1. Brew the espresso or coffee, add the Amaretto or syrup and mix to combine. Set aside.

2. Add the mascarpone, heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract to a large bowl and mix until well combined. You want a slightly thicker but not too sturdy texture. Transfer the cream to a piping bag with a large round piping tip.

3. Cut the ladyfingers in half diagonally (see picture) and arrange them in a circle on a serving plate. We used about 3.5 oz (100g) of ladyfingers for one layer. Drizzle about 1/3 of the espresso mixture over the cookies. Next, pipe about 1/3 of the mascarpone cream onto the ladyfingers. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a spoon or an angled spatula* instead. Repeat the process with ladyfingers, coffee mixture, and mascarpone cream two more times. The last layer of the cream can be piped onto the ladyfingers in small dollops, for example. Dust the tiramisu with cocoa powder and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

4. If you want to decorate the tiramisu for Christmas, as shown in the pictures, color a small amount of the mascarpone cream with food colors and pipe a string of Christmas lights onto the tiramisu before serving.