Dolci: l'amore della mia vita

Smooth rich chocolate. Sweet frosted cupcakes. Mouthwatering carrot cake. Creamy frozen yogurt. If you know me at all, you know I love sweets. My love affair with indulgences causes me to seek out only the best, and the best I do find. Heavenly dark chocolate peanut butter cookies can be found at Levain Bakery in New York, good ol' Rite Aid carries the perfect mint-chip ice cream, and the best tiramisù is made in an Italian kitchen.

I had the false assumption that tiramisù was difficult to make. Maybe the exotic name, which references the espresso and literally means "pick me up", threw me off and it was hard to not think this delicate dessert was anything but a b*tch to make. I was so wrong. Just add eggs, espresso, milk, mascarpone cheese, savoiardi biscuits (commonly known as lady finger biscuits), sugar, a dash of salt, sprinkle on some cocoa powder and VOILA, tiramisù! Okay, maybe it's not that simple, but you get the idea.

Below is the easy steb-by-step recipe for the most delectable tiramisù taught to me by an Italian herself. So go ahead and wow your next dinner guests or better yet, treat yourself to this traditional Italian dessert.

What will I need?

6 tablespoons of sugar

5 eggs

3 cups of fresh cooled espresso*

2 cartons of mascarpone cheese (about 16 oz)*

2 packages of savoiardi

biscuits (about 24)

1/2 cup milk*

pinch of salt

cocoa powder to garnish

2 mixing bowls

1-2 medium size pan*

*I want to forewarn you that these amounts are estimations. Italians don't exactly follow recipes, it's all in their head. If you desire a creamier or thicker tiramisù, use one pan, add more mascarpone cheese, add another egg etc.

Brew roughly 3 cups of fresh espresso. Set aside to cool. Separate 5 eggs and place yolks in one bowl and whites in other mixing bowl. Mix 6 tablespoons of sugar to the yolk bowl and whip. Add 1 tablespoon of milk to the yolk bowl, whip again and set aside. Add the remaining milk to the cooled espresso.Next, add 1 pinch of salt to egg whites and whip till fluffy. Add the mascarpone cheese and whip again. Combine the two egg mixtures and whip.

Now you will begin to construct the cake layers. Take a savoiardi biscuit and very quickly dip into cooled espresso mix. The key to this dish is to not over soak the bisquit which will cause the cake be soggy and liquidy. I suggest you take one side and dip it in and quickly flip over. There is no need to let it sit in there at all - a quick dunk will do!

After you have covered the bottom of the pan with the dipped biscuits, layer the cream on top, covering all the soaked lady fingers. Dust with cocoa powder. Repeat till you have the desired layers/thickness. Cover and set in fridge. Let cool for a minimum of 2 hours. For best results, let set overnight.

Bon appetit!!