Easy Tiramisu with Ladyfingers

Hi hi! Just popping in to share this super easy tiramisu recipe with you! This is essentially a big boy version of the small batch tiramisu that is super popular on my website. While making a small homemade tiramisu is great, sometimes you want a larger sized one, and don't want to do the maths. I got you.

This is a fairly 'classic' tiramisu recipe which is a traditional Italian dessert. Mine is made with ladyfingers, a smooth and creamy mascarpone and egg yolk filling, then is loaded up with cocoa powder just before serving. I add whipped cream to my filling and leave out the marsala wine, so it's not a traditional 'zabaglione' but it's how I prefer it!

The thing that I love the most about tiramisu over other dessert recipes is how easy it is to make, but also how great it is to make ahead of time. You can prepare it the morning of or the day before in under 30 minutes, and have a super impressive dessert just hanging out in your fridge ready to go!

Ingredients in Tiramisu

Tiramisu has a few components to it - the mascarpone filling, the coffee soak, and then the ladyfinger biscuits. These are all combined together into a layered dessert.

• Ladyfingers. My tiramisu recipe uses ladyfingers, often also called Savoiardi biscuits. Other recipes use a sponge cake, but using store bought ladyfingers makes life super simple and I think they taste delicious.
• Coffee soak. I like to use cooled strong coffee for my coffee soak (you can pull a few shots of espresso and dilute to your liking), along with some kahlua if you like.
• Egg yolks. This recipe is great to use up any extra egg yolks that you may have. The egg yolks give a creaminess to the filling and also help it set up.
• Caster sugar. I prefer to use caster sugar or super fine sugar, as it helps the sugar to properly dissolve with the egg yolk mixture.
• Mascarpone. Mascarpone cheese is a soft Italian cheese and is a critical element of Tiramisu - don't skip it. There isn't really a sub for it.
• Cream. I call for 'heavy cream' in the recipe. This is the kind that you would use to make whipped cream. The cream is going to be whipped to medium stiff peaks and used in the filling. Adding cream isn't 'traditional' but I really like it with the addition of whipped cream.
• Cocoa powder. Tiramisu is traditionally dusted with cocoa powder, however you can finish it with chocolate shavings if you like.

Is Tiramisu Cake?

This is something I notice gets googled a lot, and here is my answer - no - tiramisu is a layered dessert. This one is, anyway. Sometimes tiramisu can be made with a sponge cake, but is most often made with ladyfinger biscuits, the same way as my classic tiramisu has here.

This recipe for tiramisu is the layered dessert, made with layers of mascarpone filling and coffee soaked ladyfingers. I do have a Tiramisu Cake recipe on my website, which has a vanilla cake, a coffee soak, and is topped with an espresso mascarpone frosting, so it is the flavours of tiramisu, but in a cake.

How to make Tiramisu

The process of making tiramisu is super easy, and the best part is that you can do all of it ahead of time. In fact, It is best if you do make it ahead of time to give it time to chill and set up!

• Make the coffee soak. I like to do this first, so that it has time to cool down before assembling the tiramisu.
• Make the egg yolk filling. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together over a double boiler (I use a pot with a heatproof bowl on the top). Keep whisking until they are super thick and the sugar has dissolved. Leave to stand.
• Add the mascarpone. Once the egg yolk mixture has cooled slightly, add the mascarpone, then leave it to cool while you whip the cream. When you mix the mascarpone in it may seem at first like it won't incorporate, but just keep mixing it gently!
• Whip the cream. I prefer to do this by hand using a whisk so that I have full control over it - if you over whip it you run the risk of your filling being grainy. You want to take it just past soft peaks.
• Add the cream to the filling. Care fully fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone and egg mixture.
• Assemble. Now it's time to put it all together. Carefully dip the lady fingers in your coffee soak, then arrange in the bottom of the baking dish. Top with half the mascarpone mixture, then a second layer of soaked lady fingers. Finish with the rest of the filling mix and then smooth off!
• Set. Leave the tiramisu to chill and set for at least a few hours, or up to overnight. Dust with cocoa powder before serving.

Does this Tiramisu recipe have raw eggs?

No it doesn't - the egg yolks are 'cooked' during the double boiler stage of the recipe where you combine the yolks and the sugar. I don't use a thermometer for this, but if you do want to make sure that your eggs are at the correct temperature, you can temperature check them - you want them at least 74°c / 165°f on an instant read thermometer. Make your own decisions here and I like to make sure I use super fresh eggs for making my tiramisu just for peace of mind!

This recipe only uses egg yolks - other tiramisu recipes incorporate the egg whites into the filling too.

Alcohol Free Tiramisu

I use Kahlua in my Tiramisu recipe, but more traditional recipes use Marsala wine or a dark rum.

If you want to make this an alcohol free tiramisu, simply omit the alcohol from the coffee soak.

How to slice Tiramisu

I find that the cleanest way to slice tiramisu is to use a sharp knife or an offset spatula. Make sure that the dessert is properly chilled and set, then use a knife or spatula to cut into portions. Once you have the first one out, you should be able to use a fish slice or something similar to remove servings.

Alternatively, just use a spoon and scoop out servings.

Can Tiramisu be made ahead of time?

Yes, in fact this is best to make ahead so that it has time to set up. The egg yolk mixture will seem a little loose when you are assembling it, but it should set up nicely in the fridge.

This chill time also gives the lady fingers time to soften slightly from the coffee soak, and for the flavours to meld.

I usually make tiramisu the morning of the evening I am planning to serve it because I have bad time management, but if you like, you can make it a day ahead and store covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. Dust with cocoa powder just before you eat.

How do you store Tiramisu?

Store leftovers either in an airtight container in the fridge, or just in the serving dish that you made the dessert in, lightly covered with plastic wrap. Eat within 2-3 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tools and equipment do you use?
You can find a full list of the tools and equipment I use on my products page

Which pan did you use?

I made my Tiramisu in a ceramic 9"x13" pan. You can use whatever pan you have that you think will fit - this recipe will also fill a 9x9" pan and give three layers (it fills right to the top)

Can I use regular granulated sugar?

If you like you can, but you run the risk of your zabaglione being grainy. You can either blitz your sugar to make it a little finer, or make sure that the sugar is dissolved in the egg yolk mixture. Caster sugar I have found is much more common in nz than the US - if you have a fine grained regular granulated sugar in the US that should be fine. In NZ you want to use Caster.

Help! My filling looks really thin?

The first few times I made homemade tiramisu I thought this too! But don't freak out, once it has some time to sit in the fridge then the filling will firm up. Just make sure that when you are cooking the egg yolks and sugar together you have a nice thick mixture.