For New Year’s Eve 2011, I took a classic tiramisu recipe and altered it a little bit into…

Pumpkin Stout Tiramisu

…

Makes 12 large servings

Ingredients: makes a 9″ x 13″ pyrex sized tiramisu sheet

• 6 egg yolks
• 1 ¼ cups white sugar
• 16 oz. package of mascarpone (soft Italian cheese)
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• one (1) 12 oz. package of lady fingers (about 40 of 4″ cookies used)
• ½ cup (4 oz.) pumpkin stout
  I used Corvallis-based Flat Tail Brewing’s Feathertop Imperial Pumpkin Stout, which was aged on vanilla beans and sweet cinnamon bark
• ¼ cup strong coffee (espresso or strong batch of french press)
• cocoa powder (for dusting) or semi-sweet chocolate bar (for grating or curling)

Steps:

1. Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler, over boiling water.  If you don’t have a double-boiler, here are some alternatives.  Reduce heat to low, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and whip yolks until thick and lemon colored.
2. Add mascarpone to whipped yolks. Beat until smooth.  Using a hand mixer will help.
3. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks (also with a hand mixer). Gently fold into yolk mixture and set aside.
4. Take half of the lady fingers (about 20 cookies) and line the bottom and sides of a large glass bowl (9″ x 13″ pyrex).  Mix the stout & coffee together and then brush about half of the mixture over top of the lady finger layer. Brushing (versus dipping the cookies or pouring the liquid) gets some of the flavor into the cookies, but it doesn’t turn into a soaking mess.  Spoon half of the cream filling over the lady fingers.
5. Repeat ladyfingers (remaining 20 cookies), stout/coffee, and filling layers. Garnish with cocoa powder or chocolate curls. To make the chocolate curls, use a vegetable peeler and run it down the edge of the chocolate bar.
6. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.  Enjoy!

I think this would be great with any darker beer… a coffee stout, like Eugene-based Oakshire’s Overcast espresso stout would be amazing – and I think I’ll try that next.  Also, if they make the imperial chocolate pumpkin porter Big Black Jack next fall, I may have to try it with that as well.  Since craft beers vary by region, if you can’t find the exact beers above, I’m SURE you’ll find something suitable.  The best part of the recipe… you get plenty of beer to drink while you’re making it.

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~Dan – Mike Patton – The Solitude of Prime Numbers