Black-Forest Tiramisu

This is my Dad's favorite dessert and it is no ordinary Tiramisu. It is a pretty simple recipe, without using raw eggs but rather some juicy cherries. I got this recipe from my friend Thomas from highschool times. He ones made it for our group of friends and we just fell in love with it. The use of cherries seems a little strange in a Tiramisu, but considering that we are from the Black Forest area, it seems suitable :)

Most of the following ingredients are very Germany specific, but you can use American substitutes.

Ingredients

• 1 package (200mg) Löffelbisuits (lady fingers)
• 1-2 cups of coffee
• 3 oz (shot glasses) of liquor, lemon or rum
• 75 mg (3 tablespoons) sugar
• 1 package (8g/ 0.28oz) vanillin sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 500 ml heavy cream
• 2 packages (each 8g/ 0.28oz) "Sahnesteif"(whipping cream stabilizer)
• 250 mg mascarpone cheese
• 1 glass (720ml/ 25oz - including heavy syrup) dark pitted sour cherries
• chocolate flakes for decoration

Preparation

1. Prepare the coffee. Place the lady fingers on a plate. Drizzle the lady fingers with coffee and with either some liquoer, lemon juice or rum, whatever is available. Let the lady fingers soak for a few minutes, then turn them around and drizzle the other side. The lady fingers need to be soft and bendable in the end.
2. Mix the sugar, vanilla sugar and cinammon. If you don't have the German "vanillin sugar" (which is a mix of sugar and vanille), use one more tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
3. In another container, I recommend a thin tall one so that the cream doesn't splatter too much, whip the cream for 1 minute, add the "Sahnesteif" (stabilizer that keeps the whipped cream stiff), and finnish whipping until the cream stays in the container when you turn it upside down. Be careful not to overwhip it. In the end, add the sugar mix and give it one last quick stir to mix it up.
4. Whip the mascarpone in a separate bowl. Then, fold in the cream mix.
5. Now start layering the tiramisu. Start with half of the lady fingers, cover the entire bottom of a suitable bowl. Then add half of the cream mix. Drain the cherries and add a layer on top of the cream. Keep a few cherries for garnishment. Add the rest of the lady fingers on top of the cherries and finish with the rest of the cream. Decorate the top with a few cherries, chocolate flakes and/or cinnamon powder.