Tiramisu-to-go

For the last few years I’ve been saying that tiramisu — the Italian confection of spongecake or ladyfingers dipped in coffee and marsala wine and layered with sweetened triple-cream mascarpone cheese and grated chocolate or cocoa — has become so ubiquitious in the United States that I expected McDonald’s to be serving it any day now.

That hasn’t happened yet, but Archer Farms, the food-and-beverage house brand for the Minneapolis-based Target stores, has a packaged Italian-style versionon sale in the freezer cases of most area Target and Super Target stores.

The 12-ounce portion of the Archer Farms tiramisu is big enough to feed three hungry people and six people with more modest appetites. It takes a long time to defrost in the refrigerator, but it is easier to slice in a semi-frozen state. The box explains how, for an intimate dinner party, a tasteful host or hostess can cut the frozen confection “into small cubes and divide between four wine glasses. Let stand on counter for 20 to 30 minutes.”

There’s no wine or liqueur in this tiramisu, of course, and I wouldn’t call the ladyfingers light and fluffy (or resembling anything like the photograph on the box), but the recipe is quite close to the traditional recipe — which I’ve made many times and it’s extremely easy to prepare from scratch. The biggest difference, of course, is that the Archer Farms dessert uses corn syrup, the low-cost staple of most processed foods, candy and soda pop in America.

It’s tasty enough, but if I need a quick fix of a really first-rate tiramisu to pick up on the go, I prefer the generous individual portions sold at Avelutto’s Italian Delight restaurant and grocery in Mission. It’s not frozen, but tasteful hosts can still put it in wine glasses for a festive dinner party. I know because I did!