When I was an exchange student in Germany, my host mother made amazing food. My favorite, however, wasn’t German but Italian, tiramisu. She told me tiramisu means pick me (tira-pick, mi-me, su-up) up in Italian because it’s a caffeinated dessert. I also felt like a grown-up eating an alcoholic dessert.

Here's a recipe for classic Italian Tiramisu:

Ingredients:

- 6 egg yolks

- 3/4 cup granulated sugar

- 2/3 cup whole milk

- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1 pound mascarpone cheese

- 1 3/4 cups strong espresso, cooled

- 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur

- 24-30 ladyfingers

- Cocoa powder, for dusting

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until well combined.

2. Whisk in the milk and place the saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 8-10 minutes.

3. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

4. In a large bowl, beat the heavy cream and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.

5. Add the mascarpone cheese to the cooled egg mixture and beat until smooth.

6. Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture until fully combined.

7. In a shallow dish, combine the espresso and coffee liqueur.

8. Dip each ladyfinger into the espresso mixture and arrange them in a single layer on the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish.

9. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers.

10. Repeat with another layer of espresso-dipped ladyfingers and the remaining mascarpone mixture.

11. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

12. Before serving, dust the top of the tiramisu with cocoa powder.

Enjoy your delicious homemade Tiramisu!