| Aha! Hello make shift double boiler! |
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| Note the probe sticking out of the bowl. It is my handy dandy wired meat thermometer. You can also use a candy thermometer for this, I just found it cumbersome and it got in the way. |
Whisk mascarpone in another large bowl to loosen. Run custard through a sieve to ensure no lumps get into the custard. Whip the custard and brandy into the mascarpone until smooth.
In a large bowl or mixing cup, add 1 cup sugar to strong coffee and Kahlua; whisk until sugar dissolves. Mix in cream.
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| Ummm Didn't have Kahlua, but I did have "espresso liquor" which was Kahlua knock-off. It worked great! |
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| Mmmmmmm Whipping cream! |
Submerge cookies in coffee-cream mixture until soaked (but not too long or else they'll disintegrate).
Place cookies on bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Working in batches, repeat with enough remaining cookies to just cover bottom of dish.
Spread half of mascarpone mixture over cookies.
Repeat soaking process with remaining cookies, placing them in single layer atop mascarpone mixture. Spread remaining mascarpone mixture over cookies.
Sprinkle unsweetened coco powder over the tiramisu
Refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours.
Ok, if you want to impress your future in-laws and they're OK with alcohol this is totally the way to go! Its also great for work, casual dining with friends or just one of those nights when you're sad/angry/frustrated, but don't feel like downing a pint of Hagan daas... This really is an amazingly delicious dish that is really not too hard (the custard is the hardest part, but YOU CAN DO IT!) to make and its so worth it to try. The only other inhibitory factor is cost. If you have to buy all the ingredients from from start to finish it can be expensive (mostly because of the liquor, but mascarpone can be pricy too at $4-5/tub) but if you happen to have brandy, cognac, or even Baileys, any of those are pretty good in the custard and that's half the financial battle. I will also be blogging how to make "homemade Kahlua" (or as Matt calls it Kahula) so that could be a good part of this dish as well. Every where I've ever brought this dish it has been a hit!
Happy eating!
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