Tiramisu Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Espresso syrup: (or you can use Torani syrups)
4 teaspoons dried instant coffee or espresso
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur

Cheesecake:
12 to 16 lady fingers
1 lb cream cheese
1/2 lb mascarpone cheese
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon khalua liqueur (optional)
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup heavy cream
cocoa powder or cinnamon for dusting

Topping:
16 to 20 lady fingers - quartered
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. espresso or instant coffee dissolved in 1-2 tbsp. hot water
non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

Lightly spray a 9-inch spring-form pan or tart pan with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Prepare syrup: in a small saucepan, stir water with coffee and sugar and heat just to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Stir in coffee liqueur.

For cake, arrange lady fingers in pan, cutting or trimming to fill out pan bottom with cookies. Brush syrup over cookies and allow to soak in. Re-apply until all the syrup is gone.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on slow speed, cream the cream cheese and sugar. Add vanilla, (Khalua liqueur), eggs, egg yolks and heavy cream. Pour over prepared cake crust.

In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter with the sugar. Using a whisk, briskly blend in the dissolved coffee. Pour into a medium sized bowl. Toss quartered lady fingers into this mixture. Arrange on top of cake.

Bake until just set - about 30 minutes. Chill for 4 hours or overnight.

Tags: cheesecake recipes, tiramisu cheesecake, tiramisu recipe, cheesecake