Somehow between culinary school and today (which was legit almost 10 years ago) I seem to have forgotten about a Classic Italian Tiramisu! Well - not anymore!! I made my recipe from culinary school a few weeks back and OMG WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING WITH MY LIFE!
![A white oval dish with tiramisu, one corner of which has been served into a small ceramic pink plate on the side, with a golden fork in the plate, with a navy and white striped kitchen towel on the side.](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/WGC-Tiramisu-2.jpg)
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
This Classic Italian Tiramisu is seriously one of the easiest recipes and is made with a sweet mascarpone filling and layered with espresso dipped lady fingers. It's truly perfection and I can't believe I haven't made it since culinary school. Instead of resorting to my usual cookie consumption for dessert for all of our recent parties, I changed it up and made Tiramisu. BRILLIANT. It takes almost no time to make and the recipe below is one that my culinary school instructor literally engrained into our brains during the dessert portion of our curriculum.
If you are making tiramisu as dessert for a dinner party, here's some dishes you can make to go with that: Cacio e Pepe, Bolognese, Pasta alla Vodka, Baked Rigatoni, Sausage with Tortellini
Ingredients & Substitutions
![Mise-en-place of all the ingredients to make tiramisu.](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ClassicItalianTiramisu_Ingredient.jpg)
- Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder - this is my favorite kind!
- Espresso - you'll need a cup, so brew a handful of shots or buy them pre-brewed from your favorite coffee shop or grocery store
- Vanilla Extract
- Pasteurized Eggs - I always buy pasteurized eggs for this recipe as that means the eggs have been heat treated to kill off bacteria that could potentially cause a food borne illness. And since we're using raw eggs, it's the way to go!
- Sugar
- Kosher Salt
- Mascarpone Cheese - an integral part!! There isn't a great substitution here.
- Heavy cream
- Ladyfinger Cookies - make sure you get the hard ones
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.
How to Make Tiramisu
![A glass mixing bowl with cocoa powder, espresso and vanilla.](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ClassicItalianTiramisu_1.jpg)
Step 1:Whisk together the cocoa powder, espresso and vanilla in a bowl and set aside to really infuse the flavors together.
![A stand mixer bowl with egg yolk and sugar.](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ClassicItalianTiramisu_2.jpg)
Step 2: In a mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick, about 5 minutes.
![A stand mixer bowl with salt and mascarpone added to the egg yolk and sugar mixture.](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ClassicItalianTiramisu_3.jpg)
Step 3: Add in the salt, mascarpone cheese and continue to whip until smooth.
![A stand mixer bowl with chilled cream added to the egg-yolk, sugar and mascarpone mixture.](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ClassicItalianTiramisu_4.jpg)
Step 4: Add the chilled cream and continue to whip, until light, creamy and smooth
![A stand mixer bowl with the whipped mascarpone-cream mixture with soft peaks.](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ClassicItalianTiramisu_5.jpg)
Step 5: Make sure it can hold a soft peak.
![An oval platter with tiramisu being constructed, with a layer of espresso mixture soaked ladyfingers.](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ClassicItalianTiramisu_6.jpg)
Step 6: Dunk each ladyfinger in the espresso mixture to absorb the liquid and start to line a 7x11 oval baking dish with the cookies.
![An oval platter with tiramisu being constructed in it, with one layer of ladyfingers topped with mascarpone-cream mixture dusted with cocoa powder.](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ClassicItalianTiramisu_7.jpg)
Step 7: Top the first layer of cookies with ½ of the whipped mascarpone mixture and use the back of a metal spoon to spread it into an even layer. Dust with cocoa powder.
![An oval platter with a second layer of espresso mixture soaked ladyfingers on top of an already layered ladyfinger and mascarpone mixture layer in order to construct a tiramisu.](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ClassicItalianTiramisu_8.jpg)
Step 8: Repeat for another layer and then finish by dusting with cocoa powder on top.
![An oval platter with tiramisu, dusted with cocoa powder on the top.](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ClassicItalianTiramisu_9.jpg)
Step 9: Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
How to Store Tiramisu
You can store tiramisu covered with plastic wrap for 3-4 days. The flavors of the tiramisu marry and develop as it keeps, especially once its been stored overnight.
How to Freeze Tiramisu
I do not recommending freezing tiramisu since. The no-bake and nature of other ingredients do not make it a great candidate for freezing.
Tips and Tricks
- ALL the ingredients for the filling must be cold. So when you read the recipe below, pay attention to the few things that need to be taken directly from the fridge.
- Get the ladyfingers from an Italian market if possible!!
- Mascarpone is essential. There is no substitution for it - so while you're out looking for the ladyfingers, grab the Mascarpone.
- No espresso on hand - no problem! Use coffee!
- Dunking the ladyfingers is an art form - you need enough to get a good flavor and texture, but you don't want them to fall apart. Just a quick dunk will do - nothing more than 1-2 seconds!
- NOTE - DO NOT SERVE IT RIGHT AWAY! While it will be delicious, the cocoa powder needs time to soften up and infuse into the cream topping otherwise you'll inhale straight cocoa powder and let me tell you from experience, it's not cute lol.
![A white oval dish with tiramisu, only the corner of which is visible in the photo, and the tiramisu from that corner has been served into a small ceramic pink plate on its side, with a golden fork in the plate, with a navy and white striped kitchen towel on the side.](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/WGC-Tiramisu-2-copy-2-819x1024.jpg)
FAQs
What is traditional tiramisu made of?
A Classic Italian Tiramisu is a coffee-flavored Italian dessert that dreams are made of. It's made of ladyfingers dipped in espresso, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, and mascarpone cheese and layered with cocoa powder.
What is the predominant flavor in the classic Italian dessert tiramisu?
The espresso dunked ladyfingers take center stage along with the creamy mascarpone mixture. Both are light and compliment each other beautifully.
Similar Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
![](https://whatsgabycooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/WGC-Tiramisu-2-copy-3-500x500.jpg)
Classic Italian Tiramisu
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Dutch Processed cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
- 1 cup brewed espresso (optional to add a few tablespoons of dark rum)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 5 large egg yolks, cold (I use pasteurized eggs)
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 16 ounces mascarpone cheese, chilled
- 1.75 cups heavy cream, chilled
- 28 hard ladyfinger cookies
Instructions
- Whisk together the cocoa powder, espresso and vanilla in a bowl and set aside
- In a mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick, about 5 minutes. Add in the salt, mascarpone cheese and continue to whip until smooth. Add the chilled cream and continue to whip, until light, creamy, smooth and can hold a soft peak.
- Dunk each ladyfinger in the espresso mixture to absorb the liquid and start to line a 7x11 oval baking dish with the cookies. Top the first layer of cookies with ½ of the whipped mascarpone mixture and use the back of a metal spoon to spread it into an even layer. Dust with cocoa powder. Repeat for another layer and then finish by dusting with cocoa powder on top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
-
- ALL the ingredients for the filling must be cold. So when you read the recipe below, pay attention to the few things that need to be taken directly from the fridge.
- No espresso on hand - no problem! Use coffee!
- Dunking the ladyfingers is an art form - you need enough to get a good flavor and texture, but you don't want them to fall apart. Just a quick dunk will do - nothing more than 1-2 seconds!
- Make sure you leave time to rest the tiramisu. The cocoa powder needs time to soften up and infuse into the cream topping otherwise you'll inhale straight cocoa powder and let me tell you from experience, it's not cute lol.
I would like the classic Tarimisu recipe. Thank you
this was absolutely perfect, so good and so creamy!
This was exactly how I wanted it to be, but better! Thank you for the recipe, it definitely went well with a splash of kahlua added into the coffee mixture.
Recipe came out great! Definitely need the rum for that rich taste.
Made this as a birthday cake for my boyfriend. It turned out great! I ended up with stiff peaks instead of soft peaks, but I liked the consistency anyways. I also wasn't successful at finding pasteurized eggs, but I don't mind taking the risk for something this delicious!
Great recipe! I’ve never added cocoa powder to the dipping liquid before or dusted between layers. Makes a huge difference! Enhances chocolate flavor. Will definitely make this again!
I saw the comment about the 9×13. What about an 8×8 pan? Would I need to size up the recipe? If so, how much?
Whenever I go from 8x8 to 9x13, I make 1.83 of the recipe. If height doesn't matter, I'll make just 1.5 of the recipe. As a note, conversions work best when using metric as grams are more accurate than ounces and cup measurements, so going to the trouble of converting recipes such as this to metric are worth it.
This turned out tasting delicious but when I was mixing the cream with the mascarpone mixture, it was not forming peaks. I probably mixed for 10 minutes! In the end I still used it but the dessert is a bit runny. How can I avoid this in the future?
I wanted my yolks cooked so what I did was to take another half cup of cream, warm it, tempter the eggs with it, added a half teaspoon of vanilla and basically made Italian pastry cream. Chilled it and then after whipping my cream added the mascarpone and my pastry cream. It certainly changed the volume of cream mixture but I didn't need to use extra lady fingers..it was a bit more rich than the original wonderful recipe but I was able to serve to pregnant women and anyone else needing to avoid raw eggs.
Very delicious! I made sure I kept ingredients in fridge until they were needed- however when I added the mascarpone to the sugar/egg mixture it still curdled. I stopped mixing as soon as this happened, took my heavy cream out of the fridge to come up to room temp, popped the sugar/egg/mascarpone mixture into the microwave VERY briefly (10 seconds if that) and continued mixing. This fixed it! When the cream was warmer I added that and everything whipped up fine.
It probably wasn't curdled, the fatty mascapone most likely hadn't dissolved properly into the sugar/egg mixture. Microwaving helped because it warmed the fats and loosened their molecular bonds a bit, but it's risky as it could scramble the egg mixture if too long.
Can I use a 9x13 baking sheet? Will I need to add more to the recipe?
you can - and yes, I'd do a bit more of everything. Maybe 1.5 the entire recipe!
I make this. Excellent dessert.