Tiramisu with Lady Fingers ;)

Tried my hand at Tiramisu today and I can't express enough how excited I am about the results smile emoticon I checked out various recipes online and just put together what I felt was the best.

Here's how I went about it:

SAVOIARDI BISCUIT (ladyfingers)

I knew before hand that I'll have to make some of my own because I don't have exotic stuff available around the place I live. These delights are a cross between an airy biscuit and a regular sponge cake. I could have gone ahead with a sponge cake but for want of some authenticity, I decided to make some savoiardi on my own.

• 5 eggs
• 3/4th cup of castor sugar
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• A pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Separate eggs into whites and yolks.
• Use the whites and almost half the sugar to raise a meringue. Set aside.
• Add the remaining sugar to yolks,add a splash of vanilla and whisk until light & fluffy.
• Add half the meringue to the yolk mixture. Fold lightly.
• Now add the flour, baking soda and salt. Fold lightly.
• Finally add the remaining meringue and fold ever so gently. This will yield you a very light and airy batter.
• Spread this on a baking sheet keeping the layer 1/2 inch thick. (You could choose to pipe out the batter in small finger shapes. I chose to spread it out like a cake because eventually it has to be layered)
• Put it in pre heated oven and bake at 170 degree Celsius for almost 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

THE CREAMY LAYER

• A tub of mascarpone cheese at room temperature (The one I used had about 182 g)
• 200 g of heavy cream - whipped (Since the Amul cream available is just 25% fat, it takes too long to whip. I refrigerated the pack, scooped out the thickened cream leaving behind the watery whey that deposits at the bottom, added about 40-50 g of butter, a splash of vanilla, about 4 tablespoons of castor sugar and whipped away to glory in a cold bowl. Voila! whipped cream for you smile emoticon )
• Fold together the whipped cream and mascarpone very gently. You don't want the whipped cream to deflate. (Check the sweetness to your taste before you follow this step)

ASSEMBLING THE TIRAMISU

• Whipped Cream and Mascarpone mixture
• Savoiardi (I assembled in short Borosil glasses so I cut rounds of Savoiardi. You can assemble the layers in a large dish without having to cut shapes)
• Black coffee (Boil 2 cups of water with about 4 teaspoons of instant coffee)
• 30 ml rum (I used Old Monk smile emoticon Love that stuff!).
• Unsweetened Cocoa (I used Hershey's 100% dark cocoa)
• Put the first layer of Savoiardi.
• Mix the coffee and rum.
• Spoon over some rum and coffee mixture till the Savoiardi soaks it completely. You don't want extra fluid around the Savoiardi so don't go overboard with drenching it completely!
• Very gently spread a generous layer of the whipped cream and mascarpone mixture. So light and airy! Trust me you'd love this part!
• Dust some unsweetened cocoa