Tiramisu

According to my friend Mr. Wikipedia, “tiramisu” is literally translated “pick me up.” This name is remarkably appropriate for the coffee-laden confection.

Tiramisu is a delicate yet powerfully rich Italian dessert. Original recipes call for raw egg yolks, coffee flavored alcohol, espresso and mascarpone cheese – all of which I decided to substitute.  My vegan, non-alcoholic,  non-caffeinated version has the same creamy texture.

Recipe:

To make lady phalanges:

2 C Flour

2 tsp Baking powder

1 tsp Baking soda

1/3 C Smart balance butter (I like to use the one made with omega 3’s)

1 C Brown sugar (but you can use white if you want)

1/3 C Maple syrup (or agave nectar syrup)

1/2 C Soy milk

To make tiramisu creams:

1/2 Package Silken tofu (if you’re using the small packets that are cardboard, use the whole packet)

2/3 Package Soy cream cheese (be sure to pick up the one that doesn’t have partially hydrogenated oil in it)

1 1/2 TBS Smart balance butter

2 TBS Soy creamer

3/4 C Powdered sugar

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1 Package Soy Whip

1/3 Package Soy cream cheese

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1/3 C Roma (fake coffee)

2 C Water

100% Cocoa chocolate bar for shavings

Directions:

To make the lady phalanges, first sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together – set aside for a few minutes.

Cream together the smart balance butter and sugar. Once the cream looks soft, add the maple syrup and continue to mix together.

Once the mixture looks well incorporated, add the flour mixture slowly, alternating with soy milk to achieve a soft ball of cookie dough.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and throw into the fridge for at least an hour.

While your dough is in the refrigerator you can begin making the tiramisu creams. First toss the tofu, soy cream cheese, smart balance, soy creamer, and powdered sugar into a bowl. Cream all together. Put this mixture in the fridge.

The second cream is even easier; just empty the box of soy whip in a bowl and mix on high until it gets fluffy. Put in the remaining soy cream cheese and continue whipping until really fluffy. Then put this cream in the fridge.

While everything is chilling out, you can make the coffee. Microwave  water until hot then mix in the Roma “coffee.”  Let it stand in room temperature until assembling the cake. (You don’t want to be soaking your cookies in a really hot mixture because they will fall apart easily.)

Take the cookie dough out of the refrigerator and form into 4 inch “fingers.” Place them on a cookie sheet – leaving enough room for them to rise.

Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes or until golden brown. (I like to check the bottoms of the cookies because my oven tends to cook a little faster than most. If the bottoms are golden brown I take the tray out and flip the cookies up side down.) Let the cookies cool and harden a little bit before assembling cake.

Begin cake assembly by dipping cookies in the “coffee” mix then placing them in a glass dish, covering the bottom surface.

Follow the cookie layer with the sour cream mixture then the whip mixture.

Continue layering in this fashion until the dish is filled or there are no more cookies.

(I like to place the finished cake in the freezer immediately after assembly because the cookies are very soggy and will leak into the other layers if not careful.)

After the cake has been chilled, use a potato peeler to create chocolate shavings atop the cake.

You can  garnish cake slices with fresh berries, mint, or vegan chocolate  syrup.

Serve with a hot cup of Roma and enjoy!