Homemade Tiramisu

     I really do think that everyone needs to give Tiramisu a try - just once.  A light and airy dessert with a deep coffee and brandy taste. It was my birthday the other day and I decided to make my own Birthday Tiramisu. This is truly the closest I've come to authentic Italian Tiramisu.  Enjoy! Diane 

Ingredients: 

6 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese (room temp) 
1 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2  7oz packages of Italian LadyFingers 
1 cup of strong coffee (cold)
2 Tablespoons brandy
Rodelle Gourmet Baking Cocoa for dusting

Directions: 
   You'll want to gather all your ingredients and bowls and go over what order you will need items as this moves from step to step at a slightly quick pace. Here is my suggestion: Place the 6 egg yolks and sugar into a bowl, Set out the mascarpone cheese, Place the heavy whipping cream into a steel mixing bowl and set in fridge.   Have your baking dish (9x9), ladyfingers and a pastry brush at the ready.  A hand-mixer is preferred for this recipe. 
   Now, you're ready to start!  Add the eggs and sugar to the top of a double boiler and let the sugar dissolve into the eggs, keep a constant stir so you do not end up with scrambled eggs. You want to stir this mixture for about 6 minutes over a medium-high heat. The yolks should be thickened and lemon yellow colored.  Once ready, set aside to cool slightly while you move onto the next step. 
     Take your heavy whipping cream out of fridge and using a hand mixer, start on low speed, increasing the speed every 2 minutes until you're at the highest setting (whipping heavy cream slowly will let the cream retain its fullness without having to add a stabilizer.) After about 8-10 minutes you should have thick whipped cream with stiff peaks. Once ready, set aside for a moment. 
        Go back to your egg yolk mixture and add in the mascarpone cheese. Using the hand-mixer from whipped cream, blend the cheese into the egg mixture. (no need to clean off whipped cream from beaters.) Once blended, add egg mixture to whipped cream bowl. Using a large spatula, fold in the whipped cream until fully combined. 
         Now that your Sabayon (custard like filling) is ready - you're ready to assemble the dessert.  It's just like layering a lasagna.  Place a layer of ladyfingers down into baking dish, add the brandy to the cold coffee and stir. Using a pastry brush, brush the coffee mixture over the ladyfingers ((most ladyfingers sold are super moist and delicate, if you "dunk" the cake into the coffee - you'll have a mess!)) Spoon half the cream filling over the ladyfingers and repeat the layering process ending with a layer of cream filling on top. Refrigerate at least 6 hours. Dust with cocoa before serving.

Recipe Notes:
**IF you have true HARD Italian LadyFingers (which are harder then the American version, then you can soak them in the coffee/brandy mixture) Otherwise, IF they are SOFT - use the pastry brush method. 
**I used my 10x7 baking dish and 3 layers 
the most common is a 9x9 baking dish and 2 layers 
**you can omit the brandy but, its preferred. 

Recipe adapted from: Chef Dennis Littley 
Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home