Okay, so maybe by now you’ve probably seen that I make the World's Best Tiramisu (see under hobbies). This is in fact a self-proclaimed title however I do think I make a mighty fine tiramisu.

By popular request, I have decided to bless the world with my recipe.

Equipment

  • electric whisker
  • manual whisker
  • espresso machine (or buy some strong coffee)
  • 1 pot
  • 3 metal bowls (helps if one of them is rimmed and as large as the pot)
  • 1 small bowl
  • silicon spatula
  • tea strainer
  • approximately 9x13 inch casserole dish

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of espresso brought to room temperature
  • 100 milliliters of Marsala
  • a bag of at least 40 ladyfingers (always good to have a bit more)
  • 16 oz mascarpone fresh from the fridge (i.e., cold)
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream fresh from the fridge (i.e., cold)
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

  1. In the small bowl, stir 2 cups of room temperature espresso with 50 milliliters of Marsala.
  2. Add water to pot, place on stove, turn to medium-high heat.
  3. In the rimmed bowl, whisk together the yolks and granulated sugar. Whisk until there are clumps of sugar.
  4. Move rimmed bowl over pot (that should be steaming by now). Continue whisking over steam for 10 minutes, remove bowl from heat while whisking to cool down, place over steam again. Repeat until the yolk and sugar together until the mixture colour becomes lighter. This may take 15-20 minutes. A common test when it’s ready is to rub the mixture between your fingers and making sure it is not grainy. You may still feel some sugar but as long as it’s not very course. Remove from heat, and whisk for a few minutes to help cooldown the mixture. Set aside.
  5. In a separate metal bowl, beat together all of the mascarpone and the remaining 50 millileters of Marsala until well incorporated.
  6. Slowly introduce the cooled down yolk and sugar mixture into the mascarpone and beat with an electric mixer until well incorporated.
  7. In the third bowl, beat the cold heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
  8. Using a spatula, fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone and yolk mix. Gently fold until incorporated. Repeat two more times for the remaining 2/3 of the whipped cream. Fold until the colours mix otherwise the mixture will become grainy.
  9. Dip the ladyfingers one by one quickly in the espresso Marsala mixture and arrange in as a single layer in a casserole dish. Spread the cream over the layer. Dip and arrange the remaining lady fingers overtop the cream layer. Spread the remaining cream overtop the second layer. Make sure that the lady fingers are completely covered.
  10. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. The longer the better.
  11. Using the tea strainer as a duster, sprinkle as much or as little cocoa overtop your piece of the tiramisu.

What makes this the best tiramisu probably comes down to technique - the ladyfingers end up being so perfectly moist that it’s like a gentle gush of coffee with every bite. Try it and let me know (or don’t).

Tiramisu