Tiramisu' recipe

The other day, someone asked me if I had a good recipe for tiramisu, and in fact I do. This recipe comes directly from a friend of ours who is Italian, so it's guaranteed to be good. Ok, I've made it a couple of times, and it's AWESOME.

Make sure you have eggs from a safe source - they are not cooked in tiramisu, so you should be extra careful with the handling. And you will either need a scale that weighs in grams, or you will need to convert to ounces.

Tiramisu’

300g mascarpone cheese
3 tbsp sugar
4 eggs (4 yolks, 2 whites)
Espresso coffee (without sugar)
200 g of lady fingers cookies (Savoiardi)
Rum (optional)

Separate the yolks from the whites and set the whites apart in the refrigerator. Beat the yolks with the sugar until all the sugar has dissolved and no grains are visible. Add the mascarpone cheese and beat until creamy.
Add a pinch of salt to the whites and whip them until firm. Add them to the eggs/mascarpone custard and mix softly with a wooden spoon.

Pour the coffee in a bowl. You can add rum if you like the kick. Quickly dip a lady finger in it and lay it on the plate where you will be serving the tiramisu’. Consider that the custard tends to flow, so use a container that has fairly tall edges, possibly transparent glass so you can see the stratification of cookies and custard. The cookies should not be completely soaked, but just wet (if you cut one in half, the center should still be dry). Continue to lay a layer of cookies and then pour a layer of custard. Then lay another layer of cookies and then more custard until you finish it. You should end with a layer of custard.

Set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hrs. Right before serving, sprinkle bittersweet cocoa powder with a sifter. (Note: it is REALLY IMPORTANT to let it sit in the refrigerator - it gets better as it ages.)