Tiramisu (for Two!)

Classic tiramisu, made for two! Creamy, rich layers bursting with the flavors of espresso and liqueur. The perfect romantic Valentine’s Day dessert!

Ah, Valentine’s Day. American commercialism at its best.

Don’t get me wrong – I think it’s nice that people are a little extra nice and loving to each other on that day, but I just have to laugh every time I see people walking out of stores with ten foot tall teddy bears and $100 bouquets of chocolate roses wrapped in shiny red paper. It’s just so much. Mind you, I’m not a romantic person, so all the Valentine’s Day hooplah is sort of out of my realm of understanding. 

Last year, Bill and I spent Valentine’s Day in a lovely Maine inn where we got snowed in during a storm and enjoyed wonderful meals and massages. We didn’t do it as a Valentine’s Day trip, the timing just ended up overlapping. This year we have nothing planned, and quite frankly during winter in New England… it’s best not to make plans. Mother Nature will always find a way to rearrange your plans for you by way of blizzards.

She’s nice like that.

If you celebrate anywhere that gets weather-y this time of year, I highly recommend going to the store a few days before and picking up the fixings for a lovely, romantic dinner at home. Maybe to you that means steak and wine, or maybe that means making mac and cheese that’s not out of a blue box. I don’t judge, because frankly the latter sounds amazing. 

May I suggest splurging a little on dessert? Given the option of spending a little bit more time and money on appetizer, dinner, drinks or dessert…. I always choose dessert. 

Tiramisu is a classic dessert that also has liquor in it, so really you’re splurging on dessert and drinks. Multitasking FTW. But the thing with tiramisu is that you usually make a big ol’ pan of it, and that’s just entirely too much for two people. Thankfully, tiramisu is something that seems to just get even better over time as the ladyfingers soak up the liquor and the layers kinda meld together – so if you wanted to make a big pan of it, the leftovers would still be fabulous. But personally, I only want to indulge in this particular dessert every once in a while. That keeps it a special treat!

As for the choice of liquor, I like to soak my ladyfingers in a combination of brandy and orange liqueur.

… that sounds dirty, but it’s not. I swear. 

Since we’re making tiramisu for two, why not give it a special touch? Add a little heart sprinkle on top for the perfect little “I love you” without the life-sized stuffed animals or singing telegrams.

See? Isn’t that adorable?

Of course it is. 

Make sure you don’t add a giant pile of the cocoa/espresso powder mix to the top, otherwise you’ll be choking it down, and two people violently coughing and drinking water straight out of the faucet isn’t sweet. Or romantic. I added a bit extra for these pictures so you could really see it, but you only want a light dusting.

I really hope you love this as much as I do. Depending on your tolerance for booze and sweets, you might even find that these portions are too much for one sitting so you can just cover it with plastic wrap and finish it tomorrow – and that’s okay. I still love you. 

Not big on the idea of a liquor-soaked dessert? Give these Oreo-Stuffed Brownies with Red Velvet Frosting a try!

Or maybe you love the idea of a boozy dessert, but tiramisu isn’t your thing? Here are some other ideas:

• Take angel food cupcakes to the next level with vanilla vodka frosting and amaretto soaked strawberries
• Or use those strawberries to dip in some Nutella Champagne Dip
• Whip up a batch of chocolate Guinness whipped cream to top some brownies, cupcakes, or just to eat with a spoon!
• Make a small batch of these red wine chocolate cupcakes
• If you live somewhere it’s non-snowy enough for grilling (jealous, btw), make a couple grilled peaches and top them with cinnamon mascarpone whipped cream and a drizzle of honey
• You could also go with the most popular recipe on this blog: Jack and Coke Cupcakes!

Tiramisu (for Two!)

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• Author: Leslie Haasch
• Prep Time: 15m
• Total Time: 15m
• Yield: 2 servings
• Category: Dessert

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Description

Classic tiramisu, made for two! Creamy, rich layers bursting with the flavors of espresso and liqueur. The perfect romantic Valentine’s Day dessert!

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Ingredients

• 2 individual trifle bowls
• 2 eggs, room temperature and separated
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 4 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 6 ladyfingers
• 3 ounces brandy or orange liqueur (or mix of both, my personal preference)
• 3 ounces brewed espresso
• 1 ounce chocolate, grated
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder + 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, sifted together
• Heart sprinkles, for garnish (optional)

 

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Instructions

1. Slice each ladyfinger into three equally-sized pieces. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat together egg yolks and sugar together until combined.
4. For each of the 2 trifle bowls: Add mascarpone to bowl of egg yolk mixture and beat to combine. Fold in egg whites until just combined and no white streaks remain. Divide equally between two small bowls.
5. Arrange one of the sliced ladyfingers in a single layer in the bottom of trifle dish. Pour 1 tablespoon of liqueur over ladyfingers (you want to coat them so they soak it up). Now pour 1 tablespoon espresso over them as well.
6. From one of your divided mascarpone mixtures, cover the ladyfingers with 1/3 of the mixture. Top with 1/2 tablespoon grated chocolate and 1/2 tablespoon cocoa/espresso powder mixture. 
7. Repeat steps #5 and 6 twice more to form three layers in total.
8. Serve immediately, or let set in fridge for up to five days (covered with plastic wrap) before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

I use 10 ounce trifle bowls similar to these, so you may need to adjust the number of layers depending on the size of the serving bowls you’re using.

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