Kahlúa tiramisù

There is not much to say when it comes to tiramisù, except "hhhhhmmmmm!!!" LOL!

I think it is one of those desserts that cannot be made "light" because it just wouldn't be the same... Seriously, have a salad for dinner or something because I am speaking from experience... Light tiramisù just tastes... sad!

It is made by layering zabaglione (a custard-like mixture of egg yolks, liqueur, mascarpone cheese, cream and sugar) and savoiardi biscuits (lady fingers) soaked in espresso. Then dusted with cocoa powder and topped with grated chocolate if desired

...*drool*...

I love my espresso machine!

When making cold/no-bake desserts, I tend to avoid raw eggs. And so, this tiramisù is no exception. It is adapted from Gordon Ramsay and is supposed to yield 4 individual portions, but I doubled it so I can fill an 11x7 dish.

You must make this, but make sure you take it away to a dinner with friends, because it is dangerous to have it laying around in your fridge...

Easy Kalhúa Tiramisù
(adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Easy Tiramisù) serves 8-10

• 500g mascarpone
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tbsp Kahlúa
• 1 1/2 cup strong coffee or espresso, cooled to room temperature
• 250ml whipping cream (30%)
  
• 8 tbsp icing sugar
• 20-30 lady fingers (savoiardi)depending on how you will try to fit them in the dish
  
• Cocoa powder, to dust

Put the mascarpone, vanilla, Kahlúa and a little less than 1/2 of coffee in a medium mixing bowl, blend until everything is smoothly mixed together. In another medium bowl, beat the cream with the icing sugar until smooth, then fold in the mascarpone mix.

Place the remaining coffee into large deep plate, quickly dip the biscuits flipping sides, one by one, enough to make one layer in a 11x7 casserole dish. Spread evenly half of the mascarpone mix on top. Repeat with another layer of biscuits and the rest of the mascarpone mix. Refrigerate.

Before serving, fill a small sieve with cocoa powder and lightly dust the top. If you are fancy, grate some of bittersweet chocolate or make chocolate curls and scatter them all over.

"Doctoring" instant noodle

Even when you are an obsessive cook/baker, sometimes you just want to call delivery instead. And when that isn't an option because your stomach is digesting itself, something quick is required.

Yes, I do eat instant noodle once in a blue moon... *sigh*

As a kid, I used to love eating the noodle right out of the bag as a snack. My mom didn't let me do that too often because she would say "It is bad for you!"

Unfortunately, she was right, as always. Have you ever looked at the nutrition information? Urgh...

So now as an adult, I would "doctor" the noodle to make myself feel better. And I think my artery thanks me.

I use only half a bag of noodle, and put lots of vegetables. And instead of using the soup powder, I would use chicken broth instead.

Get the broth boiling, throw in some tomatoes and string beans like I did, or basically almost any vegetable (I like using tomatoes because they add a tangy taste to the broth)

When it boils again, throw in the noodles, swirl around to loosen up the strands for a minute and pour everything in a bowl.

Zap!

How many minutes did that take? Five at most.

Slurp it all up. Relax, and pour yourself a glass of red.