Grand Marnier Tiramisu – A delicious Recipe

Ingredients

• 16 oz. Mascarpone cheese
• 4 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. liquor (Grand Marnier, Kahlua, Rum)
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream, chilled
• 24-30 lady finger cookies (fits a glass pan 7.5"x 9.5 x 4". I used Goya brand )
• 1 cup strong black coffee or espresso, room temperature
• 2 Tbs. liquor (same flavor used above)
• 2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder to dust the top

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl add the mascarpone cheese, vanilla extract and liquor and whisk at medium speed for 30 seconds until creamy. Do not overmix. Scrape the sides, cover and set aside.
2. Remove the top bowl of a double boiler and set it aside.
3. Place 1-2 inches of water in the bottom pot of a double boiler, bring to boil, then simmer to continue gently boiling.
4. Into the top bowl of a double boiler add 4 egg yolks and 2/3 cup of granulated sugar and mix with a hand whisk until well incorporated.
5. Place the bowl with the yolks mixture snugly over the bottom pot of the double boiler (make sure the top bowl does not touch the boiling water) and whisk vigorously for exactly 2 minutes, which will dissolve the sugar and create a smooth light lemon color paste. The temperature of the egg yolks should be 160 degrees F. Remove from heat to cool off to room temperature. Overmixing or overheating will make this paste grainy.
6. Pour the egg mixture onto the mascarpone cheese mixture, add salt and whisk for a couple of minutes with an electric mixer until incorporated, then use a hand whisk for a couple of minutes to create evenly smooth paste. Do not overmix so it does not get grainy or begin to separate. Set aside.
7. In another bowl using and electric mixer, whip the cold heavy cream until it begins to thicken. Then use a hand whisk and continue mixing until soft peaks form and hold onto the bottom of the whisk. Do not overmix because it will begin to separate and form butter.
8. Add 1/3 of the whipped cream into the cheese mixture, using a spatula or a hand whisk folding it gently as not to deflate. Repeat with the other 1/3 of the cream, and finish with the remaining amount of the whipped cream to obtain a uniformly smooth paste. Refrigerate it while working on the next step of assembling the tiramisu.
9. Prepare strong coffee, mix in the same type of liquor as used in the cheese mixture and bring the coffee mixture to room temperature.
10. Arrange lady fingers in the bottom of the dish you will be using for this recipe, trimming off the dry cookies as needed to fit snugly.
11. In a quick motion (1 second) dip one cookie at a time into the coffee/liquor mixture and place them back in the dish, creating a single layer of moistened cookies. Do not over dip the cookies so they don't get soggy. They still need to remain firm as they will absorb additional moisture from the cheese layer while cooling in the fridge.
12. Scoop 1/2 of the mascarpone cheese mixture onto the layer of dipped cookies and smooth it out with the back of a spoon or a spatula.
13. Repeat the same process with the remaining cookies to form a second cookie layer, finishing with a top layer of mascarpone cheese mixture.
14. Lay saran wrap over the top of the tiramisu pressing it down gently with your fingertips to fit snugly all around to remove any air pocket so no dense skin forms and the top remains soft and moist.
15. Place the covered dish in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
16. Just before serving, gently remove the saran wrap and generously dust the top of the tiramisu with unsweetened cocoa.
17. Cut into serving pieces and serve.

Notes