Treat Yourself to a Cheater's Tiramisu

You deserve to have tiramisu on a whim. It's creamy, light, slightly alcoholic--essentially the ideal mid-week treat. The trouble is that making tiramisu requires weekend-level effort. The traditional method involves separating raw eggs and whipping them to specific thicknesses, folding them gently, and finding out later that you did it wrong and made a runny mess. That's why I suggest you become a cheater and make a lazy cheater's tiramisu.

I've messed up a classic tiramisu before, and besides being a sad sight, it's a terrible waste of ingredients. I cheated the traditional tiramisu to make this fool-proof, incredible imposter, though. I reduced the amount of effort that goes in, but I made sure to keep the important tiramisu flavors and textures even though it uses somewhat unconventional ingredients.

In the traditional version, the egg-based cream is the most difficult part, and it can make or break the entire dessert. Instead of all the egg separating and whipping business, I remove it completely and replace the eggs with a couple vanilla Snack Packs--yes, the packaged, premade vanilla pudding sold in four-packs. You only need two of the cups. (Save the other two for its namesake activity.)

I built the tiramisu in rocks glasses. Why? You might think building a large tiramisu in a casserole dish is lazier, but something felt right about this single serving structure. Maybe it's because I didn't need to actually spread out the cream filling and dirty another utensil (I just scooped cream and smashed in wet cookies), or maybe it's because I didn't have to plan out the layers to ensure I had enough of every ingredient. I simply scooped, and then I smashed. Whatever it is, glasses seem to be the right choice for a lazy cheater.

I used these ingredients for my cheater-misu:

Whip heavy cream and a tablespoon of granulated sugar to medium peaks. In another large bowl, add mascarpone cheese and spread it around to loosen it up. It's a soft cheese, so it won't take much. Add the snack pack puddings and, using a rubber spatula, mix and stir until thoroughly combined. The mixture will look fluffy and delicious already, but the whipped cream lightens it and makes the consistency more akin to a classic tiramisu. Fold in the whipped cream thoroughly and set it aside while you prep the lady fingers, or savoiardi cookies.

Add two double shots of espresso and two teaspoons of marsala wine to a small, wide bowl. If you don't have marsala, you can use a dark rum, another spirit you think you'll enjoy, or skip it altogether. Strong coffee can replace espresso if that's preferable or more available. Dip both sides of the lady fingers in the espresso mixture, break it in half, and put both halves down in the bottom of a rocks glass. Add a scoop of the cream mixture--about two tablespoons, but I just eyeballed it. No need to flatten the cream, just press in another espresso soaked savoiardi cookie broken in half. Repeat the layering until you get to the top, ending with a dollop of cream. Dust the top with cocoa powder and pop the glass into the fridge to soak and set, about two hours.

The mascarpone's flavor and thick, distinguishable texture effectively removes the "packaged taste" and makes it undetectable as pudding. The pudding, diluted by the mascarpone and lightened by the whipped cream, leaves behind only its springy, gelatinous consistency. It gives the cream mixture the richness and structure of eggs, without the fuss of eggs.

This tiramisu is a cheater's victory with all of the flavor and texture points of a real tiramisu in an easy-to-grab glass. This recipe makes three to four servings, depending on the glasses you use, and it can be easily doubled using the same technique. You could even get a little wild with your Snack Packs and try different flavors like butterscotch or chocolate. Feel free to serve this dessert at a party and tell your guests how much time you spent whipping the egg yolks "just so."

Lazy Cheater's Tiramisu

Ingredients:

In a small, wide bowl, combine the espresso and marsala. In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream and sugar to medium peaks. In a different large bowl, thoroughly mix together the snack packs and mascarpone cheese with a rubber spatula. Fold in the whipped cream.

Dip both sides of a lady finger cookie in the espresso mixture, break it in half, and place it in the bottom of a rocks glass. Repeat this in two other glasses. Add a scoop of the cream mixture to each glass. Repeat the layers until the glasses are full, ending with a scoop of the cream. Top with a dusting of cocoa powder. Let the tiramisu cups set in the fridge for at least two hours before serving.