White: Tips for making a more tasteful tiramisu

I had such a nice weekend recently. I was invited to the home of Peter and Lee Cove for Friday dinner (they live less than a mile from me). There were five of us and the food was terrific.

I did Bolognese with an amazing tasty high-fiber pasta, while Peter made quickly sautéed kale topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano and pine nuts, plus Indian pudding for dessert. (I don’t believe I’ve given you a recipe for this healthy, historic pudding, but I will next week).

The conversation was lively — most of them watch only Fox News and I never do, so you can see where the evening ended, but this happens all the time and we still like each other a lot.

The next morning, with snow promised but never delivered, I drove to Newbury, Massachusetts to spend the weekend with my son, daughter-in-law and three of my granddaughters. I took boeuf bourguignon and fixings for Caesar salad, and my son Peter had baked baguettes and Sydney, the 17-year-old high school senior, made tiramisu. Her tiramisu was more delicious than mine (I use pound cake, she uses ladyfingers and I like her ingredient better).

Then we watched a movie from Netflix (none of us liked it). The next morning we went out for breakfast in Newburyport. All the way home, I said a little prayer (and continue to do so); Sydney, who wants to become a biomedical engineer, is hoping to get the letter that she was admitted to the University of Rochester, where I, my husband and his sister graduated, and where Sydney’s great-grandfather was a professor of music. Let’s hope being a legacy works.

Tiramisu

Adapted* from the All-New All-Purpose Joy of Cooking (Scribner, New York, 1997)

24 ladyfingers

5 large egg yolks

one-third cup sugar

one-third cup sweet Marsala

1 tablespoon water

one-half cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

12 to 14 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened

three-quarters cup cooled espresso or extra-strong coffee

2 to 3 tablespoons rum or brandy

2 to 3 tablespoons sugar

5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, grated

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange ladyfingers on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium heat-proof bowl, beat on high speed egg yolks and one-third cup sugar until thick and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Whisk in Marsala and water. (If you are worried about the raw eggs, set the bowl in a large skillet of barely simmering water and whisk or beat on low speed until mixture reaches 160 degrees.)

In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream and vanilla. In a large bowl, place mascarpone cheese. Fold in the whipped cream and the cooled egg yolk mixture.

In a shallow bowl, combine coffee, rum or brandy and 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar. Dip half the ladyfingers into the espresso mixture and arrange in a serving dish (a trifle or a souffle bowl), leaving a little space between each. Spread half of the mascarpone filling over and between the ladyfingers. Sprinkle with half of the grated chocolate. Dip the remaining ladyfingers in the remaining coffee mixture and arrange on top. Spread remaining filling over and between the ladyfingers and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate. Sift over the unsweetened cocoa.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

*Sydney uses a little less liquor than it calls for; as do I.