Tiramisu is pretty much my favouritest dessert ever, as far as "proper" desserts go. I've made this particular recipe once before, but I didn't get have time that day to document the whole process photographically, so Jen's party was a great excuse to do it.
You start off with eggs. Nine of them, to be exact.
Now, true to form, I totally forgot to take a picture of the pretty, speckly eggs, but I'm sure we'll survive without one. The first step is to separate the 9 eggs. I usually use a separator, but some people (eg. my mother) can do it using the shells (lame smart cooking people). 
Aww look at the separator! I love him. I call him Jack (what else?) and he helps me to make yummy things without little bits of shell floating around in them. He's pretty cool. And he smiles :)
Aww look at the separator! I love him. I call him Jack (what else?) and he helps me to make yummy things without little bits of shell floating around in them. He's pretty cool. And he smiles :) 
So you separate the eggs up, and put the whites in one bowl (set them aside for later)and the yolks in the other bowl.
Next up: Caster Sugar. I love this stuff, mainly because I have this strong aversion to the sifting of anything (hey, laziness is a curse), and when you take this stuff straight out of the bag, it very rarely has any lumps in it. Its cool that way. So you stick the caster sugar in the bowl with the yolks, and then...
Beat it! (Now I have MJ stuck in my head. sadness.) You will notice the hand mixer part of my Sunbeam MixMaster in that photo. Usually, I'm vocal about not using electric mixers, because I think you need to be able to feel the texture of your ingredients in order to know when to stop mixing/folding/beating them, but in this recipe, you need a lot of air in it to keep it light and fluffy (no-one likes a heavy tiramisu). Since I don't have the kind of endurance that will enable me to beat this really fast by hand for 10-15 minutes, I use an electric gizmo. Basically you beat the yolk/sugar mixture for at least 10 minutes, making sure to stop every now and then and wipe down the sides of the bowl, until the whole thing is a reeeeaaaalllly pale yellow (almost white).
When its pale, you can add this stuff. If you're making an alcoholic version of this, you can use some kind of coffee liqueur (Kahlua is the one most people use I think), but this stuff actually tastes nicer, and still gives off the same flavours (it's magic!). Basically its a really strong coffee syrup, and it does two things: a) gets rid of the eggy smell/taste without you having to use vanilla and ruin the flavours, and b) gives the cream a nice coffee flavour that helps later with the sponge.
Now, for the star of the show: Mascarpone. I LOVE this cheese. Its kind of like a really bland cream cheese, and it is perfect for desserts. It's also quite bad for you, which is made worse by the fact that I used not one, but 3 tubs of the stuff in Saturday night's dish.
I suck. I know. but its necessary! I HAVE to use it! Really! Well, its yummy anyway *defensive*
Now you spoon the cheese bit by bit into the yolk/sugar mixture, and fold it in reeeeallly super duper gently with a wooden spoon, or a soft spatula. Make sure you don't beat this mixture once the cheese is in, cos that will make it all heavy and get rid of all the air you got in there before. Once you're done with this, you can set aside this bowl, either in the fridge, or out on the counter, depending on how quick you think you can do the next bit.
Remember our whites? This is my favourite part of the whole thing. Beat em! Lots of beating in this recipe, shame it's not by hand, it could be pretty darn therapeutic. So you beat the whites, for about 10 minutes, (depending on your mixer). In 2-3 minutes, they should look like this:
Ew. Makes me think of frog spawn. Haha, bet I'm making you hungry huh? Keep going, until you find that when you pull the beaters out of the whites, you get these pretty swirly soft peaks:
Oooooooohhhhh. Pretty, right? Want a closer look?
I like playing around in there and making lots of swirls, but you shouldn't cos it will get rid of all that air. lame. Now you gently (really, gently) fold the whites into your original cream mixture. If you do it right, and gently, there should be air bubbles in the bowl. Like this, see:
Closer look?
Cool, huh? Now you put the cream aside, and don't touch it for a while, while you prep your sponge. First step: pull out your bowl/dish/whatever. I'm using the same trifle bowl I used the first time. Its pretty, and I'm partial to pretty glass when it comes to dessert dishes.
Naww, Isn't it pretty? Next you grab your biscuits. .
I use Savioardi, cos I think the thicker biscuits make the whole thing less sickly sweet, and gives it more balance, but if you like your tiramisu more creamy than spongy, then go for the thinner version, which are called Pavesini.
Lay a few biscuits out, taking them out of their packets, before you make your coffee. 
The coffee for this has to be VERY strong to make sure it soaks through the biscuits and gives it a good coffee flavour. I use a double espresso, but any strong coffee will do. Make it black, with no sugar, and make enough for at least 2 coffee mugs. Use boiling water:
See how how it is? the steam should be coming off it like that when you start dipping the biscuits in. Yes, that means there will be some very burned fingers, but you have to do it. sad but true.
Dip the biscuits in, making sure to soak them through completely, but not leaving them in long enough for them to break apart. These are sponge fingers, and they get soft very very quickly. As you soak them, line the bottom of the bowl/dish.
Fill up as much as you can using whole biscuits, and then you can fill up the spaces, by cutting up the fingers, like so:
Dip your little pieces/chunks into the coffee, and fill in as much as you can of the spaces:
It won't be perfect, and the cream layers are going to bleed regardless of how hard you try, so don't fuss too much. When you're done, spoon a layer of cream over the top (how thick or thin is up to you), then rinse and repeat as many times as you need in order to fill the bowl almost to the top. Make sure to finish on a cream layer.
The just sprinkle some cocoa over the top (or, even better, you could grate some really good quality chocolate across it.) And you're done!
Cover it up with cling wrap, or a lid, and stick it in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours. Overnight is probably best.
When its pale, you can add this stuff. If you're making an alcoholic version of this, you can use some kind of coffee liqueur (Kahlua is the one most people use I think), but this stuff actually tastes nicer, and still gives off the same flavours (it's magic!). Basically its a really strong coffee syrup, and it does two things: a) gets rid of the eggy smell/taste without you having to use vanilla and ruin the flavours, and b) gives the cream a nice coffee flavour that helps later with the sponge.
Now, for the star of the show: Mascarpone. I LOVE this cheese. Its kind of like a really bland cream cheese, and it is perfect for desserts. It's also quite bad for you, which is made worse by the fact that I used not one, but 3 tubs of the stuff in Saturday night's dish.
I suck. I know. but its necessary! I HAVE to use it! Really! Well, its yummy anyway *defensive*
Now you spoon the cheese bit by bit into the yolk/sugar mixture, and fold it in reeeeallly super duper gently with a wooden spoon, or a soft spatula. Make sure you don't beat this mixture once the cheese is in, cos that will make it all heavy and get rid of all the air you got in there before. Once you're done with this, you can set aside this bowl, either in the fridge, or out on the counter, depending on how quick you think you can do the next bit.
Remember our whites? This is my favourite part of the whole thing. Beat em! Lots of beating in this recipe, shame it's not by hand, it could be pretty darn therapeutic. So you beat the whites, for about 10 minutes, (depending on your mixer). In 2-3 minutes, they should look like this:
Ew. Makes me think of frog spawn. Haha, bet I'm making you hungry huh? Keep going, until you find that when you pull the beaters out of the whites, you get these pretty swirly soft peaks:
Oooooooohhhhh. Pretty, right? Want a closer look?
I like playing around in there and making lots of swirls, but you shouldn't cos it will get rid of all that air. lame. Now you gently (really, gently) fold the whites into your original cream mixture. If you do it right, and gently, there should be air bubbles in the bowl. Like this, see:
Closer look?
Cool, huh? Now you put the cream aside, and don't touch it for a while, while you prep your sponge. First step: pull out your bowl/dish/whatever. I'm using the same trifle bowl I used the first time. Its pretty, and I'm partial to pretty glass when it comes to dessert dishes.
Naww, Isn't it pretty? Next you grab your biscuits. .
I use Savioardi, cos I think the thicker biscuits make the whole thing less sickly sweet, and gives it more balance, but if you like your tiramisu more creamy than spongy, then go for the thinner version, which are called Pavesini.
Lay a few biscuits out, taking them out of their packets, before you make your coffee. 
The coffee for this has to be VERY strong to make sure it soaks through the biscuits and gives it a good coffee flavour. I use a double espresso, but any strong coffee will do. Make it black, with no sugar, and make enough for at least 2 coffee mugs. Use boiling water:
See how how it is? the steam should be coming off it like that when you start dipping the biscuits in. Yes, that means there will be some very burned fingers, but you have to do it. sad but true.
Dip the biscuits in, making sure to soak them through completely, but not leaving them in long enough for them to break apart. These are sponge fingers, and they get soft very very quickly. As you soak them, line the bottom of the bowl/dish.
Fill up as much as you can using whole biscuits, and then you can fill up the spaces, by cutting up the fingers, like so:
Dip your little pieces/chunks into the coffee, and fill in as much as you can of the spaces:
It won't be perfect, and the cream layers are going to bleed regardless of how hard you try, so don't fuss too much. When you're done, spoon a layer of cream over the top (how thick or thin is up to you), then rinse and repeat as many times as you need in order to fill the bowl almost to the top. Make sure to finish on a cream layer.
The just sprinkle some cocoa over the top (or, even better, you could grate some really good quality chocolate across it.) And you're done!
Cover it up with cling wrap, or a lid, and stick it in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours. Overnight is probably best.Enjoy!
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