I found this recipe as posted in the San Francisco Chronicle which was taken from Ina Garten's latest cookbook "How Easy is That"? I was intrigued because this "cake" is not baked at all and is actually a variation on a tiramisu. However instead of espresso dipped ladyfingers, it uses thin chocolate chip cookies to serve as the "cake" with a rich mocha cream between the layers. And other than whipping the pastry cream, it IS EASY!
The Barefoot Contessa herself promotes her friend's Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies though states that any thin chocolate chip cookie will do. Of course I had to try the real McCoy so I made a pilgrimage to Whole Foods who carries that label and picked up 3 bags of Tate's cookies.
The cream filling is simple enough, 2 cups cold whipping cream, 12 ounces of mascarpone (I just used Philly Whipped Cream Cheese), 1/4 cup Kahlua (I used the mocha Kahlua to gold the lily), 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder (I ALWAYS use Valrhona which is worth the price) and 1 teaspoon each of powdered instant espresso and vanilla extract. Whip this up to stiff peaks (start on low unless you want Jackson Pollack styled cream splattered walls). Just this cream filling alone is like whipped tiramisu - maybe add a little gelatin to make a mousse... but I digress.
Next layer the bottom of a springform pan with a single layer of cookies breaking bits to cover the bottom (I used a Glad ware container since the Mrs took this batch to work). This recipe is supposed to make 5 layers but I guarantee that it will overfill a springform - you'll need closer to 4 & 1/2 inches of height to contain 5 layers.
Alternate cookies then cream until you have 5 layers of each then sprinkle with grated chocolate, cover and let sit overnight. The cookies will absorb moisture from the cream layer and soften (like soaked ladyfingers) to make this dessert tiramisu-like. Though I'm tempted to try my own mousse-like version with a little bit of gelatin... Now for another 2 hours of cardio...
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