Classic Italian Tiramisu

​

Serves: 8

 

Recipe courtesy of lilvienna.com

Photo courtesy of https://www.marcellinaincucina.com/how-to-make-tiramisu/

This will be replaced with my own shortly.

​

This creamy classic Italian Tiramisu has been my go-to recipe for years. Everybody loves it!

Recipe: Taste of Travel cookbook (German, translated) by Ursula Schersch

​

​

​

Ingredients

​

• 3 fresh, large egg yolks (see note)

• 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (80 g) granulated white sugar

• 2 cups (16 oz/453 g) mascarpone cheese

• 1 ¼ cups (300 ml) strong brewed coffee

• 2 tablespoon Tia Maria liqueur (optional) for the cream - extra for the fingers.

• 6 to 7 oz (170-200 g) lady fingers (see note)

• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

 

 

​

Method

 

1. Brew the coffee and set aside to cool.
    

2. To make the Sabayon:  Beat egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer or stand mixer until pale and creamy-thick, about 3-5 minutes.
    

3. Add mascarpone cheese and mix on low speed until combined and smooth. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the coffee and 2 tablespoons of Tia Maria. The mascarpone cream should be creamy and easily spreadable. If it is too firm, add an additional tablespoon of coffee (see note).
    

4. Combine the rest of the coffee and add in some Tia Maria (according to taste) (if using) in a bowl or dish. Quickly dip a third of the ladyfingers one at a time in the coffee mixture. A 1-second-dip on each side is enough. Do not over-soak the ladyfingers as they’ll break and the layers may get mushy.
    

5. Arrange 1/3 of the soaked ladyfingers in a single layer in the bottom of 8 individual glasses or small bowls (ramekins). Alternatively, use a 7x11-inch dish, a 9-inch square pan or a 10-inch cake or springform pan. Spread 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers. Repeat layers once or twice more. Make sure to evenly spread the mascarpone layers, especially the top layer.  I found that using individual serving glasses only allowed for two layers of sponge fingers.
    

6. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
    

7. Sprinkle with a thin layer of cocoa powder through a sieve right before serving.  (do not be tempted to do this in advance as the cocoa powder will melt into the sabayon.
    

Notes
 

Eggs: This recipe, like many other original Italian tiramisu recipes, contains raw eggs. Make sure to use pasteurized eggs if you are not allowed to eat raw eggs for health reasons.
 

Ladyfingers: You’ll need about 36 ladyfingers for a large dish and slightly less for 8 individual glasses. If you are using a brand with thick ladyfingers, split them in half lengthwise, so that you’ll have enough for 3 layers. Alternatively, just make a 2-layered tiramisu. For the individual glasses, I used 3 ladyfingers, cut in half.  If you don’t have ladyfingers, use thin sponge-cake layers, only about 1/4 to 1/3-inch (7-9 mm) thick.
 

Spreadable mascarpone cream: If the cream is still not creamy enough after the addition of 3 tablespoons of coffee, you can add a little milk or heavy cream to make it creamier. The consistency of the mascarpone cream largely depends on the brand and water content of the mascarpone cheese used. With the brand I use, I only need to add 2 tablespoons of coffee to the mascarpone cream to get a nice, soft and easily spreadable consistency.
 

Recipes for leftover egg-whites: With the leftover egg whites, you can make my favorite Easy Lemon Amaretti Cookies (no mixer, one bowl), Pavlova . You can also add them to the next omelet that you make or fold them (whipped to stiff peaks) into pancake batter for extra fluffy pancakes. Egg whites also freeze well.

 

The "best" tiramisu recipe typically adheres to the classic Italian method, which relies on a rich sabayon (egg yolk and sugar custard) and whipped egg whites or cream for lightness. For a truly authentic experience, using Inside The Rustic Kitchen's approach or Vincenzo’s Plate traditional ratio is highly recommended. 

​

Alcohol:  Traditionally, Tia Maria is the best coffee liqueur for this recipe, although you can use Kahlua, which is a thicker and sweeter coffee liqueur.  Alternatively, you could use Marsala Wine, Amaretto or Disarrono, which has an almond flavour.​