Step 1

First, brew coffee. Pour the coffee into a wide, shallow bowl and add two tablespoons of the rum. Stir to combine and set aside.

Step 2

Separate the eggs, placing the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment and the egg yolks in a separate bowl. You’ll use them later.

Step 3

Beat the egg whites with the whisk attachment and slowly stream in the granulated sugar, beating on high speed until stiff, about 3 minutes. Transfer the egg white mixtures into a large bowl, using a rubber spatula to get everything out so that the bowl is mostly clean.

Step 4

Add the egg yolks to the stand mixer bowl with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Beat on high speed with the whisk attachment until fluffy and pale yellow in color, about 3 minutes.

Step 5

Add mascarpone, the vanilla extract and 2 Tablespoons of rum to the egg yolk mixture and mix well.

Step 6

Use a rubber spatula to add half of the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites, gently folding to combine. Add the second half of the egg yolk mixture to the egg whites and fold until homogenous. Be sure to not over mix as this can cause the egg whites to deflate.

Step 7

Quickly dip the lady fingers in the coffee on both sides (they will fall apart if you soak them any longer) and place them in a single layer in your desired pan. This size recipe works well in a 10 inch round or a 9 x 13 pan!

Step 8

Smooth about half of the mascarpone mixture on top of the lady fingers. Repeat another layer of lady fingers dipped in coffee. Top with the second half of the mascarpone.

Step 9

Dust with cocoa powder. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving! Enjoy!