Italian Tiramisu’ – kids friendly

Rich, decadent and dreamy, that’s how I would describe Tiramisu’: a very Italian dessert, incredibly simple to prepare and stunningly delicious.

This recipe is 100% kids’ friendly. No caffeine 🙂

This is all you will need:

Let’s start separating the egg yolks from the egg whites. I suggest the eggs to be room temperature and most of all fresh and organic: we will not cook the eggs, so their quality is extremely important!

Place the egg whites in a deep bowl with a pinch of salt and start whisking with an electric beater for 4/5 minutes up until you will obtain soft stiff peaks. Set aside.

In another bowl mix together with an electric beater the egg yolks with the sugar. In 2/3 minutes you will obtain a pale yellow cream.

It’s time to add the Mascarpone cheese. If you can find the fresh one…oh, wow, you will taste the difference!! Otherwise, the store bought one will be fine 🙂

Keep mixing with the electric beater up until the Mascarpone is well incorporated.

Slowly add the stiff egg whites and mix everything with a wooden spoon very delicately. You do not want the fluffy egg white mix to break down, but instead you want to give body and air to the creamy mix. The final result is a very light and hairy cream. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix the decaffeinated coffee with the milk. They should both be warm or room temperature, not cold. This is a variation to the original recipe that uses dark espresso coffee. In this way kids will be able to enjoy a no caffeine and light Tiramisu’!

I do not add any sugar to the coffee mix, but if you want to go for a sweeter touch you can always add 1 Tbsp of cane sugar.

Take a big rectangular shape glass Pyrex baking dish and the ladyfinger cookies. Ladyfinger cookies are a must for the Tiramisu recipe as they will absorb the coffee mix without breaking and adding an extra creamy texture to the final result.

Dip the ladyfinger cookies in the coffee mix for 3 seconds each side. I came up with the 3 seconds rule after many many tests. And remember the temperature of the coffee mix: warm or room temperature. If the coffee is hot the ladyfingers will break, if the coffee is too cold the ladyfingers will need more time in the mix to absorb it.

Place the ladyfingers in the baking dish one next to another forming a nice layer.

Cover the ladyfingers layer with half of the creamy mix.

Spread evenly the mix.

Repeat another layer of ladyfingers soaked in the coffee.

Cover with the remaining creamy mix and level the surface.

Final touch: sift some cocoa powder (unsweetened it better) on top covering all the cream. My personal suggestion: be generous with the cocoa, a nice thick layer.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving (overnight would be better) and indulge yourself with this heavenly dessert 🙂