monaluna: making tiramisu

Every year our friends Steve and Damon hold what they call an "Italian scratch party" in honor of Steve's Italian grandmother. Everyone brings an Italian dish that they've made from scratch, and then, once the party is underway, we all make handmade ravioli using Steve's grandmother's recipe and her beautiful antique ravioli tools. You can choose to make the filling, make the dough, roll it into long strips or assemble the little raviolis, crimping the edges with grandmother's brass roller (or a fork, if you missed out on the fancy tools). It's always a great time, and the food is absolutely divine!

This year, I signed up for dessert, and since I've been on a bit of a tiramisu kick lately, I decided to give it a try. Since the party can get large, I thought I should make a big one, so here's the recipe for a giant (party sized) tiramisu:

TIRAMISU
10 egg yolks
1 1/2 cup sugar for yolks
4 cups mascarpone cheese
5 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar for whites
1 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
3 cups cooled espresso
1+ cup Kalhua
2 packages Savoiardi lady fingers
3 Tbsp cocoa
1/2 - 1 cup shaved chocolate

First whip the cream and return to the refrigerator until needed. With an electric hand mixer, whip the yolks and the sugar together until light in color and thick (ribbon stage). Add in the mascarpone until well blended.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until they form soft peaks. Then add in the sugar and beat until stiff. Fold the eggwhites into the mascarpone mixture, and then fold in the whip cream.

Pour the espresso and kalhua into a shallow bowl or pie plate. Soak the ladyfingers in the mixture, 1 at a time, being careful not to over-soak (I did 3 quick turns per cookie), and arrange in the bottom of a large serving dish (mine was about 10x15"). Then pour 1/2 of the whipped mixture over the ladyfingers and smooth with a spatula.