Traditional Tiramisu Recipe

Enjoy this traditional tiramisu recipe, a popular Italian dessert so creamy, hearty, and incredible easy to make. It can be served for special occasions but also for a family Sunday lunch.

Tiramisu is a traditional Italian dessert made of savoiardi biscuits soaked in coffee and layered together with a decadent cream mixture made of mascarpone cheese and eggs.

The recipe has become highly popular all over the world because it makes a delicious combination of flavors and textures, and it is really easy to make.

Tiramisu has a strong coffee flavor with hits of chocolate, those two flavors combines perfect with the creamy and buttery taste of the mascarpone cheese.

If you like moist, soft, and aromatic cakes, make sure to check out also our Italian ricotta cake recipe!

Ingredients

• Biscuits: The traditional tiramisù recipe is made with savoiardi, an Italian biscuit with a hard-spongy texture. Savoiardi are known in other parts of the world with various names such as ladyfinger cookies, soletas, soletillas, and sponge fingers to name a few.
• Cheese: You will need mascarpone cheese to make this recipe, it has a buttery texture and flavor. If you like the combination of sweet and salty, you can substitute mascarpone with cream cheese. In a pinch, use whipped cream instead.
• Eggs: Use medium eggs and make sure they’re fresh.
• Coffee: The traditional tiramisu recipe is made with expresso coffee, but feel free to use instant coffee or even decaffeinated for a change.
• Sugar: Use granulated sugar.
• Cacao: You’ll need cacao powder to sprinkle on top of the cake, you can replace cacao with unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Liquor: The traditional recipe makes use of Marsala liquor or amaretto, you can leave out this ingredient or substitute with your favorite liquor.

How To Make Traditional Tiramisu Recipe

Place half of the sugar on a small saucepan, add half of water and place over medium heat. Simmer for a few minutes, long enough to allow the sugar to dissolve and form a light syrup.

Top Tip: The syrup will be ready when white and small bubbles start to form. If you have a kitchen thermometer it should read about 250°F (121°C), so don’t exceed this temperature or the syrup will starts to caramelize.

Place egg yolks on a bowl and beat with a hand mixer for a minute at medium speed. Set the speed to the highest and pour the syrup slowly.

Keep beating until you’ll achieve a soft and fluffy cream. Add marsala and mix a couple of seconds to combine.

Add mascarpone cheese to the bowl and combine very well with the egg yolk mixture.

Cover the bowl and store it in the fridge while you continue with the recipe.

Repeat the steps to make the light syrup with the remaining sugar and water.

Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl and whisk them at high speed while pouring the hot syrup until stiff peaks form.

Tip: You will reach stiff peak stage when the tips can stand straight up and won’t fall off if you turn over the bowl.

Add egg whites to the bowl with the mascarpone cream and, using a spatula, start working carefully from the bottom to top to combine.

After a couple of minutes, you’ll end up with a soft and fluffy mascarpone mixture like in the photo below.

Assembling

Scoop one or two spoons of the cream on the bottom of a 6.5″ x 9″ (17x23cm) baking dish and spread it all over.

One by one, dip lightly the ladyfingers (savoiardi) cookies into the coffee and make a first layer into the dish, arranging them side by side.

Add half of the cream and spread it evenly to nicely cover the biscuits, press down a little to allow the cream to fill the gaps between the savoiardi.

Use a five sieve to sprinkle 1/3 of the cocoa powder over the cream to give a layer of chocolaty flavor.

Repeat the layer with savoiardi cookies and add the remaining mascarpone cream on top, spreading in a single and even layer.

Wrap the dish tightly with cling film to prevent the dessert from absorbing odors. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

Before serving dust with the remaining cacao powder.

Expert’s Notes

• Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature.
• Our traditional tiramisu recipe is made with pasteurized eggs, however, make sure to always use fresh raw eggs when making this dessert.
• I recommend letting the dessert rest in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours (or even better, overnight) before serving it to allow the flavors to blend together and make the cake sit and become easier to cut.
• Make this traditional tiramisu recipe kids-friendly by replacing expresso coffee with hot cocoa and leaving out marsala liquor.
• You can also make a gluten-free version by substituting regular savoiardi with gluten free ones.
• For an eggless version of this classic Italian dessert, you can leave out the eggs and use heavy cream to make the mascarpone mixture. Make sure to also use egg-free biscuits!

How To Store

If you have leftovers of this traditional tiramisu recipe you can store them up to 3 days in the fridge. Tightly wrap the dish with cling film to prevent from absorbing other foods smells or use an airtight container.

You can also make ahead the recipe and store covered with plastic wrap until ready to eat.

FAQ

More Italian Desserts

Interested in more recipes like this? Check out these 29 traditional Italian recipes by region or try this best tiramisu recipe too!

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