This classic Italian tiramisu is a rich dessert consisting of a creamy filling made of whipped eggs and mascarpone layered with ladyfingers dipped in coffee. This no-bake dessert is easy to make and will never fail to impress.
Tiramisu is just one of those desserts that people just enjoy. It is rich and creamy and a perfect way to end a meal, especially with a nice cup of coffee or espresso. One of my favorite things about it is that it doesn’t take long to assemble, and the refrigerator does all of the work. This is a perfect dessert when you have guests because you can make it nice and early, and it will be ready by the time they get there. The best part? That is the fact that it makes a fantastic breakfast with a cup of espresso.
Table of Contents
In this recipe
There aren’t a lot of ingredients in this recipe which makes it an ideal one for anyone not wanting to spend a lot of time in preparation.
Mascarpone: this is a soft Italian cheese that is very similar in texture to cream cheese however the flavor is buttery and taste more life fresh heavy cream compared to cream cheese.
Espresso: this is the base of the soak that you will be using for the ladyfingers. You can use coffee however you will want a very robust coffee if you do not have espresso.
Ladyfingers: these can be found in the cookie aisle in most groceries. You will probably need to look on the higher shelves. They are crisp and will soak up a lot of liquid quickly. More on that later.
Eggs vs heavy whipping cream
This recipe does not use heavy whipping cream. Personally, I find that the egg white leaves the tiramisu with a lighter texture. Since the recipe already requires egg yolks, having the whites reduces the ingredients by one. Also, this dessert was originally made with eggs and not heavy cream although it was just the yolk and not the whites. Keep in mind that consuming raw eggs can cause food borne illness like salmonella.
Whipping the egg whites
One of the most important things when whisking egg whites is you need to have a clean metal or glass bowl. Plastic bowls will not work as they can store tiny amounts of anything else they are used for and prevent the whites from whisking up. You also want the bowl completely dry as water will prevent them from forming stiff peaks as well. Egg whites from a carton tend to not work as well so it is important to make sure that you use fresh eggs.
A nice tip so you don’t ruin your egg whites with yolks is to separate the egg yolk into a small dish and the white into another one. Then pour that egg white into the mixing bowl. On the occasion that an egg yolk breaks you will only have one ruined egg white instead of the whole batch. This has saved me a lot of frustration on any recipe that uses whipped egg whites for any part of the recipe. Especially recipes like my angel food cake.
Do I have to use rum?
No, you don’t have to use rum. You can use any kind of liquor that you would like such as Frangelico, Irish cream, coffee liquor, whiskey/bourbon, or any liqueur that will taste good with coffee. You can also go the other route and eliminate the alcohol altogether. While there isn’t much in this recipe it is important to note that anyone with a sensitivity to alcohol or pregnant and nursing women need to be aware of and limit their alcohol consumption.
Dipping the ladyfingers
Ladyfingers will absorb a lot of liquid very quickly. They also disintegrate very easily and quickly. It is important that you only dip each side of the cookie in the soak as quickly as possible. For me I will put it in the soak and immediately flip it over and remove it. That has always worked out without letting the cookies getting too soft. The other downside of letting them soak too long is that the tiramisu won’t set properly because there is too much liquid in the ladyfingers.
Looking for other chilled dessert recipes?
Classic Italian Tiramisu
Equipment
- 8x8 baking dish
- Stand mixer with whisk attachment
- Spatula
- Shallow bowl
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 24 ladyfingers
Mascarpone filling
- 16 ounces mascarpone softened
- 1 cup sugar divided
- 4 eggs separated
Coffee soak
- 1 cup strong coffee cooled
- 2 tablespoons rum
- 2 tablespoon Frangelico
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- Cocoa powder for dusting
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl combine the coffee, rum, Frangelico, and vanilla together. Stir to mix and set aside.1 cup strong coffee, 2 tablespoons rum, 2 tablespoon Frangelico, 1 tablespoon vanilla
Making the filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the egg whites and ½ cup of sugar. Whisk until stiff peaks form and transfer to the mixing bowl.4 eggs, 1 cup sugar
- Clean out the bowl as well as possible with the spatula and then add the egg yolks and ¼ cup of the sugar. Whisk until pale yellow and add to the egg whites. Add the mascarpone and remaining sugar to bowl of the stand mixer and whip until smooth.1 cup sugar, 4 eggs, 16 ounces mascarpone
- Add ¼ of the egg whites back into the mascarpone and mix until smooth, then add the remaining eggs and gently fold until combined.
Assemble the tiramisu
- One at time quickly dip both sides of the ladyfingers into the coffee mixture you made earlier and form single layer on the bottom of the 8x8 dish.24 ladyfingers
- Gently spoon and spread half of the mascarpone on top of the lady fingers. Repeat with the remaining ladyfingers and mascarpone filling. Dust with the chocolate until the mascarpone is completely covered and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to set.Cocoa powder
Nutrition
