Limoncello Tiramisu

Those dishes are $.25 at the thrift store

By Katherine

Limoncello tiramisu is time consuming and costly. First you’ll need to find a friend willing to give you cute vintage dishes with their own cute individual lids. Or scour flea markets. Tuck them into a cabinet and use sparingly. Next, wait for your local liquor shop to put Grand Marnier on sale. Tuck into a cabinet, use sparingly. Check out the prices for limoncello. Balk. Make your own batch. Wait five weeks for limoncello to be ready. Decide the torte recipe you normally use for tiramisu is just too much for two. Ask your husband to pick up ladyfingers at the grocery store. Listen in disbelief when he tells you the bakery doesn’t sell them. Call grocery store to be reassured they do. Head there on the way home from work. Fret over the quality of said ladyfingers once you finally find them. Buy them anyway. Cross your own lady fingers, throw out the inadequate recipes you’ve found online, roll up your sleeves and, oh wait you’ll need to make the candied lemon peels first… the tiramisu will have to wait for tomorrow. Better sip some of that limoncello to make sure it’s up to snuff.

Candied lemon peels

• 3 lemons
• 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups sugar

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the peel from the lemon in long strips. You only want the yellow stuff, try not to get any of the pith.

In a small saucepan, pour two cups of cold water over the lemon peels and bring to a boil, cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the peels from the pan and set aside.

Pour two cups of the sugar into the water in the pan and add a cup of water, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Add the peels and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the peels are tender and translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the peels and let cool. Reserve the lemon simple syrup, you’ll want it for the tiramisu.

Measure the remaining sugar into a medium bowl and add the peels. Toss to coat. Remove the peels one at time, shaking each to remove excess sugar. Store in an airtight container.

For store bought they were OK, the torte is still the best

Limoncello Tiramisu

For zabaglione

• 4 egg yolks
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup, less one tablespoon limoncello
• 1 tbsp Grand Marnier

In the top of a double broiler beat egg yolks and sugar until pale, about five minutes. Place double broiler over barely simmering water. Slowly stir Grand Marnier and limoncello. Cook over low heat stirring almost constantly until the zabaglione is a thick, smooth and airy, about five minutes at most. Remove from heat.

For mascarpone filling

• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 8 ounces Mascarpone
• 1 egg white (optional)
• 1 tbsp Grand Marnier
• Zest from one lemon

Beat egg white, mascarpone, powdered sugar, liquor, zest and cheese until blended and smooth. Set aside.

For cake

• 3 ounces ladyfingers (one small package)
• 1/2 cup lemon simple syrup (left over from candied lemon peel)
• 1 ounce limoncello

To assemble: The recipe will fill a pan about the size of a brownie pan or can be done as individual servings. (I filled three dishes that each held 1 1/2 cups.) Quickly dip ladyfingers in simple syrup and limoncello mix making sure to coat both sides Line the bottom of chosen dish with ladyfingers. Smooth a layer of the mascarpone filling over the top, then a layer of the zabaglione, top with ladyfingers and repeat until the dish is filled. On the last layer, put the zabaglione first and the mascarpone last. Refrigerate for four hours. Bide your time with a lemon drop while you wait. That simple syrup isn’t going to drink itself.

Before serving, sprinkle tiramisu with chopped candied lemon peels.

That is one good looking bite

Notes: Save that lemon simple syrup. It tastes great in iced tea or a lemon drop martini. (That’s tomorrow’s recipe!)