Thin Mint and Irish Cream Tiramisu

Soooo... how many Girl Scouts have you mowed down just to get your box of Thin Mints? Or did you steal them off your co-workers desk? Yeah, you. You know who you are. I know how it works. I was once a Girl Scout, long ago. I won't give too much detail, but it was way back when gas was under .75 cents a gallon and the Girl Scout cookies cost about the same. I've witnessed Thin Mint induced violence.




These cookies bring back a ton of memories from simpler times. The Baileys- well- memories from more, uh, interesting times. With St. Patrick's day just around the corner, I thought I'd combine two of my favorite things into one of my favorite desserts, Tiramisu. I decided to adapt a recipe for a Chocolate Tiramisu Cake from one of my favorite cookbooks, Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard . What resulted was a rich and silky, yet undeniably "Thin Mint" Tiramisu.

While my adaptations may seem lengthy, they really take not much time at all to prepare. The components can easily be made a day ahead, and assembled just prior to serving. Depending upon your serving glass sizes, your amount of servings may vary.

I've submitted this post to "The Daily Spud" for their Paddy’s Day Food Parade! Go take an Irish peek on March 17th to see all the scrumptious Irish eats that have been rounded up!






Thin Mint and Irish Cream Tiramisu
adapted from Francois Payard

Mascarpone Mousse (recipe below)
Mint Chocolate Mascarpone Ganache (recipe below)
24 Thin Mint Cookies- divided (grated of their chocolate-use half for ganache recipe and half as a sprinkled topping)
1/4 c very strong coffee
1 TBS Irish cream (I used Baileys)
4 parfait glasses

Mix coffee and Irish cream in a small bowl. Set aside. In bottom of parfait glasses place an even layer of mascarpone mousse in each- about an inch or so (depending on glass size). Then for each glass, soak 3 cookies (which have been previously grated of their chocolate coating) in the coffee mixture until cookie is slightly soft, and place on top of the mascarpone mousse. Then place a thin layer of Mint chocolate ganache, 3 more cookies soaked in coffee, and another layer of mascarpone mousse. Top with a small dollop of chocolate ganache. Garnish each parfait with reserved grated mint chocolate. Serves 4 (depending on glass sizes, servings may vary)

Mint Chocolate Mascarpone Ganache

12 of the 24 Thin mint cookies, grated of their chocolate (to equal approximately 1/2 cup) Reserve cookies
1/2 c heavy cream
3 TBS Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 tsp Irish Cream (I used Baileys)

Heat heavy cream In a double boiler (or a bowl placed over simmering water) until hot, about 3 minutes. Add Irish cream and grated chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add mascarpone, stirring till melted and well combined. Remove from heat and set aside until to cool enough to place in refrigerator,chilling until very cold. Once ganache is well chilled, beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, and resembles whipped cream.

Mascarpone Mousse

2 egg yolks (reserve whites)
1/3 c sugar, divided
2 egg whites (from previous reserve)
1 c Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 TBS Irish cream (I used Baileys)
green food coloring (if desired)

In a double boiler (or a bowl placed over simmering water) add egg yolks and half of sugar. Keep whisking until yolks change from dark yellow to a lemon yellow, and become nice and thick- approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk another 5 minutes, until mixture is cool enough to touch bowl. Once cool, blend in mascarpone cheese.

In another bowl, whisk egg whites with remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Whisk in Irish Cream. Then fold egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture until just combine. Place in refrigerator until well chilled. After mixture is well chilled, add green food coloring, if desired.