At a glance

Give the ladyfingers a quick dip in cold espresso, layer them with orange mascarpone cream and chill the cups for at least 4 hours. Add the chocolate finish just before serving. You can keep every cup plain or measure a labeled infusion into one serving’s ganache.

Higher Grounds Tiramisu Cups

Prep 25 min · Chill 4 hr · Total 4 hr 25 min · Yield 8 servings

Ingredients & directions

Espresso tiramisu cups with orange mascarpone

Ingredients

Espresso and mascarpone layers

Bittersweet ganache

Mascarpone, heavy cream, espresso, crisp ladyfingers, powdered sugar, an orange and bittersweet chocolate

Set out eight 4-ounce glasses or ramekins, a kitchen scale, two mixing bowls, a fine grater, a whisk or hand mixer, a flexible spatula, a shallow dipping dish, a small saucepan and a heatproof bowl. Chill the cream and the bowl you’ll whip it in. Cool the coffee before you begin.

Directions

  1. A spatula folding whipped cream into mascarpone flecked with orange zest

    Fold the orange mascarpone cream

    Set aside a pinch of zest for the tops. Briefly whisk the mascarpone with the powdered sugar, remaining zest and salt until smooth. In a separate cold bowl, whip the 175 g cold cream to medium peaks. When you lift the whisk, the tips should curl over. Stir a third of the whipped cream into the mascarpone to loosen it, then gently fold in the rest just until the white streaks disappear.

  2. A ladyfinger dipping into espresso beside clear cups layered with coffee-soaked cookies and pale mascarpone cream

    Dip, layer and chill

    Break the ladyfingers into pieces that fit the glasses. Dip each piece in the 150 mL cold espresso for about 1 second per side, then let the excess drip into the dish. Divide half the dipped pieces among the glasses, then spoon over half the cream. Repeat with the remaining pieces and cream so each glass holds the equivalent of 1½ ladyfingers. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until the cream holds a spoon mark and the cookies are soft enough to cut with a spoon.

  3. Glossy dark chocolate ganache in a small bowl with a spoon and chopped chocolate beside it

    Stir the espresso ganache

    Near the end of chilling, put the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Heat the 2 tablespoons of cream in a small saucepan until it steams and bubbles form around the edge. Pour over the chocolate and let stand for 1 minute. Stir from the center until glossy, then stir in 1 teaspoon of cooled espresso. Let the ganache cool to room temperature while it’s still soft enough to spoon.

  4. A spoon adding a dollop of dark ganache to a chilled tiramisu cup with visible espresso-cookie and cream layers

    Top and garnish each cup

    Allow about a heaped teaspoon of ganache per cup. For a requested infused serving, spoon that cup’s ganache into a separate small dish. Measure the edible oil in the label’s units. For a label in mL, use a clean, graduated oral syringe. Stir the measured oil into the separate ganache with its own spoon. Spoon the ganache onto the chilled cups, garnish with the reserved zest and label any infused cup before serving.

Storage Cover the cups and refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or colder. Use within 2 days for the best texture. For an overnight make-ahead, chill the layered cups and add the ganache just before serving. Refrigerate any infused cup separately in a clearly labeled, locked child-resistant container.

Serving with THC Use only a labeled oral product for consenting adults of legal age where permitted. Health Canada suggests choosing 2.5 mg THC or less if you are new to edibles. Effects can take up to 4 hours to fully develop. Avoid taking more during that time. Do not drive or operate machinery after using cannabis. Label infused food, keep it apart from plain food, and lock it away from children and pets.

Kitchen notes

Keep the layers light and distinct

If the cream starts to look grainy

Stop whisking as soon as the mascarpone smooths out. The separate whipped cream should look soft and satiny. A flexible spatula helps you fold it in with fewer strokes.

If the cookies turn soggy

Dip a piece right before it goes in the cup. Give very porous ladyfingers an even quicker dip. They continue to soften as the cups chill.

If the ganache sets before serving

Before portioning or adding any infusion, set the bowl over warm water for a few seconds and stir until the ganache loosens. Cool again until it’s room temperature and spoonable.

Make every cup without cannabis

Use plain espresso ganache on all eight cups. Decaf espresso or decaf strong coffee works here, too.

Use the product label

Estimate THC in a portion

Enter the actual amount of labeled edible oil stirred into one cup’s cooled ganache. The mascarpone and shared ganache stay plain. Use the same unit for the label amount and the amount used.

Enter the label values and the amount you used.

The estimate is for what you add to one serving. Product variation and any finish left on the spoon can change the amount consumed.

THC in one portion = label THC (mg) × amount used ÷ label amount.

If a label lists 10 mg THC per 5 mL and you measure 0.5 mL into one cup’s ganache, that cup has an estimated 1 mg THC added (10 × 0.5 ÷ 5). The other seven cups stay plain.

Serve it plain if you cannot verify the label or measure the amount in the label’s units.

Recipe and safety references