For a gorgeous presentation, be sure to make the tiramisu recipe a night in advance, as it needs several hours to set properly. A chilled tiramisu slices like a dream into neat squares! And if you’re looking for more no-bake desserts, then try my éclair cake recipe, Nanaimo bars recipe, or easy Oreo pie!
What You Need to Make this Recipe
Espresso — very strong coffee is a good substitute. If you want the coffee flavor without the caffeine, you can use decaf instead. Whatever you choose, it needs to be room temperature. Dark rum — you can also use your favorite liqueur in this tiramisu recipe, like Kahlua, Grand Marnier, or Godiva. For an alcohol-free version, omit the booze and use more espresso or coffee instead, with a dash of vanilla extract. Mascarpone — think of mascarpone as the richer, sweeter cousin of American cream cheese. It has a melt-in-your-mouth quality that makes tiramisu absolutely addictive. Zabaglione — zabaglione (or zabaione) is a kind of Italian custard made from egg yolks and sugar. It will help set and hold the tiramisu together. (Pro tip: Reserve the egg whites for Angel Food Cake.) While a traditional tiramisu recipe calls for raw egg yolks, I gently cook mine over a double boiler. Sugar — granulated sugar is the best option as it dissolves easily and has a mild flavor. Cream — you need heavy whipping cream for the silky cream and mascarpone layer of the tiramisu recipe. Vanilla extract — I recommend vanilla extract instead of vanilla essence as vanilla extract is made from real vanilla beans, whereas vanilla essence is a synthetic flavor. Ladyfingers — you can easily buy these at most large grocery stores or order them online. But if you have some time, try my easy ladyfingers recipe! Cocoa powder — unsweetened cocoa powder is the perfect finishing touch as it is liberally dusted on top of this easy tiramisu recipe.
How to Make This Tiramisu Recipe
- Combine the espresso and dark rum in a medium bowl.
- To a large bowl, add the mascarpone cheese along with the remaining rum. Whisk together or beat with a hand mixer. Set aside for now.
- Make the custard (you’re basically making a zabaglione here). If you have a double-boiler, combine the egg yolks and granulated sugar in the top. If not, whisk them together in a heat-proof medium mixing bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water, ensuring that the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Continue to whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Once the egg yolk mixture is pale yellow and thickened, it is ready. This will take 5 to 8 minutes.
- Pour the egg yolk mixture into the mascarpone and whisk until combined. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Combine the heavy cream and vanilla in a large mixing with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium until stiff peaks form (3 to 5 minutes). Keep an eye on the cream as if it is over-beaten, it will turn into butter! Fold the whipped cream into the cold mascarpone mixture.
- Prepare the ladyfingers by dipping each side briefly into the espresso and rum mixture. Each side only needs to be dipped for a second or two, otherwise, the cookies will absorb too much liquid and become soggy. Arrange the lady fingers in a single layer in a 9×13-inch dish. You may need to break one row of ladyfingers so they fit. Try not to leave any gaps.
- Add half the mascarpone mixture on top of the ladyfingers and smooth it out using a spatula. Dip more ladyfingers in the espresso mixture and arrange them in a layer on top of the mascarpone cream layer.
- Spoon the rest of the mascarpone mixture on top of the second layer of ladyfingers and smooth it out. So you will end up with a layer of ladyfingers at the bottom, then a layer of mascarpone cream, then another layer of cookies, and one more layer of mascarpone cream. Dust the tiramisu recipe generously with unsweetened cocoa powder and chill overnight. Allowing your tiramisu time to set will give you neat layers and make slicing it much easier.
Pro Tips for Making this Recipe
Don’t soak the ladyfingers for too long. These light, airy cookies absorb liquid very easily, so they only need a very quick dip on each side (about 1 or 2 seconds per side). Watch the whipped cream. You need to whip the cream until it has stiff peaks, and this does not take long. If you over-whip the cream, you will end up with butter. Don’t leave big gaps between the ladyfingers. Two rows of ladyfingers won’t fit perfectly in a 9×13-inch dish. Simply break a few as needed for the perfect fit. While you will have a few natural gaps, they should be arranged so each cookies is touching without any obvious spaces between the cookies. Allow the tiramisu to chill for several hours. This tiramisu recipe is technically ready to eat once it’s dusted with cocoa powder. But at that point it is very messy to slice, and the flavors haven’t had time to meld properly. For the best-tasting tiramisu, refrigerate it for at least 6 hours. I typically make it a night in advance so it has plenty of time to set before I serve it.
If you’ve tried this tiramisu recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
