Cardamom Chai Tiramisu with Rosewater Créme

When I think of Diwali, I think of fireworks, lots of light, and yummy Indian sweets. For those of you that don’t know, Diwali is the Festival of Lights and probably the most celebrated festival in all of India. This Diwali, I thought it would be fun to take the most traditionally non-Indian dessert, and re-create it using quintessentially Indian dessert ingredients. I have never really dabbled with fusion dishes but since this one turned out so amazing, I’m thinking of experimenting some more. The rose créme turned out so light and fluffy and the cardamom chai adds just the perfect amount of spice. Those of you who know me, know that I am a little obsessed with finding healthier alternatives to my favorite not-so-healthy desserts. I have played around with this recipe to make it lighter on the calories but still just as fluffy and flavorful. I was so pleasantly surprised at how well this dish turned out and I promise neither the taste, nor the texture were compromised. This one was a huge hit with my family and I hope you enjoy it as well!

Wishing you and yours a very happy Diwali filled with lots of love, light, laughter, and good food!! 🙂

– The Hungry Tomato

What you’ll need…

8oz low fat Neufchâtel cheese
8oz fat free cool whip
1/2 cup rose water
1 1/2 Tbsp Rooh Afza (Rose flavored syrup available at any Indian or Pakistani food market)
1/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp almond milk
1 pack of lady finger cookies (The ones I used were Stella D’oro and were called Margherite cookies)
1 1/2 tsp loose black tea leaves
1 tsp grated ginger
5-6 cloves of cardamom
a pinch of cardamom powder

To make the chai…

– In a pot, boil 3 1/2 cups of water with tea leaves, ginger, and cardamom cloves until fragrant.. I boiled mine for about 5-6 mins

– Allow to cool

To make the rose créme…

– In a large mixing bowl, combine softened Neufchâtel cheese with maple syrup, almond milk, and rose water and beat till soft peaks can be formed with a spoon

– Add Rooh Afza and continue to beat (A little bit of Rooh Afza goes a long way with flavor as well as color! It gives the créme this perfect subtle pink color that makes the tiramisu look so pretty!)

– Fold in cool whip and continue to beat until mixture is fluffy

Put it all together!

– Begin to dip your lady finger cookies one by one into the chai for about 2-3 seconds per cookie and lay them out side by side on a larger square dish so that the entire bottom is covered. Make sure you don’t dip it for too long or the cookies will get too soggy and break

– Once the 1st layer is set, take a tablespoon (or brush) and sprinkle some chai over the cookies. Be sure not to get any loose tea leaves on the cookies.. You could also strain the tea prior to dipping if this is easier