Did you know Tiramisu means Food of the Gods? No, but it should be.

To me Tiramisu is a great summer dessert, but don't get me wrong - you can eat it in the winter too! After it's chilled, it's great to have on a hot summer day with a good spiked iced drink (this is the college edition, of course). Nonetheless, I made it for a few friends over the summer and it's a good thing they aren't diabetics, because this is one unbelievably sugared dessert. I guess the only healthy part is the strawberries I like to put on top (an excuse to eat Tiramisu? Pfft I don't need one). Enjoy this classic Italian dessert, whose origins, though debatable, are found in Siena when a few Sienese pastry chefs concocted this dish to honor Grand Duke Cosimo III D'Medici - this, of course, in the late 1600s. 400 years of awesome-ness. Mangia Bene, people, Mangia Bene!

Ingredients
1 lb of Mascarpone Cheese, softened
1-½ cup of Heavy Cream
1/3 cup of Granulated Sugar
1 tsp of Vanilla
2 ½ cups of Really Strong Coffee or Espresso, cooled
2 Tbsp of Dark Rum
2 Tbsp of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
30 Ladyfingers (preferably Savogliardi, not sponge cake ladyfingers - buy the harder ones because this way they won't fall apart on you when you dip them into the combined liquids)
1 box of strawberries


Preparation
1) In a large bowl whip the heavy cream and set in the fridge until you are ready to use it (cream stays stiffer longer if kept cold) .
2) In a large bowl cream together the mascarpone, vanilla and sugar, fold in half of the whipped cream into mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whipped cream being careful not to over mix.
3) To assemble, in a large bowl mix together the coffee and rum and set aside, also have ready the cocoa powder and ladyfingers. Have a 9 by 9 square baking pan ready to start assembling. Dip each ladyfinger into the coffee mixture and lay in the bottom of your pan, once the whole bottom of the pan has the coffee and rum soaked ladyfingers ready pour over half of the mascarpone and cream mixture, spread evenly over ladyfingers and sprinkle the top with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. (USE A SIFTER FOR NICE EVEN COVERAGE)
4) Arrange the remaining coffee soaked ladyfingers on top of the layers and spread over the remaining filling. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. (USE A SIFTER FOR NICE EVEN COVERAGE)
5) Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours before serving.
6) Garnish the Tiramisu with some strawberries and whipped cream, if you like.