I make this tiramisu recipe as an easy way to enjoy my favorite Italian dessert at home. This classic recipe has layers of espresso-soaked ladyfingers and fluffy mascarpone cream, dusted with cocoa powder. If you’ve ever wondered how to make tiramisu, I recommend giving this version a try!
Tiramisu is one of those no-bake desserts that I could eat forever. Which is funny, because I didn’t love it growing up. As an adult, however, this classic Italian dessert is one of my favorites, and I’ve made variations from Oreo tiramisu to berry tiramisu and even cheesecake. They all started here, with my easy tiramisu recipe.
The combination of softened ladyfingers, espresso, Kahlua, and the fluffy mascarpone filling is hard to beat. I could add the mascarpone cream to just about anything. And it’s one of those desserts that I think is truly best when homemade. Contrary to what you may think, it’s very easy!
Why You’ll Want to Make This Classic Tiramisu Again and Again
- A classic, homemade. Tiramisu is always my first choice off a dessert menu, and I modeled this recipe after some of my favorite Italian restaurants.
- Easy mascarpone cream. Don’t be intimidated by the idea of tempering egg yolks for the mascarpone filling. With a few tips, you’ll have smooth, consistent results.
- Step-by-step. The mascarpone filling is laid out below with step-by-step pictures to help make the process clear. Plus, there’s a video below where I walk you through the entire process. You can do this, and you will love it! It’s so yummy!
Tiramisu Ingredients
You only need a few ingredients to make this tiramisu recipe. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for specific amounts.
- Eggs – I tested this recipe with large eggs, not medium or extra large.
- Sugar – Regular granulated sugar is all that’s needed.
- Mascarpone cheese – This is a soft Italian cream cheese made with whole cream instead of milk. It adds authentic flavor to the filling.
- Heavy whipping cream – Be sure this stays cold so that it whips properly. See my tutorial on how to make homemade whipped cream.
- Ladyfinger biscuits – If you can’t find these at your local market, you can buy authentic Italian lady fingers in delis or on Amazon. Be sure to buy firm ladyfingers, not the soft ones.
- Espresso powder – Dissolved in hot water, instant espresso powder adds the signature coffee flavor to tiramisu.
- Kahlua – Optional, but common in tiramisu recipes. I do love the flavor it adds.
- Cocoa powder – For topping the tiramisu.
How To Make Mascarpone Cream, Step-By-Step
Tiramisu is where I fell in love with mascarpone cheese. I have since used it in countless desserts and toppings, including my mascarpone whipped cream. Yum! Here’s how to make the mascarpone cream for tiramisu, step-by-step.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a double boiler. It’ll be chunky, but as it heats up, it’ll thin out.
Continue whisking and cook for 5-8 minutes, until the mixture grows in volume, thickens, and turns a pale yellow.
Avoid Scrambling the Eggs
You don’t want to scramble your eggs, so keep whisking and watch the yolks closely while the sugar dissolves. If the egg mixture is still a little gritty once it thickens, that’s OK. It will smooth out as you go on.
Cool the mixture, then gently fold in the mascarpone cheese.
Make a batch of whipped cream, and fold that into the mascarpone/egg mixture. Set aside.
Assemble the Tiramisu
Once your mascarpone cream is ready, the steps to make this tiramisu are just as simple:
- Make the espresso mixture. Dissolve the espresso powder in hot water, and add Kahlua if you’re using it.
- Soak the ladyfingers. Dip the ladyfingers into the espresso mixture for about 3-5 seconds. The longer you dunk them, the more moisture they’ll soak up and the stronger the flavor will be.
- Layer. Arrange half of the soaked ladyfingers into a 9×13 pan. Top them with mascarpone cream. This recipe has two layers of ladyfingers and two layers of the mascarpone mixture. Once you’re done layering, sprinkle some cocoa on top and chocolate shavings if you’d like. Refrigerate overnight and enjoy! Trust me, it won’t last long.
Frequently Asked Questions
While the Kahlua does add a nice depth of flavor, it is not essential. If you would prefer not to use alcohol in this recipe, you can easily skip it and just soak your ladyfingers in 2 ¼ cups of hot water with 6-8 tablespoons of espresso powder and 6 tablespoons of sugar instead.
Yes. It’s best to make it at least a few hours before serving so it has time to rest. But you can easily make it a day (or even two) before serving it, as well.
Tiramisu will keep in the fridge for about 4-5 days. You might find that the flavors actually get even better after it has been stored for a day or two.
While it wouldn’t be authentic tiramisu, regular cream cheese is the closest substitute to mascarpone in a pinch. However, the flavor profile won’t be the same, as mascarpone is tangier and smoother than cream cheese.
How to Store
- Refrigerate. You can store tiramisu in the pan you assembled it in. Just cover the top with Saran Wrap. It will keep in the fridge for about 4-5 days. You might find that the flavors actually get even better after it has been stored for a couple of days.
- Freeze. You can freeze tiramisu for up to 3 months. I recommend freezing it without the top layer of cocoa powder. Wait until you’ve thawed the tiramisu in the fridge overnight and add the cocoa powder before serving.
More Tiramisu-Inspired Desserts to Try
Easy Tiramisu Recipe
save this recipe
Enter your email & we’ll send it to your inbox. Plus get new recipes from us every week!
Ingredients
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 1 ¼ cups (285g) mascarpone cheese*
- 1 ¾ cups (420ml) heavy whipping cream (cold)
- 1 package ladyfingers (17.5 ounce package )
- 1 cup (240ml) hot water
- 6 tablespoons espresso powder
- 1 ¼ cups Kahlua*
- 1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder (for dusting)
Instructions
- Prepare a 9×13 baking dish. If you want to be able to remove the tiramisu from the pan when done so that you can see the layers, I suggest lining the pan with parchment paper that sticks up over the sides, then putting a cardboard cake rectangle in the bottom of the pan. The tiramisu will be supported by the cardboard when you remove it using the parchment paper.
- Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler (or in a metal mixer bowl over a pot of simmer water). Whisk to combine. The mixture will seem a little chunky at first, but will thin out as it heats up.
- Continue cooking and whisking for about 5-8 minutes, until mixture grows in volume, thickens and turns a pale yellow. The sugar should melt, but if it’s still a little grainy, that’s ok. It will smooth out as you go.
- Set the egg mixture aside to cool to a little warmer than room temperature.
- While eggs cool, make the whipped cream. Add the heavy whipping cream to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- When the egg mixture has cooled, add the mascarpone cheese and gently fold together until combined.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into mascarpone/egg mixture in two parts. Set mixture aside
- Dissolve the espresso powder into the hot water, then combine with the Kahlua.
- One at a time, dip the ladyfingers into the Kahlua mixture for about 3-5 seconds. The longer you dip the ladyfingers, the stronger the flavor will be. As you dip the ladyfingers, lay them into the bottom of the 9×13 pan. You should be able to get two rows in a layer.
- Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers.
- Repeat ladyfinger layer, then top with remaining mascarpone mixture. Dust the top with cocoa powder.
- Refrigerate for several hours or overnight, then remove from pan (if desired) and serve.
Notes
- Mascarpone cheese – You’ll want to use slightly softened, but still cool, mascarpone. Remove it from the fridge about 10-15 minutes before you’re ready to use it so it has time to soften just a bit. Keep in mind that if it gets too warm/soft, it can start to separate and there’s no fixing it. If you can’t find mascarpone cheese, or just don’t want to use it, cream cheese would be ok. The flavor of cream cheese is just different and stronger, so keep that in mind.
- Ladyfingers – You’ll need the firm/hard ladyfingers. The soft ones won’t work in this tiramisu.
- Without alcohol – If you’d like to make this tiramisu without the Kahlua, use this espresso mixture: 2 1/4 cups hot water, 6-8 tbsp instant espresso powder, 6 tbsp sugar.
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Recipe was originally posted 10/15/13. It has been updated, but if you’d like a copy of the original version, download it here.
Categories:
Bars and Brownies, No Bake Desserts, Other Sweets, Recipes, Recipes with video, Sweets and Treats,
What cocoa powder do you recommend? Is it the Hershey unsweetened? I love how the egg and sugar mixture are cooked before adding it to the cheese and whipped cream. Eggs are raw in some recipes of tiramisu that I have seen.
Yes, natural unsweetened cocoa powder.
Hi,
Recipe looks wonderful. Do you use soft lady fingers and do you split them to assemble the Tiramisu?
Will this filling fill up a 9×13 dish with 2 layers?
If possible, please respond to my email address: lindakmiller70@gmail.com I wish to make this recipe before May 15th, 2016.
Thanks, Linda Miller
I use the traditional firm lady fingers, so they aren’t split. Yes, it’s made in an full size 9×13 pan. I hope you enjoy it!
This site and their Facebook pace is using your image. These sites irritate me. https://www.1mrecipes.com/low-sugar-chocolate-coffee-tiramisu/
They irritate me too Barry. Thank you!
This Tiramisu recipe is the best one I’ve ever made. Honestly, I’ve made it so many times now and it never fails. Thank you!
The recipe looks awesome. I’m going to make it for my husband’s Birthday.
Enjoy!
Tirsmisu is our fav desert… I am planning to make it for our anniversary and I only have the softer lady fingers… Do u think that they would work??
Hmmm, I’m not sure that it would turn out as well. The regular ones are dryer and soak up the liquid, you might want to reduce the liquid if you use the soft ones. Here’s a link to a tiramisu trifle I made with the softer lady fingers if you’d rather try that.
Is there any difference between using espresso powder and instant espresso powder? I can not use Alcohol
You could use either.
I also cannot have alcohol, so i was just going to make this with the espresso/water. how much water do you think i need for it to be a sufficient amount for the lady fingers? you mentioned “add more water and espresso” but i have never used instant espresso before, and dont want to mess it up! thanks for your help in advance.
I haven’t done it without Kahlua before, so I can’t say for sure. You’ll want to make sure the espresso isn’t too strong. A lot of liquid ends up soaked into the lady fingers, so you’ll probably want to add about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of water in place of the Kahlua. For the espresso, you’ll probably want to double or triple the amount used. Then taste a little bit of it and see if you think it should be stronger. I hope that helps.
This looks like the perfect dessert to end a classic Italian meal we have planned for friends. (The Kahlua put it over the top for me 🙂 Did you use the softer ladyfingers or the crunchy type? Thanks so much!
The Kahlua is totally necessary. 🙂 I use the crunchy ones.
Thanks! Can’t wait to give it a try this weekend!
Made this today and HAD to try a piece before serving it to guests tomorrow 🙂 Oh my goodness!!! Fan-freaking-tastic indeed! Thanks for convincing me to try my hand at making this classic dessert.
I’m so glad you tried it! And so glad it was a hit too! 🙂 Thanks Joni!
I can’t have any alcohol. (Sad face) Do you think I could substitute chocolate milk for the Kahlua?
Certainly you could. It might give it a bit of a milky taste. You could also try a little more espresso and water it down to get enough liquid.
This is my go to recipe for tiramisu and it’s always a HUGE hit! I don’t drink alcohol so I always just make a bunch of espresso and use that instead… trick is to not over soak the ladyfingers… espresso should be warm (not hot!) and I turn over each ladyfinger in it two or three times before laying it down in the pan. Good luck!
I made this last night and it was my very first time making tiramisu. Your recipe was so easy to follow and it turned out awesome! I used less Kahlua (1 cup) and used 4 shots of espresso made from my home espresso machine and it was just enough to soak the ladyfingers (and still enough to get a buzz off one slice.) Boyfriend and roommates licked their plates clean, lol. Thank you so much for this recipe, definitely will recommend!!
Awesome! I’m so glad Karen! I love this tiramisu! 🙂
Hi! I’m in the middle of making the classic tiramisu. I was wondering if by espresso you mean already made espresso or just the powder? If you could get back to me, that would be great! Thanks.
Hi Melissa! It’s espresso granules. You’ll see in the instructions that you add it to warm water to get espresso for drizzling. I hope you enjoy it, it’s one of my favorites!
This dessert is seriously calling my name!!! I could probably polish off the entire dessert… 🙂
Thanks Jocelyn! 🙂
it looks delish!
Thanks Dina!
You did an amazing job with that tiramisu Lindsay! I tried making it once, and it was a disaster. I will definitely give your recipe a try! 🙂
Thank you, Lisa! I hope you try it, it really is awesome! 🙂
I grew up eating tiramisu and yours looks so firm and delicious. Thanks for sharing it with us on foodie friday.
Thank you Diane! And thank you for the party!
Wow, this looks awesome! I pinned it and can’t wait to try it.
Thanks Angie, I hope you like it! Thank you for sharing!