Tiramisu: straight from an Italian kitchen

If the holiday season has you feeling a little tired or overwhelmed, tiramisu is the dessert for you. It literally means “pick-me-up.” Learned in the Tuscan kitchen of my WWOOF olive harvest hosts, this is better than any restaurant-bought tiramisu I ate during my 2 month-stay in Italy. So… from Kirsten’s kitchen to yours… Enjoy!

Tiramisu ingredients

• 500 grams mascarpone (2 cups is about 450 grams)
• 5 eggs
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 2 packages Pavesini Cookies (any brand of ladyfingers will be good for this, but the Pavesini cookies are so light and absorb the coffee mixture very well)

• 3 cups coffee mixed with with 1 tablespoon brandy in a bowl
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• salt

1. Separate egg whites in a large bowl and yolks in a medium bowl.

2. Cream egg yolks and sugar until consistency changes to be thicker.

3. Beat in mascarpone by the spoonful.

4. Add a pinch of salt.

5. Wash beaters and then beat egg whites in a separate large bowl. Add a pinch of salt and beat until it makes peaks.

6. Use a metal spoon to fold yolk mixture into egg whites. Don’t overmix!

7. Cover the bottom of a large bowl or serving dish with a layer of the egg mixture.

8. Add a layer of Pavesini cookies that have been dipped in coffee/brandy mixture.

9. Repeat this process of layering egg mixture and Pavesini cookies. After the third layer of egg mixture, sprinkle a handful of chocolate chips over the egg mixture before adding cookies. Do this every third layer.

10. Once all the egg mixture is gone, decorate the top with cookies, chocolate chips, and finish with sifted unsweetened cocoa powder.

11. Refrigerate at least two hours– but overnight is best!

Buon appetito!

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