The leftovers went with me to work the next day, much to Brian's dismay. He is always complaining that I bring all my goodies to work for my coworkers. But, if I were to leave them at home he would eat them all and then complain that he's getting fat. So I just can't win that argument, but this dessert was definitely a winner with my coworkers. I've had several requests to make it for them again. I gave the recipe to my supervisor, Kristine, who made it for her family and they loved it too.
Some of the ingredients aren't what you would normally have on your shopping list but don't be intimidated. Be adventurous and try new things in the kitchen because you will be tastily rewarded (well, most of the time. I have had some real flops trying new recipes too, but that won't be the case with this one, I promise). The good news is that there isn't any actual time in the oven involved. So if you aren't much of a baker this recipe is for you. It comes together fairly easily, looks SO pretty and tastes fabulous!
Raspberry Tiramisu
(This is the Raspberry Tiramisu that I made for Easter this year.)
1 cup raspberry jam
6 tbsp. orange liqueur (ex: Triple Sec or Grand Marnier)
16 oz. marscapone cheese, softened at room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 (11-12oz) poundcakes
3 (1/2 pint) packages of fresh raspberries (about 3-3/4 cups total)
In a small bowl, whisk together the raspberry jam with 4 tbsp. of the orange liqueur. The recipe calls for seedless jam, but I have only used the jam that has seeds. It could be a texture issue, but I think it is pretty with the seeds. Also, I have only used Triple Sec because it's what I have in the house, but if you want to splurge go to the liquor store and get one of those little bottles of the Grand Marnier and it should be just about the right anount that you'll need for this recipe. If you are making this for kids, you could even substitute orange juice. Set the jam mixture aside.
In a large bowl and using a hand mixer combine the marscapone cheese and remaining 2 tbsp. of the orange liqueur until they are well combined. If you aren't familiar with marscapone cheese it is similar in texture to cream cheese. The flavor is a little sweeter than cream cheese though which is why it works well in this recipe. You can find it in the specialty cheese section of your grocery store. Set the marscapone mixture aside.
In another large bowl, add the heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract. Using a hand mixer, beat them together "until soft peaks form." That is foodie-talk for until it looks like whipped cream. I'm a horrible judge of time so don't quote me on this but it should take maybe 3-4 minutes. Now if you wanted you could just buy whipped cream and skip this whole step. You will need to buy about 2 cups. I would say you could probably even use Cool-whip if you wanted too. But I always make my own whipped cream for it because I feel like I have worked harder to make it, so I deserve to have two servings instead of one. Illogical thinking, yes, but that is just the way my mind works.
Using a rubber spatula, take about 1/4 of the whipped cream mixture and gently combine it with the marscapone. Then take the rest of the whipped cream and mix it into the marscapone. Just be gentle with your mixing here so that your mixture stays light and fluffy. Don't rush the combining of these two mixtures or your filling will be dense and heavy.
A traditional tiramisu uses ladyfinger cookies as the cake part of the recipe, but I think that poundcake holds up a little better so I use two of the Sara Lee frozen poundcakes. Set them on the counter for a hour or so and they will be ready to go. Cut each of the poundcakes into pieces a little bigger than the size of your index finger. Now you're ready to assemble your tiramisu.
Using an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan (I prefer a clear Pyrex pan so you can see all the pretty layers), layer your tiramisu in the following order: half of the poundcake, half of the jam mixture, half of the marscapone mixture, half of the fresh raspberries. Then repeat the layering order again.
Cover your tiramisu and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours. You can even make this the night before you want to serve it and let it sit in the fridge overnight. The longer it sits the better it gets. All the flavors will come together and the layers will set into a beautiful creamy, cake-y, fruity, sweet concoction. And don't worry about the poundcake getting too mushy, it will hold up well.
Sprinkle with some powdered sugar and serve it up!
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