Tiramisu Cups

I made a Tiramisu cake about a month ago following Dorie Greenspan's recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours. Since everyone in my family loves Tiramisu, I had chosen to make it for my mother's birthday. The filling and coffee-flavored icing, both made with mascarpone, were delicious. I was pretty disappointed with the sponge cake though. Even if I had made it a day in advance, it turned out dry and hadn't absorbed the syrup. Overall, the cake didn't resemble the famous Italian dessert I knew.

Needless to say, I wasn't satisfied with my result and couldn't cross Tiramisu off my wishlist. Because I still had some mascarpone left in the fridge, I decided to give it another try, this time using a recipe that uses Savoiardi ladyfingers.

It didn't take me much time at all to make these Tiramisu cups. I put on The Martha Stewart Living Show yesterday morning and was watching out for Kaitlin from the Whisk Kid. I prepared the coffee liquid as the show started, cooled it, then started on the mascarpone mixture. Everything was ready to be arranged into the cups when the Whisk Kid (why do the blog names stick to us?) made her guest appearance. It was so incredible to see someone who's blog I've been following for a while now appear on television. Not only that, but also standing next to Martha Stewart and showing her how to make the fabulous Super Epic Rainbow Cake that has inspired us all! Congrats Whisk Kid!

So the Tiramisu cups were assembled in no-time, and after being refrigerated for a couple of hours, I recognized the soft, syrupy layers between the creamy mascarpone. Amazing how something so good can take so little time to make!

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Tiramisu Cups

Adapted from Ooh, Look... (originally from Donna Hay)

Makes 3-4 serving cups

1/2 cup strong black coffee (I used 1 tbsp Instant Espresso from Nescafe with 125ml boiling water)

1/3 coffee liqueur (Kahlua or Tia Maria)

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 cup (250g) mascarpone

1/4 cup cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp brown sugar, extra

Savoiardi ladyfinger biscuits

Place coffee, liqueur and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for 5-6 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved (the alcohol will evaporate). Pour into a shallow bowl and refrigerate until cool.

Whisk together the mascarpone (I used 230g), cream, vanilla, and extra sugar until combined. Do not overbeat or the mixture will be too thick (I added a little cream to it cause mine was too thick).

Remove coffee liquid from refrigerator. Dip one side of the ladyfinger into the liquid, then turn it over and dip the other side. Arrange the biscuit on the base of one cup and repeat the dipping until the base of the cup is covered. (I cut the biscuits for them to fit)

Spread some of the mascarpone mixture over the biscuits. Dip and arrange a second layer of ladyfingers, then top with some more of the mascarpone mixture. Continue with the rest of the cups.

Refrigerate the tiramisu cups for at least 2 hours. Sprinkle with cocoa powder before serving. The cups keep for 3 days in the refrigerator, and its flavor improves over this time.