Not Just Any Ice Cream Sundae

If you’re going to serve your guests, gasp!, ice cream when the first cold snap hits, it better be worth it! Trust me, this is not a picnic-summertime-all-American frozen treat. Tiramisu Sundaes lift dessert to another level altogether. (Trivia: Did you know that “tiramisu” literally means “lift me up”?)
Did I mention that this dessert requires no advance prep and can be put together while your guests are vegging on the couch watching the last game of the world series? Hey, the name may be Italian, but we do love our Texas baseball over here!
As much as I love cooking and baking, I also realize there are times when time is short and you need to be able to throw something truly scrumptious* together. Last minute should NOT mean second rate. By using the best possible ingredients and having fun with the presentation, you won’t need to apologize for a thing.
These have all the ingredients of traditional tiramisu: coffee, marsala, chocolate, mascarpone, and ladyfingers.
Tiramisu Sundaes
Coffee Ice Cream
Butter Pecan Ice Cream (You could also use an almond brickle flavor.)
1 container mascarpone cheese, mixed with 2 T. powdered sugar and beaten into 1 c. heavy cream, whipped. If mixture seems too thick, add more cream.
1/2 c. caramel sauce (I used Hershey’s) mixed with 2 T. Marsala , brushed onto cut sides of ladyfingers.
Dark chocolate shavings (I buy a block of Callebaut and keep it handy)
To assemble: I used straight sided mason jars, inspired by Jeni’s Ice Cream in Nashville. The sundaes are pretty to look at and the jars keep the layers together beautifully.   Layer 1 ladyfinger (both halves) in the bottom, topped with 1 scoop coffee ice cream, and a layer of whipped cream. Repeat the layers with the other flavor of ice cream and top with chocolate shavings.
Enjoy!
*Points to you if you can figure out which movie this comes from.

He was talking about coffee!

On of my husband's co-workers promised to send us some honest-to-goodness South American homegrown coffee!

We do like coffee just a little bit at our house. Next to the big-boy espresso maker you can see our collection of syrups (cinnamon, Kahlua, caramel, and gingerbread), to-go cups (not to be confused with Togo cups, from an African country of the same name), sweeteners (splenda, sweet-n-low, sugar), sprinkles (cinnamon and sugar), ground coffee from Italy, and Starbucks Verona beans. The French Press coffee maker is in the sink and the teeny tiny stovetop espresso maker is under the counter. In the background you can see the coffee grinder (needed for the French press) and 2 little espresso cups. I registered for those when I got married over 26 years ago. These days Barista-boy uses them to serve shots in. We store these everyday essentials in the Southern Living at Home Jamestown tray. It's lovely when you can actually see it.

Update: Mom is resting comfortably after her emergency appendectomy last night. She's due home tomorrow or Monday. We are thankful for all your prayers and good wishes. I plan on delivering them in person when I go visit her next weekend.