Egg-less Tiramisu

I've got nothing against eggs (in fact, I love eating them), but something about using half a carton of raw eggs in a dessert is really grossing me out. Which was a big issue when I started craving tiramisu. My friend Lubna makes an AMAZING homemade tiramisu, so we colaborated on substitutions for the egg. After a lot of research we decided that replacing the eggs with vanilla pudding should achieve the same custard-like texture as the eggs. I gave it a try and was quite pleased with the results!

Just to clarify, this is not completely egg free, since the lady fingers have eggs. The recipe is free of RAW eggs.

Serves 6.

Ingredients
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-1 package lady fingers (you will need 28 total)
-1 1/2 cups strongly brewed coffee, cooled and mixed with 2 tablespoons sugar (I used hazelnut flavored, and the subtle taste really added depth to the tiramisu).
-1 tablespoon coco powder (for garnish)

Mascarpone Cream Filling

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--3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

-4 ounces mascarpone cheese (1/2 of the 8 ounce package, about 1/2 a cup)

-3/4 cup vanilla pudding

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Assembly

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-Place heavy whipping cream in a bowl and freeze for 5 minutes. Remove from freezer and whisk with an electric mixer for a few minutes until the cream forms stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, mix together mascarpone cheese, pudding and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the whipped cream.
-Soak each lady finger in coffee and place in an 8x8 inch baking dish. Place 7 lady finger side by side in two rows on the bottom layer of the baking dish. Spoon half of the mascarpone filling over the lady fingers. Repeat the soaking process of the remaining lady fingers and arrange a second layer over the mascarpone cream. Spread the  rest of the mascarpone cream and sprinkle with coco powder. 
-Cover and refrigerate over night. Because of the coffee and cream, the longer this soaks the better it will taste.
-Enjoy and leave a comment :)