15 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart milk
2 pounds Mascarpone cheese
4 packages Savoiardi Lady Finger cookies (see Shopping Notes, below)
6-8 cups espresso
1/2 cup of Nocello, Kahlua, Cointreau or other liqueur of your choice
Whipped cream for garnish
Place egg yolks in a metal bowl. Whisk in the sugar, then the flour, then the milk, to obtain a smooth mixture. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water.
Keep whisking until the cream thickens and bubbles lightly. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir to cool. Then cover the custard cream directly with a sheet of plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator. When the cream is cold, whisk in the Mascarpone cheese.
Combine the coffee and liqueur and place in a small skillet. Dip the cookies into the liquid one by one to saturate but not soak. They should be full of liquid, like a sponge, but not falling apart.
Place one-third of the cookies in one layer on the bottom of an 8- to 10-inch cake pan or glass pan. Using a rubber spatula, spread half the cream onto the cookie layer, then cover cream with another third of the cookies. Spread the remaining cream over the top, then cover with a final layer of cookies. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the whole dessert overnight or at least 6 hours.
Before serving, spread or pipe the whipped cream on top.
Notes:
You can, of course, make your own lady fingers using any standard recipe. However, DelBello says he prefers this packaged variety for tiramisu.
Mascarpone is a thickened Italian cream cheese you can also find at the Italian Market. Nocello is an Italian walnut liqueur a bit like Frangelico. If you don’t have an espresso maker, substitute strong espresso made from instant crystals.