Go Back
+ servings
A slice of tiramisu on a plate.
Print Recipe
5 from 37 votes

Authentic Italian Tiramisu

This Authentic Italian Tiramisu features homemade airy ladyfingers that are layered in between light mascarpone cream, rich espresso, and a touch of cocoa finish. Dolce vita! 
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Waiting time4 hours
Total Time5 hours
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6
Calories: 547kcal
Author: Katalin Nagy

Ingredients

For ladyfinger (makes 28)

  • 4 Eggs room temp. white and yolk separately
  • 100 g Granulated sugar 50g to make whip the egg yolk, 50g to whip the egg white
  • 60 g Pastry flour sifted
  • 50 g Corn starch sifted
  • Pinch of salt
  • Powdered sugar lightly dust before baking

Cream

  • 3 Egg yolk
  • 70 g Granulated sugar
  • 250 g Mascarpone high-fat, cold
  • 200 g Heavy Cream 36% fat, very cold

Other

  • 1 cup Coffee strong espresso to soak the ladyfingers in
  • Few Tablespoon Cocoa powder Unsweetened Dutch processed to decorate the top

Instructions

Start with ladyfingers

  • Heat oven to 200 C / 392°F no fan
  • Whipping egg yolk and half of the sugar, make sure you whip it all over until sugar dissolves. When you take a small amount of egg yolk and sugar mixture between your fingers it should be smooth and not grainy
  • Using your stand mixer make the meringue. Whip egg whites with the other half of the sugar, adding the sugar, a small amount at a time. Whip for about 5 minutes just until early stiff peaks but do not over-beat it
  • Sift together dry ingredients (flour, starch, salt)
  • Loose up the egg yolk mixture with about ¼ of the meringue, then fold in the rest of the meringue and the flour mixture VERY carefully in 2 steps. Use a Rubber spatula to make sure that you do not deflate the batter
  • Get your piping bag with a round nozzle tip and pipe 28 equal sized finger shapes leaving enough space in between them.
  • Dust with powdered sugar
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes. After baking, let them cool on Cooling rack

Continue with mascarpone cream

  • Whip egg yolk with sugar with the help of a hand whisk over a double boiler until sugar fully dissolves. It will take about 5 minutes but greatly depends on the size of your bowl as well as temperature of water. Do it over low heat
  • Cool egg yolk sugar mixture to room temperature then carefully whip room mascarpone with an Electric hand mixer. Do not overbeat as it can get runny easily. Carefully fold it into the egg yolk mixture with a Rubber spatula
  • In a separate bowl whip very cold heavy cream starting slowly then increasing speed on your Electric hand mixer until stiff peaks (but do not over whip) and carefully with a help of a rubber spatula fold it into the mascarpone egg yolk mixture. At this point, the cream should be airy and fluffy and it will further set in the fridge

Assembling

  • Soak lady fingers into freshly prepared espresso and place them next to each other on the bottom of the bowl.
  • Spread an even layer of cream on the ladyfingers then place another layer of coffee soaked ladyfinger on top then cream again. Smooth the top
  • Refrigerate tiramisu for a minimum of 4 hours to set
  • After tiramisu sets in the fridge, dust with cocoa powder
  • Store in the fridge for 1-2 days

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES:
  1. Measure your ingredients with a Digital scale for accuracy
  2. For the ladyfingers, it is totally fine for this recipe to use a store-bought one, but homemade can also be made easily
  3. Use full-fat mascarpone and cream to make the tiramisu cream
  4. Use unsweetened, dark cocoa powder to finish
TECHNIQUE NOTES:
  1. Make sure you read my Expert tips section above to maximize your success. A short recipe alone is not able to cover all the necessary details, and science behind baking.
  2. While making mascarpone filling, it is crucial to do it in steps, and carefully fold at each step
  3. Make sure you do not serve the tiramisu before it actually sets

Nutrition

Calories: 547kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 286mg | Sodium: 80mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 1362IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 1mg