Sylvia, here's a variation on the Tiramisu theme - a recipe for Tiramisu Cake that Stacy posted. My family loved it! Tiramisu Cake (Stacy3) 1 (18 1/4 ounce) box French vanilla cake mix 1 pint coffee ice cream, melted 3 eggs 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup sour cream 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur (Kahlua - I bought one of the tiny bottles from the Liqueur store and used it all) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 1 tablespoon cocoa 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat standard bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. Dust with flour, shake out excess. 2. With electric mixer, beat cake mix, melted ice cream, & eggs in a bowl for 3 minutes on medium speed. Scrape into prepared cake pan. 3. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Cool pan on wire rack 20 minutes. 4. Frosting: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, butter, liqueur & vanilla on medium speed until light & creamy (2 mins or so). On low speed, gradually beat in confectioners sugar, about 1 to 2 minutes. Refrigerate while cake cools. 5. Once cake is cool, spread frosting over top & sides. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Dust with cocoa.

Here is my favorite recipe: Chocolate Ice Cream Makes about 1 quart 2 cups heavy cream 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder 5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate 1 cup whole milk 3/4 cup granulated sugar 5 large egg yolks 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1. Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl. 2. Warm the milk and sugar in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan. 3. Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath. 4. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.) I usually make it with 1/2 cup toasted chopped almonds or hazelnuts and then use 1 tbsp of Amaretto or Frangelico (depending on the nut) instead of the vanilla. I add the nuts close to the end of the freezing cycle. I would call this a "double chocolate" ice cream, as the chocolate is very intense. You may not want nuts for a three year old, but consider it when making it for adults. I've made this recipe many times, and it is definitely my favorite. Sometimes I substitute three whole eggs for the five egg yolks, and that works also. Lars

I agree with Linda. I love Tiramisu but the raw eggs put me off. Not when it is fresh, but I hated having to toss it after the second day. So I came up with my own recipe years ago that uses a cooked custard. To make it even more decadent serve with a Creme Anglaise and drizzled with chocolate. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Tiramisu ======== This is my recipe. I have been making it this way for many years Most Tiramisu recipes are made with raw eggs. This one starts with cooked custard 1 Custard recipe (follows) 1 500g tub of mascarpone cream cheese 1/2 Cup whipping cream 1 Cup fresh strong espresso 1/4 Cup cognac or rum 1 Package ladyfingers ground chocolate 1/2 Pint whipping cream Creme Anglaise (optional) Custard 1/2 Cup sugar 3 Tablespoons flour 1/4 Teaspoon salt 1-1/2 Cups hot milk 3 egg yolks 1 Tablespoon butter 1 Teaspoon vanilla Combine sugar, flour and salt in saucepan. Gradually stir in hot milk. Cook over low heat stirring until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking for 1 minute. Beat egg yolks slightly. Gradually stir in about 1/2 of thickened sauce. Add this mixture back into saucepan with remaining sauce. cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and blend in butter and vanilla. Place plastic wrap on surface and refrigerate. Cool completely. Beat Mascarpone cheese with whipping cream. Add cooled custard and mix well. Dip ladyfingers into coffee and cognac mixture and place one layer in bowl of choice. Cover with half of cheese mixture. Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers and finish with cheese mixture. Prepare one day ahead. Before serving cover with whipping cream and ground chocolate. To serve. prepare a Creme Anglaise recipe and pour some on to plate, place two scoops of tiramisu on the sauce and drizzle with warm chocolate sauce. Add a few fresh strawberries or raspberries.

Thanks, Tishtosh! I think I will stick with my method of roasting and then rubbing with the paper towel. A few flecks of skin did remain, but I removed the bulk of it, and it was fairly quick with the paper towel and not that messy. If I blanched them, I would still have to toast them, and so I do not think this would save time, and it would use an additional pan. If I were making candy with them, I would consider blanching, but for the pie, what I did was acceptable. The Bavarian cream is mostly cream, and it had a light and delicate flavor but was quite filling. It was almost like a mousse, but a little denser than that. I'm not sure that the people eating it appreciated it the way I do, although a couple of them did. The flavors are a bit subtle, even though I doubled the amount of Frangelico to two tablespoons. I think I prefer lemon curd, which is easier to make, but I have to wait another two weeks or so until my Meyer lemons get ripe. I do not get as many lemons as I did in Venice because I am growing my lemon tree in a wine barrel planter, as I have the wrong soil. Here's the last piece of pie; it was a bit messy because the crust stuck to the Pyrex pan. I normally make it in a non-stick metal pan, and I had forgotten why! I like the glass pan because it is deeper, but I will go back to the metal.