(H)ap(p)y B'day, Apy Cooking! Celebrating with Tiramisu

So I started my blog at this time last year, not realising what a huge influence it would have on my cooking.  And here I am, one year later, beaming at the knowledge I have garnered and happy about pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone and whipping up delicacies I hadn't dreamed I could ever make. I have all of you to thank, for encouraging me with your support, comments, and more importantly trying some of the recipes and giving me good feedback.

I'm particularly grateful to my husband who, without any hesitation has eaten all that I have made, tasty or not, thus encouraging me to carry on with my experiments. Heck, I'm no seasoned cook and most of the recipes here were attempted the very first time, so based on his facial expressions after eating the food, could I decide whether it was blogworthy or not. My son has been a great help too - there are many recipes included here which I made solely for him and a few others for his little friends in his playgroup. Whenever he even gets a hint that I have something in the oven, he peeks into it to get a look and waits for me to open the oven door.

I'm now waiting for him to grow up a little so we can have great fun in the kitchen - baking and decorating cookies and cupcakes.

I would also like to congratulate SS and wish her blog, SS Blogs Here, a Happy Bloggiversary! We started blogging on the same day and SS has constantly visited my site and unfailingly left me a nice comment on each post. Thank you, girl!

Coming back to my post, Tiramisu has been on my list ever since I attempted the Tres Leches cake (which incidently happens to be the first post and one of my most favourite posts in this blog, shall I also mention, my most favourite cake in the world!). The Italian word Tiramisu literally means 'Pull me up'  and you do want to do exactly that when you see one.

I did not use raw eggs because I wanted to sleep without  salmonella nightmares, specially since my son would be happily eating the Tiramisu. I cannot call this an eggless Tiramisu, since the lady fingers I used did contain eggs. If ladyfingers are not available, you can use a sponge cake. [Lady fingers, not to be confused with okra, are sponge cakes shaped like a finger].

The recipe is from Happy Home Baking, which I made a few changes to, since I used a larger spring-from pan (9"). I substitued alcohol with vanilla. Also, I did not border the cake with ladyfingers (or line it with foil/ parchment paper) and so the sides of the cake look tacky. I do need to learn the art of un-moulding the pan without damaging the sides. Any suggestions will be appreciated. [See update]

Ingredients:

Espresso Syrup:
1 cup boiling water
2 tbsp expresso powder [I used instant pure coffee powder]
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Filling
1 1/4 cups heavy/whipping cream
12 oz (340 g) mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
6 tbsp sugar (add more if you like it sweeter)
2 tbsp expresso syrup


Other
Ladyfingers - Approx 30 count [depending on the size]
Grated chocolate - 2 tbsp
Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp

Method :
If you are using a springform pan, line the base with foil. [Since this is a no-bake cake, you can use any container and scoop out the tiramisu if you wish]. [See update].

If you wish to border the cake with ladyfingers, check the original recipe. [Make sure you have extra ladyfingers].

Prepare the espresso syrup by combining all the ingredients mentioned under it.

Prepare the filling. For this, with an electric mixer, beat heavy/whipping cream for a few minutes till soft peaks form.
In a separate large bowl take the mascarpone and mix well with vanilla, sugar and 2 tbsp of espresso syrup. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture and mix.

Now start layering. [Remember lasagna?]
Dip either sides of the ladyfingers in the expresso syrup, very lightly for just a second [otherwise the lady fingers will be a soggy mess, I learnt it the hard way as you can see in the picture]. Place in the pan so that they fill the entire base, cutting them into shorter length if needed.
Layer with half of the mascarpone filling. Sprinkle grated chocolate.

 Make another layer of ladyfingers and the rest of the filling. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for atleast 4 hours [or overnight].

Just before serving unmould the cake. Dust cocoa powder on top...

...making some pretty design if you wish. Just cut out a shape on a parchment paper and place it on the cake before dusting. Remove the paper and voila!

This is a virtual piece for all my dear readers and blogger friends. Thanks for your support!

UPDATE :
I made tiramisu in a large glass dish and it was much faster since I did not have to worry abt foiling the pan. I just soaked the ladyfingers and placed them in the glass dish and went about with the layering. I then scooped out the yummilicious pieces and served them. Just make sure you have an extra supply of ladyfingers if you are using a really large glass dish, so that you don't run out of them.