Given the popularity of tiramisu, it’s difficult to believe it wasn’t invented until the late 1960s or early ‘70s. Said to have aphrodisiac effects, it’s amazingly easy to create.
Eye on Sun Valley’s Marie Gallo recently invited a longtime friend—Brigitte Centers, who grew up in the south of France—into her kitchen to show just how easy it is to concoct. And, while tiramisu traditionally features cocoa powder and a coffee-based liqueur, Centers made one with rum raisins.
RUM RAISIN TIRAMISU
1/2 cup dark rum
½ cup sugar
6 egg yolks
16 oz. mascarpone
1.25 cup orange juice
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
24-30 lady fingers
Semi-sweet chocolate for shavings
1 cup orange juice
¼ cup rum
Soak the raisins in a couple tablespoons of rum; cover with plastic wrap. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is a light yellow. Mix in the mascarpone. Then add ½ cup rum and 1¼ cup orange juice along with vanilla extract.
Pour 1/4 cup rum and 1 cup orange juice into a bowl. Dip the lady fingers into the mixture and place a layer into a shallow dish. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over this layer; top with a sprinkling of the raisins.
Add another layer and repeat the process. Cover with Saran Wrap and let sit six hours to overnight in refrigerator.
Before serving, grate part of a semi-sweet chocolate bar into shavings over the top of the dish.