Tiramisu

My boyfriend left me for a month this summer to go off to Europe and have fantastic adventures with his friends, leaving me behind with nothing to do but pour my heart into baking and playing the guitar.

Okay, sob story over. There is a happy ending. I've gotten pretty decent at playing the guitar, I started this blog to archive my ridiculous amounts of baking, and he brought me back a present which made this post possible. Yes, this present was a cookbook, but not just any cookbook. An Italian cookbook. He knows me too well to know that this is seriously the best present I could ever ask for. Forget jewelry, just give me a new cookbook and I'm happy as can be. The cookbook is full of pictures and recipes and is without a doubt my favorite one to date. So, without hesitation, I flipped to the dessert section in the back and picked a staple Italian treat. Tiramisu.

Ingredients:
3 large eggs, separated
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 lb mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
8 oz sponge fingers
1/4 cup very strong black coffee
5 oz semisweet or dark chocolate, coarsely grated
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Grab a 9"x13" baking dish (or as the book says, a "large dessert dish") and set aside.

Separate all the eggs and place the 5 egg yolks in a mixing bowl.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until the mixture is very pale and creamy.

Keep 3 of the egg whites.

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt in a large bowl until stiff.

Stir the mascarpone into the egg yolk mixture. Then fold in the egg whites.

Spoon 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture innto the pan and sprinkle with half the chocolate.

Add a layer of the sponge fingers, dipping them in the coffee before arranging them in the pan. (I skipped this step since I can't stand coffee, which is too bad since I'm supposed to be a coffee-loving college student.)

Add another layer of mascarpone cream. Sprinkle with the remaining chocolate and top with the remaining sponge fingers, dipping them in the coffee before arranging them in the pan. Cover with the remaining mascarpone cream. Dust with the cocoa and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

After trying the tiramisu sans coffee, I'm starting to think that maybe I should just suck it up and use the coffee despite my personal feelings. I really think that it is missing some flavor dimention without it. Hot chocolate, perhaps?