tiramisu

_  Ingredients

1/2 lb cream cheese, softened (parve substitution below)

16 oz heavy whipping cream (parve substitution below)

2 tbsp Kahlua (kosher substitution below)

1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar (or more to taste)

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 oz dark chocolate (pareve substitution below)

24-30 ladyfinger cookies

_ Instructions

Pour the whipping cream into a bowl with 1/2 cup of sugar. Whip the cream with

 an electric mixer for 4-6 minutes till it thickens and forms soft peaks. (If using 

Rich's RichWhip, thaw in the refrigerator and shake before pouring into the 

bowl-- it will take 7-10 minutes to reach the desired consistency.)

Mix in the cream cheese on medium speed till the mixture is well blended and 

forms stiff peaks. Taste the mixture; add additional sugar, if desired (the 

ladyfinger layers in this tiramisu will be quite sweet, so you don't need to overdo 

the sugar in the cream layers-- I added another 1/4 cup which was perfect for my 

tastebuds).

In a mixing bowl, mix 2 cups of cold water with 1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee. Whisk

 in Kahlua or kosher coffee liqueur, vanilla, and 2 tbsp of sugar. Set aside.

Take your ladyfingers and your cold coffee mixture and place them nearby. 

Commercially made ladyfingers (the crunchy kind) work best for this dessert 

since they tend to be very absorbent. In your large loaf pan, use a spatula to 

spread an even layer of cream across the bottom of the pan.

Dip the ladyfingers one by one into the coffee mixture for 2-5 seconds each. 

How long you will dip them depends on the consistency of your ladyfingers. You

 want them soft, but not overly mushy, so test one or two to get a feel for the 

ideal amount of soaking time. They will continue to soften even after you take 

them out of the coffee mixture. Let any excess coffee drip down off the 

ladyfingers after dipping.

Arrange them one by one in a horizontal layer on top of the cream. You should 

need 8-10 ladyfingers to cover the surface of the cream.

Cover the ladyfingers with another layer of cream.

Continue to layer the soaked ladyfingers and cream till you've made three layers

 of soaked ladyfingers. Finish with a final smooth layer of cream across the top

 of the loaf pan.

Use a grater to grate 1/2 ounce of dark chocolate shavings into a bowl.

Sprinkle the shavings onto the top of the assembled tiramisu.

Cover the tiramisu with plastic wrap, being sure not to let the wrap touch the 

surface of the cream. Place the tiramisu in the freezer for at least 4 hours.

Remove the tiramisu from the freezer about 10 minutes before you plan to serve 

it. Slice it straight from the freezer into the amount of servings you need using a 

knife dipped in hot water between slices to make cutting even and neat. Place 

pieces onto serving plates and let them defrost for 10 minutes before serving 

(they can be eaten frozen too, it will taste more like ice cream cake that way). 

Store tiramisu in the freezer covered with plastic wrap. Enjoy!