my shitty dorm kitchen: episode three

tiramisu

By Sloane Goldberg

Booze. Chocolate. Coffee. What more could a college student want in their birthday cake? At least that’s what I thought when my friend told me tiramisu was his favorite cake. With the help of another friend, we got to work in my tiny kitchen whipping cream and dipping ladyfingers into a grand marnier infused coffee mixture while our suitemates lingered by to taste every component. This tiramisu is perfect: it includes two types of alcohol like any good birthday celebration should, freshly brewed coffee to keep you up, and layers of indulgent cocoa powder. And the best part? No serving utensils required. At the party, we dipped solo cups into the pan to scoop out sections of the cake so everyone could try some. For best results, make the night before to allow the cake to set. 

  • 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) very strongly prepared espresso, warm or room temperature

  • 6 Tablespoons (90ml) Grand Marnier

  • 40–45 ladyfingers*

  • 16 ounces (about 2 cups; 450g) mascarpone, cold or at room temperature

  • 1/4 cup (60ml) dark rum

  • 4 large pasteurized eggs, separated*

  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar, divided*

  • 2 cups (480ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream

  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

  • Unsweetened natural or dutch-process cocoa powder

INGREDIENTS

1) Prepare the espresso however you would like. I have a moka pot in my kitchen but anything will work: a french press, a chemex, a coffee pot (a quad shot americano from butt caff- shh I won’t tell). Add in the Grand Marnier. 

2) Put the mascarpone in a small bowl and mix with the dark run until smooth. Set aside. 

3) Separate the eggs into whites and yolks with the yolks in a larger bowl and the whites in the smaller one. Add ¼ cup of the sugar into the yolks and place the bowl over a saucepan of gently boiling water. Whisk until the mixture is foamy and lighter in color- around 5 minutes. It’s important to keep whisking the mixture so it doesn’t begin to cook. 

4) Add the mascarpone cream in, stir until combined. 

5) In another bowl, whisk the egg whites with the rest of the sugar until stiff peaks form. You want to be able to lift up your whisk and have the egg whites completely hold their shape. 

6) Gently stir the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture. 

7) Wash out the egg bowl (c’mon, who has more than 2 bowls lying around) and add the heavy cream, salt, and vanilla. Whisk until soft peaks form– you want the mixture to more or less hold its shape when you lift it up. 

8) Fold it in!

9) Now for the fun part: assembling the tiramisu. Dip the ladyfingers into the coffee-grand marnier mixture and line the bottom of a pan. Careful not to hold it in the mixture too long or the ladyfinger will fully dissolve. You can use any pan for this; I used a deep baking dish, but anything you can put in the fridge will work. 
10) Once you’ve lined the pan with ladyfingers, pour some of the mixture over them. If you’re using an 8” by 13” pan like I did, this will work out to about half the mixture. Then, for a bonus step, I like to dust cocoa powder over top until it covers the cream. 

11) Repeat the above steps with the remaining ingredients. Then, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but up to 48 hours. The cake will last longer than 48 hours, but it is at its peak in the first two days. Enjoy!

Sloane Goldberg is a sophomore in Columbia College studying Neuroscience & Behavior and Linguistics. In her free time you can find her eating chocolate croissants in Blue Bottle, baking a cake in her dorm kitchen, or telling everyone that she’s from Seattle.

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