Tiramisu - Cook's Illustrated

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 2 1/2 cups strong black coffee, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or 3 tablespoons instant coffee
• 9 tablespoons dark rum, divided (optional)
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 1/2 lbs mascarpone cheese
• 3/4 cup heavy cream (cold)
• 14 ounces ladyfingers (42 to 60, depending on size)
• 3 1/2 tablespoons cocoa, preferably dutch-processed
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate (optional) or 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate, grated (optional)

Recipe

• 1 combine coffee, espresso powder and 5 tbsp rum in a wide bowl. stir until espresso dissolves. set aside.
• 2 using a whisk, hand mixer, or stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg yolks on low just until smooth. add sugar and salt and beat at medium speed until pale yellow and thick, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. add remaining 4 tbsp rum and beat until combined, 20-30 seconds. add mascarpone and beat on medium speed until no lumps remain, 45-60 seconds. transfer to a large bowl.
• 3 in same work bowl (no need to clean), whisk cream on medium until frothy, about 1 minutes. turn up to high and whip to stiff peaks, 1-2 minutes more. fold 1/3 of whipped cream into eggs to lighten, then fold in remaining whipped cream gently to preserve the air.
• 4 drop ladyfingers one at a time into coffee mixture. quickly roll over, then transfer to a 13x9x2 pan. (do not submerge the ladyfingers in the coffee; they should remain in the liquid no more than about 2 seconds total.) continue until the pan is filled with a single layer of dipped cookies, breaking or trimming cookies to make them fit.
• 5 spread half the cream mixture over the cookies, filling the pan out to the corners. put 2 tbsp cocoa in a fine-mesh sieve and sift over the entire surface.
• 6 repeat dipping and arranging ladyfingers to create a second full layer. spread remaining cream over the ladyfingers, then sift remaining cocoa over the top. clean edges of dish with dry paper towel, then cover with plastic. refrigerate 6-24 hours before serving. sprinkle with grated chocolate before serving, if using.