Why Sometimes You Should Listen to Your Mother

(Sometimes, mom, I said sometimes!) My mother had been systematically weaseling the words "tiramisu brownie" into our conversations for a while when a long-ago friend of her's brought his family over for a visit. Needless to say, my mom jumped at the opportunity to convince me to make this dessert for them. I was reluctant because 1) I had yet to really enjoy tiramisu at any point in my life, 2) I hadn't planned on baking that day and I like a little time for some forethought, and 3) my mother hadn't bought exactly the right ingredients for the job, some major ones were missing completely, others were slightly different, and I was on the verge of throwing a very toddler-esque fit. My mom is a "throw what you have into a bowl and bake" kind of a cook, but I get my method from my very neat, very organized, must-do-things-the-right-way-the-first-time father. Yikes, bad combination. Luckily my mom convinced me to improvise where I needed to and just get the damn things done already, which is where the listening-to-your-mother part comes in: sometimes they know what they're talking about. So I gathered my head and screwed it back on as straight as I could, and got to work.


The original recipe came from this book (which I didn't read. I tried, it's just not my cup of tea):

which called for cutting the brownies into strips, dunking them in a coffee mixture, and layering with the mascarpone mixture a la Legit Tiramisu. I, however, was freaking out enough as it was (not to mention we didn't even have the right ingredients for the dunking) and decided to make the brownies, soak them in weak coffee, and just bury underneath a layer of mascarpone. It worked out quite well.

Tiramisu Brownies
serves a lot and at the same time, not nearly enough

For the brownies:
1 cup shortening
4 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt shortening and chocolate together in a double boiler. Cool to room temperature. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with a mixer on high speed until light. Stir in sugar, then add chocolate mixture and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients over chocolate/sugar mixture, then mix well. Pour into a greased 9-by-13 pan (mixture will be thicker than your typical brownie batter) and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.


For the topping:
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups whipping cream
16 oz. coffee-flavored mascarpone cheese*
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup weak, freshly brewed coffee, cooled
2 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped or grated
chocolate shavings

*if you can't find coffee-flavored mascarpone, mix a teaspoon or two of instant espresso powder into plain mascarpone


Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and milk in a 2-quart saucepan until smooth and blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. As soon as mixture reaches a boil, remove from heat. Immediately refrigerate until cool (or put it in an ice bath to cool it down faster).

With an electric mixer, beat whipping cream at high speed until it forms very stiff peaks. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Mix the mascarpone cheese and sugar. Stir in the yolk mixture. Fold in the whipped cream.


To assemble:
Poke holes in the top of the brownie with a fork and pour the coffee evenly over the surface. Sprinkle with chopped/grated semisweet chocolate. Spread the mascarpone topping over the brownie and garnish with chocolate shavings. Store in refrigerator and serve chilled.