Guys! I’m getting my cooking juju back and I’m in the kitchen with this Irish Cream Tiramisu in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, even if it’s a little late.
I’ve been quiet in these parts because it seems life is just happening all at once, but I’m almost moved into my new house and after a quick trip to Chicago this weekend, I’ll be fully in with Crawley next week. And I’m so ready to break in my new kitchen. I can’t wait for you to see it!
Until then, let’s talk tiramisu. One of the best desserts ever. And one of the easiest (especially if you’re going cheater version like these individual parfaits).
Despite the reasons above, I almost never make it because it doesn’t really fit into my healthy eating life, and also, the price of mascarpone is frankly cost-prohibitive for regular consumption. And you really need mascarpone to make real deal tiramisu.
So I settle for the shared-dessert bite when dining out, or the occasional impulse buy from the dessert case at Whole Foods.
The latter, incidentally, was the inspiration for today’s Irish Cream version for St. Patrick’s Day. No sooner did I start driving away from the store did I concoct the idea, which means that later when Mom was out on an errand, I had her stop for the raw ingredients.
There are only a few elements of this that deviate from the traditional recipe (perfected by Adrianna), and the changes are so subtle that you might be fooled that anything is different. Guinness + coffee substitute for the strong espresso, and Irish cream subs in for the rum. However, let it sit on your tongue and what you’ll taste is slightly reminiscent of an Irish car bomb (aka, an Irish Slammer). My college favorite, I’ll have you know.
While I will admit that it’s not the prettiest dessert out there, it is still one of the tastiest.
Irish Cream Tiramisu
A St. Patrick's Day twist on classic tiramisu is Irish Cream Tiramisu, with Guinness soaked lady fingers and Irish cream whipped mascarpone cheese.
Ingredients
- For the filling:
- 16 ounces mascarpone cheese (cold from the fridge)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 TB Irish cream liquor
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 jumbo egg yolks (cold from the fridge)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (cold from the fridge)
- For the rest:
- 1 pint Guinness (or other dark stout)
- 2 tsp instant coffee
- 24 ladyfingers
- For the finish:
- 2 TB cocoa powder, for dusting
Directions
- Step 1 In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, add together all the filling ingredients. Beat one minute until combined, scrape down the bottom of the bowl, beat another minute. Do not overbeat!
- Step 2 To assemble, ready an 8 x 8 glass dish. Place the Guinness and instant coffee into a bowl and stir until the coffee is dissolved. One at a time, dip each lady finger into the beer. Just for a second- do not over saturate the lady finger or else it will fall apart. Arrange the soaked ladyfingers in the baking dish, to make an even layer across the bottom, breaking the cookies to completely cover the bottom as needed. You’ll use about half of the ladyfingers. Pour half of the cheese mixture over the cookies and then repeat the layering one more time with remaining cookies and cheese.
- Step 3 Cover and let sit at least three hours, preferably overnight, for the ingredients to come together.
- Step 4 Before serving, dust the top completely with the cocoa powder. Serve and enjoy!
