Though tiramisu is usually made in a large pan, this recipe makes 6 to 8 individual servings for glasses, jars, or cups. The number of servings depends on the size of the cups or glasses.
- 1 cup espresso or strong coffee, cooled
- 3/4 cup cold heavy cream
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 3 tablespoons Kahlúa or coffee syrup
- 12 crunchy ladyfingers (1 package Savoiardi Italian ladyfingers)
- Optional: Unsweetened cocoa powder or shaved chocolate for garnish
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The sweetness in this dessert comes from the liqueur or coffee syrup. If you leave out that ingredient or if you have a sweet tooth or usually drink sugared coffee, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar to the cream when you beat it.
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Make the coffee and set it aside to cool.
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Beat the cream in a small bowl (adding any sugar you want to include) until it forms stiff peaks. Set the cream aside.
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Fold the whipped cream into the cheese mixture.
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Cut one ladyfinger in half, dunk it quickly in the coffee, turning it once, and place it in the bottom of a glass. Add additional pieces of the ladyfinger as needed to cover the bottom of the glass. Spoon a layer of the cheese mixture over the ladyfinger.
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Dunk another halved ladyfinger in the coffee and add it on top of the cheese mixture in the glass. Spoon another layer of cheese on top. If you have really tall glasses, you may need to add other layers. Always end with the cheese mix on top.
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Repeat the assembly instructions for each parfait glass.
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Refrigerate the parfaits for at least 4 hours. You can keep them in the fridge for as long as two days.
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To make the parfaits prettier, you can add shaved chocolate or sifted cocoa powder on top before serving.
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I like using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip to pipe the cheese mixture layers.
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My cheese layers were quite thick and as such, only had enough of the mixture to make 4 tiramisu parfaits.