Tiramisu I

Description

A classical italian dessert.

Ingredients

• 500 g mascarpone (an Italian creamy cheese, you can substitute with ricotta, another Italian cheese, for a low-fat ver)
• 4 eggs
• 150 g caster sugar
• 1/2-1 cup strong coffee
• 300 g ladyfingers or plain sponge cakes, cut in squares
• cocoa
• 3 tablespoons brandy or coffee liqueur (I personally prefer it without spirits) (optional)

Directions

• beat sugar and egg yolks until white and frothy.
• whisk egg whites until stiff.
• fold mascarpone (or ricotta) into egg mixture.
• add egg whites carefully.
• pour coffee (and brandy or coffee liqueur if using) in a shallow bowl, dip biscuits (or pieces of sponge cake) in it, taking care not to soak them completely, and put them in a square tin (actually I make it in a glass loaf tin) in a single layer
• cover with the cheese cream and continue layering the ingredients, leaving the cream on top, dust with cocoa
• cover and refrigerate for a few hours or even overnight so that the biscuits have time to become moist and flavourful.