Imagine this… tender ladyfingers soaked in espresso and layered with an airy whipped mascarpone cream. It is creamy, dreamy, rich and perfectly sweet. With flavors of espresso and vanilla, the light tanginess of mascarpone and a dusting of cocoa powder, tiramisu is the quintessential Italian dessert and I will always be quite smitten with it…
There are many versions of tiramisu and while I am all for making a recipe your own, as an Italian, I feel that there are certain classic recipes that should not be tweaked and tiramisu is one of them.
There are 7 classic ingredients – mascarpone, eggs, sugar, vanilla, espresso, ladyfingers and cocoa powder (8… if you want to add liquor). That’s it. No heavy cream, no chocolate (garnishing with chocolate is cool though) and no cooking. If you are nervous about not cooking the eggs, all I can say is that I have been making this for years and my grandmother made this for decades without incident. I suggest getting a good batch of fresh eggs or using pasteurized eggs to make sure they are safe for consumption.
The first step is to divide your eggs. Place the whites into a large clean, dry bowl and set aside for now.
Place the yolks in a separate bowl with 1/3 cup of granulated sugar. Use an electric hand mixer to whip the yolk and sugar until completely combined and pale yellow in color. Add 500 grams of mascarpone and a teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix until completely combined.
Clean the beaters and whip the egg whites until they get nice and foamy. Add the remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and continue whipping the eggs until you have stiff, shiny peaks. This usually takes around 5 minutes at medium high speed. You will begin to notice the eggs start to hold their shape as you move the beaters around the bowl. At this point, stop the mixer and lift the beaters out of the eggs. If the little peaks that form where the beaters are removed droop down, continue whipping.
Once those peaks hold their shape, the eggs have reached the stiff peak stage and this will give our tiramisu filling a wonderful consistency.
Gently fold the stiff egg whites into the mascarpone mixture until everything is fully combined.
You can use any 2 to 2 1/2 quart deep dish to assemble your tiramisu in. I am using this 11″x7″ Staub dish, but because we aren’t baking anything, you can use any beautiful dish you have on hand!
The only thing left to do is to assemble your masterpiece. Quickly dip individual ladyfingers into 1 1/2 cups of espresso or strongly brewed coffee. Feel free to add a little marsala wine, rum or amaretto into the espresso.
Don’t let the ladyfingers sit in the espresso longer than about a second or they will begin to fall apart and can make your tiramisu soggy.
Place the lady fingers into your dish in a single layer and then add half or a third of the mascarpone filling depending on how many layers you want to create. I love making 3 layers to have an equal amount of ladyfingers and filling, but if you prefer more filling then just do 2 layers of lady fingers.
Continue layering – espresso soaked ladyfingers, mascarpone cream, lady fingers, cream – until everything is assembled. Be sure that your top layer is enough mascarpone cream to cover the entire dish.
Once everything is assembled, generously dust the whole thing with cocoa powder and chill your tiramisu for a minimum of 4 hours to allow all of the flavors to develop and fully come together.
I can never decide whether I like the flavor or the texture of tiramisu most. This dessert is sheer perfection in my most humble of opinions and I am quite confident that if you make this tiramisu, not only will you love it, but you will also be very proud of your ability to make something so darn delicious…
If you are looking for an authentic Italian tiramisu recipe that you can make ahead with just a few simple ingredients, but wow all of your friends and family then this recipe is for you.
Buon appetito!
Classic Tiramisu
Ingredients
- 500 grams of mascarpone
- 4 large fresh or pasteurized eggs
- 2/3 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups of espresso or strongly brewed coffee
- 7 ounces of lady fingers (more if additional layers are preferred)
- 1/4 cup of cocoa powder (for dusting)
Instructions
- Divide the eggs and place the whites in a clean, dry bowl (set the yolks aside for now)
- Using an electric hand mixer, whip the egg whites until they are very foamy, add 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and continue whipping until they form stiff, glossy peaks
- In a separate bowl, combine the 4 egg yolks with 13 cup of granulated sugar and whisk vigorously until creamy and pale yellow in color
- Add 500 grams of mascarpone and a teaspoon of vanilla extract and continue mixing until smooth and completely combined
- Add about a third of the whipped egg whites, gently fold until mostly combined and repeat with the remaining egg whites until they have been all folded into the mascarpone mixture (be sure the fold gently to avoid deflating the egg whites)
- Quickly dip a lady finger into the strongly brewed coffee and place into the bottom of a 11”x7”x2” or similar sized 2 quart dish
- Continue placing the dipped lady fingers into the bottom of the dish until you have a single layer throughout
- If making the 2 layered version, add half of the mascarpone cream. If making 3 layers tiramisu, add 1/3 of the mascarpone cream and spread evenly across the entire dish
- Repeat with additional lady fingers and mascarpone cream until your layers have been assembled being sure to finish with the remaining mascarpone cream
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