Secret Project number eleven

Welcome to this week's early Secret project!

Konina is  fellow grad student a CCA and she just unveiled her website koninabiswas.com. Konina is the first CCA grad student to put aside her homework, and contribute to the secret project series, and I hope she is not the last. The rest of you could learn a thing or two about time management from Konina, she gets things done.

Enjoy this food-heavy post!

Konina's Tiramisu Recipe

with step-by-step photos and instructions

Begin by making the Zabaglione

Zabaglione:
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup dry Marsala
Pinch salt

1)    Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, Marsala, and salt in a large bowl until blended.

2)    Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, but do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Whisk the egg mixture over the simmering water until it is thick and creamy, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3)     Refrigerate to chill completely (Here is where you would fold in the chocolate mixture if you wanted Chocolate Zabaglione

Tiramisu
Ingredients
•    6 ounces container mascarpone cheese
•    2/3 cup whipping cream
•    1/4 cup sugar
•    Zabaglione
•    2 1/2 cups espresso coffee, warmed
•    24 crisp ladyfinger cookies (recommended: Savoiardi)
•    Unsweetened cocoa powder, for garnish
•    Dark chocolate shavings, for garnish

Directions
Place the mascarpone cheese in a large bowl and set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat the cream and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a medium bowl until soft peaks form.
Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone. Then fold in the chilled Zabaglione. Cover and refrigerate.

(Fold: make large circles with the spatula and drag spatula down the middle of the bowl. The point is to mix the ingredients without de-fluffing it.. so the least amount of circles the better)

Line a 9 1/4 by 5 by 2 3/4-inch metal loaf pan (or any container) with plastic wrap, allowing the plastic to extend over the sides. Working with 1 cookie at a time, dip 8 cookies into the espresso, and arrange in a single layer side by side over the bottom of the prepared pan.
Spoon 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture over the cookies to cover. Repeat dipping 8 of the cookies in the espresso and layering the cookies and remaining mascarpone mixture 2 more times. Dip the remaining 8 cookies in the espresso and arrange side by side atop the tiramisu. Press lightly to compact slightly (the last layer will extend above the pan sides). Cover the tiramisu with plastic and refrigerate at least 6 hours.

Unwrap the plastic from atop the tiramisu. Invert the tiramisu onto a platter. Remove the plastic. Sift the cocoa over the tiramisu, and with a vegetable peeler or sharp knife, make dark chocolate shavings and sprinkle over top.
(In the picture the plastic wrap was forgotten about.. so we just left it in the bowl)

Throw a tea party and serve other baked goods with your tiramisu!