I searched high and low for a GOOD "mormon" version which didn't include alcohol or coffee but would still taste as close to the real thing as "mormonly" possible. Let's just say I didn't find anything worth testing out. It is an Italian dessert after all and I don't want to drag it through the mud! I knew pretty quickly I'd have to concoct something myself! And I did, and I was SUPER nervous it wouldn't turn out, BUT IT DID! I served it to guests who weren't fans of coffee either, (crazy I know, but I did have a back up dessert if this flopped, which it didn't!) They both loved this dessert and had 2 huge helpings a piece! A word of caution: I've never tried a real tiramisu so I have no idea if this tastes similar but I assume it does, since I tried so hard to get it similar. And even if it's not, it's super delicious!!!!!!!! Also I live in Rexburg so I had no clue where to get lady fingers, but the Nilla wafers were a delicious substitute!
***If you weren't aware, Kahlua is a Coffee Flavored Alcoholic Beverage. Extremeley popular to use when baking such desserts as chocolate cake, fruit dips, tiramisu and nameless others. I used a Kahlua flavored syrup that contains NO ALCOHOL. Also, I couldn't find anything on the bottle or on their website that says they use real coffee to flavor this syrup!***
<------ p.s. I bought this at Sam's Club! And I did not mean to get Sugar Free! Sugar Free worked fine but I usually avoid Sugar Free at all costs, because of the funky after taste Splenda usually leaves. For this recipe I didnt even notice! =D
A classic Tiramisu is made up of 3 layers: Whipped Cream, a Marscarpone Custard layer (I got the recipe from here) and the cookies (traditionally Ladyfingers) soaked in coffee (we will use a hot chocolate with Kahlua syrup)! It sounds more like a Trifle now, doesn't it!? For this recipe I will seperate the ingredients and the directions for each layer! Read ALL of the directions before attempting!
Marscarpone Layer:
6 Egg YOLKS
3/4 c. Sugar
2/3 c. Milk
16 oz, 1 lb Marscarpone Cheese (I found mine at Wal-Mart in the cheese section by the Deli!)
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk in the milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture boils. Boil gently for 1 minute, then cool slightly and finally, cover and let sit in the fridge for 1 hour.
After an hour, beat the marscarpone cheese into the custard. (Warning: do NOT taste this stuff alone, it's not that great! And that goes for all of the layers separately! Something happens when they sit together in layers overnight.... MAGIC!)
Whipped Cream Layer:
1 1/4 c. Heavy Cream
1 tsp. Vanilla
3-4 Tbs. Powdered Sugar
Freeze Bowl and beater for 30 minutes prior, it helps whip up the cream better! Beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks are just about to form, then add the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks do form! Be careful not to over beat or else you will have a thick butter like substance!
Soaked Cookies layer:
2 Boxes of Vanilla Wafers (Next time I want to try Twinkies!)
1+1/2 C. Milk
1/4 c. Cocoa
1/4 c. Sugar
1/8 tsp. Salt
1+1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1/4 c. +2 Tbs. Kahlua Flavoring Syrup (Or coffee flavored or tiramisu flavor! They have it! I've seen it online!)
In a saucepan heat the milk until almost boiling. In a small bowl whisk together the sugar, cocoa and salt. Add the cocoa mixture to the almost boiling milk. Whisk on medium heat until thoroughly incorporated. Take off the heat and add in the vanilla. Pause at this step until you are ready to assemble the tiramisu!
Once the Marscarpone Custard and the Whipped Cream Layer are ready you can pour some of the Vanilla Wafers in an 8x8 pan and pour the chocolate mixture over them. I let mine sit in the mixture for 2-3 minutes. You want them to soak up the flavoring but not make the cookies complete mush. Repeat until all of the cookies have been soaked. (Does this recipe look familiar to you? It's the recipe for Hot Chocolate on the side of the Hershey's Cocoa Box!)
Assembly:
Take the soaked wafer cookies and put 3 layers on the bottom of a Trifle bowl.
Add a layer of marscarpone and a whipped cream layer on top of that! Repeat making sure you end with a whipped cream layer on top! Dust with cocoa! (In my trifle bowl I was able to get 3 layers of each!) THIS NEXT STEP IS IMPORTANT: Refrigerate overnight, or for at least 24 hours so that the flavors can mature!
We ate ours with some homemade hot chocolate! The same recipe that I used to soak the vanilla wafers in! I let the guests choose if they would like some kahlua flavoring in their hot chocolate or not!
And if you are curious, this is what the Marscarpone Cheese packaging looks like! I bought mine at Wal-Mart in the cheese section by the deli, not the cheese section in the back with the cottage cheese, sour cream, cheese sticks etc.!
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