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4.93 from 113 votes

Tiramisu Recipe

This Italian Tiramisu recipe consists of a sweet creamy mascarpone filling layered with espresso-dipped lady fingers and topped with a thick dusting of cocoa powder. 
Prep Time15 minutes
Cooling Time4 hours
Total Time4 hours 15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, Italian
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 8
Cost: $12

Equipment

  • 8x8 glass baking dish

Ingredients

Filling:

  • 4 large egg yolks cold straight from the fridge
  • 3 tablespoons dark rum
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream cold straight from the fridge (see note below for the brand)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 16 ounces mascarpone (from 2 containers) cold straight from the fridge (see below for note on the brand you're using)

For Assembly:

  • 1 3/4 cup strongly brewed coffee*
  • 24 lady fingers (from a 7-ounce package)

For Topping:

  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder sifted for topping

Instructions

To Prep:

  • You’ll need an 8x8-inch baking dish or a 2 quart dish of some kind.

To Make the Filling:

  • In the bowl of a stand-up mixer fixed with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with an electric hand mixer), add all of the ingredients.
  • Beat all of the ingredients together for 1 minute; scrape down the sides and then beat again for an additional minute, being sure NOT to over beat it. Stick to the two minutes total.

To Assemble the Tiramisu:

  • Grab your baking dish. Transfer the strongly brewed coffee to a medium and or small bowl. Working one at a time, quickly dip each lady finger into the coffee. Be sure to not over saturate the ladyfinger with the coffee because then they’ll get a bit too soggy. All you need is a quick dip into the coffee. Arrange the dipped ladyfingers in the baking dish, side by side. I ended up filling up the empty spaces by snapping some of the lady fingers into different lengths.
  • Add a few scoops of the filling on top and spread into a 1/4-inch thick layer. Add more filling if you need to.
  • Dip the remaining lady fingers in the coffee and arrange them so there are no gaps. Add the remaining filling on top and spread it into a nice and neat final layer. Cover the dish with plastic wrap so it hits the surface of the tiramisu; transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.

To Serve:

  • Remove the plastic wrap and discard. If the plastic wrap has left any indentations in the topping, you can always smooth it out with an offset spatula. Sift the cocoa powder on top, applying a generous coating of it. Wipe the rim of the baking dish and serve.
  • This isn’t the type of tiramisu that gives you perfect slices. It’s more of a scoopable type tiramisu.
  • if covered, this tiramisu lasts in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Notes

Brands of Mascarpone: 
If you're using Whole Foods brand of mascarpone, decrease the heavy cream to 1 tablespoon and completely eliminate the rum from the mixture. A lot of people have said it's really runny. I haven't used it. But the mascarpone I use is always super thick. So if your mascarpone is thin and runny, definitely decrease the heavy cream amount. 
Tips on Texture:
In order to achieve a nice, smooth filling EVERYTHING needs to be cold. That way it all emulsifies well together. Not room temperature whatever you do. Straight from the fridge--cold. 
If the mixture is a bit runnier than what you see pictured, no worries. Proceed with assembling the recipe; the mixture with thicken as it chills overnight in the fridge. 
Substitutions:
Mascarpone is an essential ingredient to Tiramisu and unfortunately there just isn’t a substitute. Dark rum can be substituted for brandy, port, Irish Cream (like Baileys), madeira or masala wine. Obviously I love the flavor of rum the best.
Making this recipe non-alcoholic:
You can absolutely leave the alcohol out--no biggie. If you like, you can replace it with 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. 
Using Espresso: 
Instead of strongly brewed coffee, you can mix 6 shots of espresso with 1 cup of water. 
Freezing Tiramisu:
You can freeze tiramisu. I would advise storing it in a freezer safe dish. Pyrex says that freezing their products are absolutely fine. Definitely cover it tightly with a lid and/or plastic wrap. It can be frozen for up to 3 months. And then thawed in the fridge. I would recommend to leave off the cocoa powder topping and then add that just before serving.
Equipment:
8x8-inch baking dish | KitchenAid Stand-Up Mixer | Silicon Spatulas | Offset Spatula | Stainless Steel Bowls |

Nutrition

Calories: 340kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 34mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 65IU | Calcium: 101mg | Iron: 1mg