Tiramisu Cheesecake

Decadent doesn’t even begin to cover it. # 360: Tiramisu Cheesecake

When a recipe calls for four types of dairy, you know we’re going big. Java chip Oreo crust, velvety cheesecake layer, espresso-soaked ladyfingers, another rich cheesecake layer, all topped off with espresso mascarpone whipped cream and cocoa powder. Whew!

We recently had a joint birthday brunch for Nate and my brother-in-law Tom and luckily for me, they both love tiramisu. Instead of make a classic version, I went rogue in a very delicious cream-cheese-filled way.

Making cakes for events means no pretty slice shots (booo) but I promise there’s an unofficial paper plate one at the end of the post.

I needed a bit more than one package of Oreos for the crust so I set Nate loose on the cookie aisle at Safeway. For the Oreo connoisseurs out there, the selections were dark chocolate and java chip. (There was a debate about just using the tiramisu flavored ones, but Safeway only had the “thins” and I needed the classic cookie proportions for the crust to work.)

These might be fighting words, but I like the original Oreo the best. With maybe an exception for peanut butter Oreos, but they still aren’t as fabulous as dipping regular Oreos in a jar of peanut butter! Shout out to my Parent Trap fans.

As promised, the dairy line up was not for the faint of heart:

Cream cheese
Mascarpone
Sour cream
Heavy cream

The secret for having all those different consistencies blend together smoothly: make sure they’re all at room temperature! But actually though, nobody has time to deal with cold cream cheese lumps.

C’est magnifique!

Layer one: cheesecake foundation.

Layer two: espresso ladyfinger tetris.

Layer three: déjà vu.

I used my own recipe for the espresso mascarpone topping in place of the one in the recipe for a few reasons. First, I know exactly how it’ll turn out and I wanted one element of predictability in this bake. (Cheesecakes scare me, not gonna lie.) And second, mine calls for powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar, leaving less of a possibility of a grainy texture.