Happy Endings

Now granted, this is a food blog about helping your whole family eat healthfully, but this is not a recipe you want to feed your little ones. For one, it has a good amount of alcohol. And second, it has a fair bit of espresso, not something I want pumping through the veins of my already-active-as-it-is boys.

But, sometimes it is good to have something just for you. And your grown-up friends. You remember, the ones that you used to hang out with every weekend and Thursday nights for happy hour before you had kids?

So, Ten-rrific Recipe #10 is a lightened Tiramisu. Tiramisu is one of my all time favorite desserts, but in its original form, light it ain't. I used to have a recipe for lightened tiramisu that featured some ingredients that weren't exactly natural, so I came up with this version that I like even more.

So whip some up this weekend, invite some friends over for dinner and dessert and enjoy a real conversation.

Lightened Tiramisu

2 cups espresso (if you don't have an espresso machine, either brew your coffee strong or buy instant espresso granules)
1/2 cup Kahlua or coffee flavored liquor, divided use
7-8 ounces marscapone cheese
1 - 8oz package of light cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 - 3 oz packages of ladyfingers (about 24--buy the hard ladyfingers, not the sponge-like ones if you can)
Cocoa powder for dusting

Mix the espresso and 1/4 cup of the Kahlua in a shallow dish. Set Aside.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup Kahlua, cheeses and brown sugar in a bowl. Stir until smooth and the kahlua is well incorporated.

Take one ladyfinger and dip into the espresso mixture until it is saturated. Place in a 9x9 glass dish. Repeat with half of the ladyfingers to cover the bottom of the dish. Layer half of the marscapone mixture on top. Repeat.

Dust cocoa powder on top.


Serves 8-10.

SPC

PS--Did I mention this is a really easy recipe to pull off too?