How to Make an Easy Tiramisu Recipe - Olive Garden

Mmmmm...tiramisu. One of THE best desserts there is. Easy tiramisu recipes can be hard to find while most are quite laborious and time consuming. This Italian tiramisu recipe cuts that all down in half. It is a great dessert to bring to a party since you really don't have to cut the tiramisu but just let guests scoop it out of the pan. Everyone will be impressed when you show up with a dessert that tastes like the olive gardens tiramisu. ***This recipe makes a good sized party tray but can be cut in half for a family dessert.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 24oz Marscarpone cheese
• 8oz Cream cheese
• 5 packets Dream Whip
• 1 1/2-2 cups Milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 1/4 envelopes Unflavored gelatin
• 2 tablespoons Instant Espresso
• 1 1/2-2 cups Water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons Kahlua liqueur (optional)
• 3 trays Ladyfingers (the softer ones not the rock hard ones)
• Cocoa powder
• Chocolate shavings or curls

1. To make the filling of the tiramisu, take 3 tablespoons of the milk and combine with the gelatin. Let sit for 5-10 minutes then microwave at half power for 2 minutes until the gelatin dissolves. Stir and place aside until cool, about 15 minutes.

2. Take the remaining amount of milk and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the Dream Whip mix and beat with a mixer until it is light and fluffy. In a separate bowl beat together the Marscapone, cream cheese, and sugar with the gelatin mixture until combined. Go back to the Dream Whip bowl and add about a third of this cheese mixture at a time into it while beating to combine the two.

3. For the cake part of the tiramisu, pour the water into a small heat resistant bowl and heat the water for about a minute in the microwave and add the espresso powder, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and Kahlua until they all dissolve. Let this cool or place the cup in an ice bath to cool it more quickly.

4. For ease of clean up, cover a baking sheet with foil. Separate the lady fingers and line them on the pan spacing them enough so that you can pick them up. When the espresso mixture is cooled, use a pastry brush and brush the liquid onto each lady finger. Then flip each lady finger over and brush with the espresso again. Don't over do it on either side making them soggy or you won't be able to pick them up and you will have a mushy, tiramisu cake. A light tanish brown color will do, not a dark brown.

5. To assemble your tiramisu, line the bottom of the pan with the soaked lady fingers leaving about half an inch or so in between them. Spoon on some of the cheese mixture just enough to cover about a quarter of an inch over the top of the cake. Smooth with an offset spatula. Layer with the lady fingers going in the opposite direction as you did the first layer. Top again with the cheese mixture and smooth. If doing the whole of this recipe you should have enough to make one more layer. Dust with the cocoa powder using a sieve.

6. Place your tiramisu in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Overnight is best for it to firm up. When you are ready to serve you can cut your tiramisu into squares or garnish with the chocolate curls and serve out of the pan (which is much easier in my opinion) and enjoy your new restaurant quality Italian dessert :o)

Tips & Warnings

• This tiramisu recipe calls for the softer lady fingers not the hard ones, or you will be having to dunk them in and let them sit to absorb the espresso liquid for a while.
• To easily cut the tiramisu, you can try lining the pan with two pieces of plastic wrap going across all four sides of the pan (leaving some hanging out a bit) before assembling. When you are ready to serve, lift it out of the pan using the plastic wrap and place on a board.
• Another idea for easily serving the tiramasu is to use the above method and freeze it slightly before cutting it to get perfect squares.
• For a low fat tiramisu recipie, you can take out the Marscarpone and cream cheese and use low fat cream cheese instead.
• Don't over soak your lady fingers or they will be too soggy to handle.
• Careful not to add the gelatin into a very cold mixture or it will seize up and leave beads in your tiramisu.
• This is not the actual Olive Garden dessert recipe but comes VERY close.

[Neecy]

on 1/31/2009 OMG,,, I did not need an easy recipe for this. My husband and I LOVE Olive Garden's Tiramisu. I tried to make one of those laborious recipes you mentioned and it did not come out well.

It kept me from trying it again, so I eat this less often than I might if I could make it well at home. Our waist lines might be in trouble now!

Thanks for the awesome sounding recipe!

[Mitestarossa]

on 1/12/2009 Yummy.

[ElectricalNut]

on 1/7/2009 This sounds just scrumptous! I can't wait to try it.

[Pamelateda]

on 1/5/2009 Yummy, can I have tiramisu for breakfast? This recipe made me hungry!