Published: / Updated: by Amy / 8 Comments
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This Italian Tiramisu Recipe is made with homemade lady fingers and a coffee flavored mascarpone filling for a delicious holiday dessert.
Classic Italian tiramisuis a labor of love and the result is very rewarding. The time devoted to the creation of this exquisite and sophisticated dish is worth every stroke of the whisk.
Making tiramisu from scratch is a little time consuming but definitely worth it!
We've included instructions on how to make lady fingers from scratch, but it's perfectly fine to use the ones that are in the bakery section of your local grocery store.
Some people ask if tiramisu has alcohol in it. This recipe calls for coffee liquor, but it can be replaced with very strong coffee.
How to make Italian Tiramisu
Making a classic version of tiramisu involves a few steps. Let's go over them!
- Homemade lady fingers: The first step in the recipe is to make lady finger biscuits. They are soft, light and soak up every bit of the coffee liquor.
- Mascarpone filling: The lightly sweetened mascarpone filling is made by beating mascarpone cheese with egg yolks and sugar. You can use store-bought lady fingers if you don't want to make them from scratch.
- Assembly: The lady fingers are arranged in layers and brushed with coffee liquor. The mascarpone filling is them spread evenly over the lady fingers and then dusted with cocoa powder. This is repeated 2 more times to equal 3 layers.
- Chill: The tiramisu is then chilled for several hours to set.
How to store
Store tiramisu in the fridge, loosely covered, for up to 3 days. Do not leave at room temperature.
Italian tiramisu can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap the dish in plastic and foil to prevent freezer burn.
Other recipes you may like:
- flourless chocolate cake
- banana cake
- salted caramel
Italian Tiramisu Recipe
Amy Duska
This authentic Italian Tiramisu recipe is light, airy and sinfully delicious!
5 from 3 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour hr
Cook Time 7 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 7 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Servings 9
Calories 460 kcal
Ingredients
Lady Fingers
- 5 egg whites
- ⅝ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 4 egg yolks
- ⅔ cups of sugar separated
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour sifted
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Mascarpone Filling
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 5 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 8 oz. mascarpone cheese
- 2 tablespoons coffee liquor
- ¼ cup cocoa powder for dusting
Instructions
Lady Fingers
Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until you get soft peaks. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar to the egg whites and beat until you get firm peaks. Place the bowl in refrigerator to keep the mixture chilled.
In a separate medium bowl, beat the egg yolks, remaining sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.
In a small bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder together.
Gently fold half of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture and then half of the flour mixture. Fold remaining egg whites and then remaining flour mixture until fully incorporated.
Fill a pastry bag with the batter and pipe the batter onto the parchment paper in 3 inch lengths.
Bake for 7-8 minutes. (Do not over-bake, lady fingers will be soft and moist.) Set aside and let cool while preparing the mascarpone filling.
Mascarpone Filling
In a cold mixing bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form and place in refrigerator to chill.
Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a glass bowl and whisk over a pot of lightly boiling water for 12 minutes until thick.(Use a double boiler if you have one for this step.)
Take the bowl off of the pot of water and place it on top of a bowl of ice to cool the mixture down.
Combine the egg yolk mixture with the mascarpone cheese in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone cheese mixture until fully incorporated.
Line the bottom of an 8" x 8" baking dish with a layer of lady fingers. Using a pastry brush, brush coffee liquor onto the lady fingers. (If you buy pre-made lady fingers that are hard, you may have to dip them in strong coffee to softened them before you brush the coffee liquor onto the biscuits.)
Spread a third of of the mascarpone filling on top of the lady fingers and then dust with the cocoa powder. Continue with two more layers each, the last thing being the dusting of cocoa powder on top.
Chill for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Serve chilled.
See AlsoGiant Almond Croissant Recipe
Notes
Store in the fridge, loosely covered, for up to 3 days.
Keyword tiramisu
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Laurine Piper says
Hi Amy
Love your receipt for Tiramisu. I never thought in a million years I could recreate it. Everyone loved it for Christmas a few years ago and now I am going to make it again after 2yrs. So excited to be making it again! Thank you for making me look like I can bake! LolReply
Frances says
Your recipe sounds wonderful. I'm planning to make it for Christmas Day, but I have a couple of questions about the measurements. Is 2/3 cups of Sugar two thirds of a cup or 2 to 3 cups? And what is 2T of Coffee Liquor - 2 teaspoons or 2 tablespoons or what? I'm in the UK so always struggle a bit with non English recipes. Thanks in advance for your help and for sharing your recipe.
Reply
Amy Duska says
Hi there, sorry for the confusion. I went in and changed the recipe card to clarify teaspoons and tablespoons. 2/3 stands for two thirds of a cup.
Reply
Leslie B says
I worked in a country club several years ago, and their tiramisu was absolutely wonderful. Never in my dreams would I have thought that I could come close to duplicating it, but I have to say that this is second to none! I made it for 30 people for my daughter's 16th birthday, and it was absolutely scrumptious!!!Reply
Amy says
Thank you so much Leslie! I make this for my daughter's birthday every year and it's always a hit! 🙂
Reply
Marianna Pascarella says
Hi Amy, the tiramisu is definitely the favorite dessert of my husband and can not miss at his birthday. For my children instead I made a variation of the classic tiramisu to make it lighter and more palatable. I replaced the coffee and the cocoa powder with strawberry sauce and I decorated with red currant. The result, as seen in this photo (http://www.ricettedalmondo.it/tiramisu-con-salsa-di-fragole.html), was excellent.Congratulations for your blog.
Bye
MariannaReply
Amy says
Thank you! I checked out your recipe and it looks amazing!
Reply
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Love a good tiramisu.. and yours looks incredibly delicious! Definitely craving a slice right now.. pinned!
Reply
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!
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