Mascarpone Coffee Dessert with Ladyfingers
A no-cook single-serving dessert: coffee-soaked ladyfingers layered with lightly sweetened mascarpone. Dense, rich and ready after a short chill.
- Total
- 47 min
- Prep 12 · Cook 5 · Rest 30
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Whisking · Folding
- Sweet
- No cook
Instructions
-
Brew or warm 80 ml coffee and let it cool to room temperature in a shallow dish.
~5 min
Cooling prevents the ladyfingers from becoming soggy and keeps the mascarpone from melting.
-
Separate 1 egg. Put the yolk in a small bowl with 100 g mascarpone and 10 g sugar, and whisk until smooth and thick.
~4 min
Whisking the yolk with mascarpone and sugar creates a smooth, thick base that holds the layers.
Whisking Whisk in a circular motion, lifting the whisk to incorporate air. Stop when soft peaks form; overwhisking makes the whites dry and grainy.
-
In a clean bowl, whisk the egg white with the remaining 5 g sugar until it holds soft peaks, about 3 minutes. Fold it into the mascarpone mixture in two additions until just combined.
~3 min
Whipping egg whites to soft peaks adds air, making the mascarpone mixture lighter and fluffier.
Whisking Whisk in a circular motion, lifting the whisk to incorporate air. Stop when soft peaks form; overwhisking makes the whites dry and grainy.
Folding Use a spatula to gently cut down and fold over, rotating the bowl. Stop as soon as no white streaks remain to keep the mixture airy.
-
Dip 50 g ladyfingers into the cooled coffee for 1 second per side, just until moistened but not falling apart.
~2 min
Brief dipping moistens the ladyfingers without making them fall apart, so the layers stay distinct.
Dip the ladyfingers very briefly, one second per side; longer soaking turns them to mush and the layers collapse.
-
Layer half the soaked ladyfingers in a serving glass, spread half the mascarpone mixture over them, then repeat with the remaining ladyfingers and mascarpone mixture.
~3 min
-
Chill the assembled dessert in the fridge for 30 minutes so the layers set and the flavors meld.
~30 min
Chilling allows the layers to set and the coffee flavor to meld into the mascarpone.