Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Recipe: Tiramisu

At the end of last school year, my daughter wrote a report titled "The Way Italians Eat," and we prepared tiramisu for her to share with her class. If you've taken my online class "Luscious," you know that desserts aren't my forte, and it won't come as a surprise to learn we used a recipe, which I'd never tried before.

I've only had tiramisu once before, but I still remembered it, and the recipe we prepared was a huge disappointment. So, I set to work developing a lighter tiramisu that stills offers the intense flavors of coffee and rum, blended with a sweet-tangy cream cheese filling.

This version satisfies, but it's much lower in fat and calories, thanks to Neufchatel cream cheese, fat-free Greek yogurt, fat-free angel food cake, and rum extract. Sugar substitute lowers calories and carbs. As an added bonus, Greek yogurt is low in carbs and high in protein, which helps maintain blood sugar levels.

Tiramisu

Ingredients:

1/2 cup hot water
2 tablespoons instant coffee
1 tablespoon sugar substitute
2 teaspoons imitation rum extract
12 ounces Neufchatel (reduced-fat) cream cheese
2 cups fat-free Greek yogurt
3/4 cup sugar substitute
8 ounces angel food cake
Cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles, or shaved chocolate (optional)

Directions:

Combine hot water, coffee, 1 tablespoon sugar substitute, and rum extract in a small bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer, combine cream cheese, yogurt, and 3/4 cup sugar substitute in large bowl on medium speed until smooth (about 1 minute). Increase mixer speed to high and continue mixing for 5 minutes, scraping down sides once. Set aside.

Cut cake into 1/2" slices. Quickly dip both cut sides of cake into coffee mixture (don't soak!), then layer half of the slices in an 8" x 8" baking pan to cover the bottom of the pan.

Cover cake with 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture. Repeat layers, ending with cream cheese mixture. Chill for 4 - 6 hours.

Just before serving, sprinkle with cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles, or chocolate shavings as a garnish, if desired.

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