Tiramisu

I made this in vast quantities for our wedding cake, in celebration of our meeting in Rome and the tiramisu I made for a Fourth of July party at Justin's apartment almost exactly two years before we got married.

Ingredients:
1 cup espresso, cooled
1/8 cup rum
1/2 package Savoiardi biscuits or ladyfingers
2 eggs, separated
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 lb marscapone
1/4 cup amaretto or other liqueur
1 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder
(ingredient amounts are generally very flexible)

1. Find a flat serving dish, several inches deep and large enough to accomodate half the biscuits in a single layer. Pour coffee and rum into another dish and dip 1/2 the biscuits in the mixture, soaking both sides without allowing them to disintegrate. (Usually I put them all in and them flip them over immediately--that's enough time. You might have to make more espresso/rum mixture after this, or drain off some of what the biscuits soak up to have enough left over for the next layer.)
2. Cover bottom of serving dish with savoiardi. Set aside coffee-rum mixture.
3. Beat egg yolks in bowl until pale yellow. Beat in all but about 1 tsp of sugar, marscapone, and liqueur until well blended.
4. In another bowl, whisk egg whites until fluffy but not stiff (works best with a mixer or KitchenAid). Add remaining sugar and whisk until still but not dry. Fold into egg/marscapone mixture.
5. Pour half of marscapone mixture over savoiardi layer. Top with chopped chocolate. Soak remaining biscuits and place on top of chocolate.
6. Blend any remaining coffee/rum mixture with remaining marscapone mixture and spread over biscuits. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, or freeze for 2-3 hours (thaw a bit in the refrigerator before serving if you do). Sprinkle with cocoa before serving.

Makes about 4 generous servings. I quartered a recipe for 12 in The Classic Italian Cookbook by Julia della Croce.