Preparing the coffee dip
Prepare a strong espresso coffee, about 1½ cups (360 cc).
Dissolve 2 teaspoons of sugar in the coffee when the coffee is still hot. Let the coffee cool to room temperature.

Beat the egg yolks in a heat proof bowl ( don’t boil it is more to sterilize to avoid Salmonella) or in the bowl of a double boiler until they become fluffy.
Beat in the sugar . . .
. . . and the Marsala wine.( if you like to add it I usually don’t )
Transfer the bowl over a pan of simmering water, and whisk until the cream thickens. The zabaglione will thicken just before it boils, when small bubbles appear.

Mash the mascarpone cheese in a bowl with a rubber spatula until creamy.
Add the zabaglione into the mascarpone cheese and beat to mix very well.
Whip the cream. Fold the whipped cream into the zabaglione cheese cream until smooth.

Assemble the cake:
Lightly soak the ladyfingers in the coffee, one at a time. Place them in one layer in a container about 12 x 8 inches, approximately 2 inches deep (or a 30 x 20 cm container, approximately 4 cm deep).
Evenly distribute half of the zabaglione cream over the ladyfingers.
Repeat the step with a second layer of ladyfingers and top with the rest of the cream.
Sprinkle with the cocoa powder and refrigerate for about 3 – 4 hours.

1. It is difficult to know exactly how much coffee the ladyfingers are going to absorb. Prepare some extra coffee ready, just in case the quantity is not enough.
2. Dip the ladyfingers in the coffee very fast. Don’t let the cookies absorb too much liquid or they may become too soft and mushy.
3. Remove the mascarpone cheese from the refrigerator early enough. Whip it vigorously until very soft before adding the zabaglione cream.
4. The original Italian recipe doesn’t use zabaglione or whipped cream, but just raw eggs. About 37% of the cases of Salmonella in Italy are from consuming Tiramisu’ with raw eggs. Consuming raw eggs exposes to Salmonella contamination. This is the reason why I am using bain-marie zabaglione and whipped cream instead of raw egg yolks.