A Spiked Dessert

My passion for food has finally been put into action! But of course this action wasn't done on an empty stomach..That's for sure. My first ever attempt to make tiramisu has truly been a "how to bake" for dummies. First off, buying the supplies was a tad bit pricey, and what's worse is when you don't know what in the world you're paying for- like what the heck is marscapone? lady fingers? sounds like a recipe for disaster. But more than anything, I realized cooking and baking is a lot of fun (once you get the the hang of it) but getting the ingredients is definitely a big pain in the butt...Especially if you've happen to forgot one of the main ingredients of the recipe, or completely run out of sugar in your house. But besides all these minor setbacks, finally I give you...
Amy&Annie's version of: Eggless Tiramisu with Kahlua
serves 9-12
Ingredients:
2 cups very strong decaf coffee or espresso, cooled (thanks starbucks!)
1/3 cup plus 1 T sugar, divided
3 T Kahlua (mama chen's secret stash)
2 cups mascarpone (wteff?!)
36 savoiardi (Italian ladyfingers- freaky name for crackers)
1 1/2 cups very fresh heavy whipping cream
small bar good-quality dark chocolate for grating (trader joes 72% cocoa leaves)

edited directions: (for nubes)
Prepare layering ingredients: chill a large bowl and the beaters of an electric mixer (a hand mixer is fine.) Prepare coffee and let cool in a wide-low dish (a loaf pan or baking dish works well.) Add 1 T sugar and the Kahlua, set aside.
Place mascarpone in a large bowl. Fold in remaining 1/3 cup sugar and marsala.
** Then separately, using the chilled bowl and beaters, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form.
(if you don't know what soft peaks look like, it looks like that. We had to google a picture. Thank goodness for the internet& youtube.)

Do not overwhip! Gently fold half of the cream into the mascarpone mixture, then add in the rest, folding carefully until just mixed.

To assemble tiramisu, have 8 1/2" trifle bowl (or other straight-sided serving bowl) next to coffee mixture. Dip savoiardi (the lady fingers)one at a time into coffee mixture briefly-count "One" as you dip one side, then turn and count "One" before removing. Place in bottom of bowl until a layer is formed (You may have to break a few ladyfingers before dipping to evenly fill bottom layer. When bottom of bowl is covered, carefully add about a quarter of the mascarpone and cream mixture, smoothing the top with a spatula.

Grate chocolate on top, evenly covering the cream (you should still be able to see the cream through the chocolate.) Cover with another layer of soaked savoiardi, then another layer of cream, followed by chocolate shavings, repeating until you have four layers and all your cream has been used up.

Wrap well with saran wrap and refridgerate at least two hours before serving. You can wait overnight, but the whipped cream condenses a little.

finished product:
don't ya just want to take a bite out of that? My favorite dessert of all time- behold.. tiramisu. No oven required. I wonder what's next on the menu...?

*special thanks to anne and Pithy and Cleaver for the original recipe.