Easy Tiramisu

A delicious serving of tiramisu.  Yummy!

A couple of years ago I had a wonderful dessert of tiramisu at the Lavender Bistro in Tryon, North Carolina.  That inspired me to undertake making this dessert, and I discovered it is really quite easy.  I wanted to find a recipe that did not use egg yolks and did not use alcohol.  I tweaked a recipe of Sandra Lee's of the Food Channel.

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature  *(I used 8oz of mascarpone cheese.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (7-ounce) package of ladyfingers
1 cup strong black coffee *(I made a cup of strong espresso---stronger than coffee.)
1 teaspoon cocoa powder

Sandra Lee made her recipe in 4 wine glasses---four individual servings.  I used an 8 x 8 inch glass dish and I was able to get 6 servings from this.

Directions:
1.  In a chilled bowl combine 3/4 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cup sugar.  Whip with a hand mixer until soft peaks form.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. 

Heavy cream and sugar ready to make whipped cream.

2.  In a large bowl combine the mascarpone cheese, 1/4 cup heavy cream, vanilla and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar.  (Next time I will use only 1/4 cup of sugar here, because the mascarpone cheese is  sweet.) Whip with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.

Mascarpone, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla.  Blend together.

Cheese mixture.

3.  Line the bottom of the glass dish with ladyfingers that have been dipped quickly into the coffee.  You do not want to soak the ladyfingers, because they will turn into a mushy texture.  Dip quickly, no more than 5 seconds.

Ladyfingers dipped into coffee lining bottom of glass dish.

4.  Spread half of the cheese mixture on top of the ladyfingers.

Sptread cheese mixture on ladyfingers.

5.  Add a second layer of ladyfingers that have been dipped into the coffee.

Second layer of lady fingers.

6.  Spread the remaining cheese mixture on top of these ladyfingers.    Top with the whipped cream.

Top with whipped cream.

7.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.  Just before serving put the cocoa powder into a small sieve and tap gentle to dust the top of the dessert. 

Dust with cocoa powder before serving.

This is an easy dessert.  It would be quite elegant served in individual wine glasses as Sandra Lee's recipe suggests.  I'll be making this again. 

Ready to eat. 

Check this out for a recipe to serve in individual wine glasses.

Photo from Well Fed.

Lavender Bistro, Tryon, North Carolina

When Dan and I were in Cleveland County back in May we had planned to take my friend PJ to the Ni Fen restaurant in Shelby for her birthday, but our plan did not materialize.  In July we planned to celebrate her birthday belatedly, but Ni Fen was closed for the Fourth of July holiday.

Peggy the birthday lady.

Determined to find a fine restaurant to celebrate her birthday, I called around and the Lavender Bistro, up in Tryon was highly recommended as a likely place to have a special dinner.  Tryon is at the foot of the mountains up toward Asheville about 40 miles from Shelby.  Upon calling we were able to secure a reservation so we took off for the hills. 

The Lavender Bistro.

Tryon is a lovely little town where a lot of folks choose to retire.  The Lavender Bistro is a charming little place right on the main street. 

After perusing the menu we thought we had made a good choice with this Bistro.

We shared a starter of baked brie with a wonderful roasted fig marmalade in puff pastry.Yummy!!

For our entree we each chose the trout almondine.  It too was delicious.

Carolina trout almondine.

 We were pretty sated after the ample entree, but wanting to at least try one of their desserts we shared a serving of the tiramisu.  It was light and delicate and flavorful.  We made the right choice there.

Tiramisu, the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

I'm glad to know of this little Bistro that's not that far from Shelby.  I feel sure we will venture up there again on one of our future trips to Cleveland County. 

Back on the Champs-Élysées for an Evening

Hereghty in Glenwood Village, Raleigh. 

This evening Dan and I found a wonderful little French patisserie within walking of our house.  We had gone down to Glenwood Village, a small shopping center at the corner of Glenwood and Oberlin, hoping to eat at the Glenwood Grill.  Luckily for us, the Glenwood Grill was fully booked, so we noticed a little patisserie and cafe tucked away on the other side of the parking lot.
   

A dessert shop in Paris.

Upon entering the Hereghty , one is immediately reminded of the dessert shops of Paris. 
This is a true French-style Patisserie with a wonderful European atmosphere.  We weren't looking for dessert, but rather something for a quick supper.  Their wide selection of soups, sandwiches and salads fit the bill.

In the summer time, I rarely pass on a chance for gazpacho, and here the gazpacho was made of watermelon rather than tomato.  Delish!

Watermelon gazpacho.

My choice of egg salad was served on a freshly made buttery croissant as good as any I ever had in Paris.  Dan was equally pleased with his smoked salmon sandwich.

Egg salad in buttery croissant.

When we had set out to find a quick supper, we weren't intent upon having dessert.  But upon entering this gem of a place, leaving without dessert was impossible.  The problem was deciding what dessert to have.  There were so many choices---and all looked soooo good.  

Tiramisu.

I opted for  tiramisu and I think it was the best I have ever had. Dan declared his chocolate mousse  good---perhaps not as good as some we have had in France---but really good for Raleigh. 

Ambiance reminiscent of European cafe.

Friendly staff.

Apart from the delicious food, the ambiance is quaint with a Parisian feel.  The staff was friendly and service was quick, although there was only one other couple having a meal.  Many folks came in and ordered desserts to go.

Ordering desserts to go.

Yes, for just one evening it was almost like being back on the Champs-Élysées.  Although it's a little frightening to know there are so many delicious desserts within walking distance of our home.