Back in college I decided to take a few Italian language classes. One thing that has stuck with me is learning that Tiramisu (Tira mi su) literally translates to “pick me up”. I always thought that was so clever, especially since I often eat a dessert whenever I need a little pick-me-up.
Unlike many Italian desserts Tiramisu is a fairly new invention. Although its creator is often debated, most accounts agree that it was created in Italy sometime in the early 1980’s. The traditional recipe calls for ladyfingers to be soaked in strong coffee, often spiked with liqueur, then layered with a mascarpone cream that is made with raw eggs. I have always enjoyed Tiramisu, but to be honest the raw eggs always made me a little nervous. So I decided to try replicating the famous dessert as a cake.
For my cake version of Tiramisu I made yellow cake as a base then soaked it in coffee-liqueur syrup. I then filled and frosted the cake in a light and fluffy mascarpone whipped cream and finished it off with a dusting of cocoa powder. It will definitely be a good pick me up any day of the week.
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