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
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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,
This turned out fantastic!!! my first time making Tiramisu and so lucky to have stumbled upon your recipe. thank you very much.
I did not use alcohol, so I used 8 TBSP instant espresso in 2 cups of hot water. it was perfect and enough liquid for all the lady’s fingers.
also, when you mix the yolk and sugar to create the custard, the sugar will be grainy, even after you mix for 8-10 mins. However the grainy texture goes away after you mix the mascarpone and whipped cream.
So glad you enjoyed it!
What do you recommend to use in place of mascarpone? The stores here are sold out. Thank you!
I’m really not sure that there’s a great substitute. The mascarpone really adds the most accurate flavor. But if you want to try something different, cream cheese might be the best option.
The original tiramisu is supposed to be ˋhalf frozeń. In Italy the egg isn’t heated, they just use the yolk as is, no problem! I just make sure I get fresh eggs. Otherwise, the recipe is the same and really amazing!
I omitted alcohol & used 1 cup very strong decaf coffee instead. I quick dunked the ladyfingers (soft kind. That’s all I could find) but just make sure the kind you’re using doesn’t get so wet that it’ll disintegrate before you set it in pan. Still tasted like the good stuff you get at expensive restaurants.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I love tiramisu and I am very excited about trying this recipe. I have one question though, does it freeze well? Thank you so much!
I’ve honestly never tried freezing tiramisu, so I can’t really say. But I would think it should be OK.
I was at first skeptical about the equal parts espresso to kahlua, but it was what made this dish outstanding! And cooking the eggs over the double boiler was no big deal, and definitely made the dish lighter in texture as well as taste. I doubled the recipe, but because I used jumbo eggs, decreased the total yolks to 9. My only other change was a dash of vanilla to the whipping cream as it mixed. THIS WAS DEFINITELY A BIG HIT!
Wonderful! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Thank you for a wonderful recipe! I didn’t have Kahlua so I used rum and it was still great.
Awesome! I’m glad to hear it!
What about replacing the water with coffee? We have a coffee that the beans are soaked in kahlua, caramel, and vanilla.
You could do that. It’s all about the amount of flavor you want to have.
I used this recipe and the tiramisu was out of this world. I want to add that I added 14g vanila flavored sugar and mixed it altogethet with the whipped cream. I did not use alcohol but I can confidently say that it did not affect the taste of the cake at all.
Finally, I think we all must buy ingredients of the best quality in order our cakes or whatever we cook to be at their point.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I tried making tiramisu with a similar recipe. I only got as far as the egg yolks and sugar mixed them and cooked for 10 minutes. I tried it 3 times and each time something went wrong! Don’t have a double boiler so i used a metal bowl over boiling water inside a larger pan. What am i doing wrong??? Should the eggs be room temp?? HELP!!!
Turned out like straight up pudding mush. If you soak the lady fingers for any more than a second you get a mush and might as well mix it all together
Can I bake this in a circular cake pan?
As long as the pan is big enough to hold everything, it should be fine.
Made this last night and it turned out amazing!
Made a two slight adjustments… strained the egg yoke mixture because I could not get the sugar to melt and didn’t want to over cook the custard and wanted to remove any cooked egg and I used less alcohol and more espresso.
I let it set overnight and cut perfectly and came out of the glass dish perfectly!
I will definitely be using this recipe again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
Sprinkling the top with cocoa powder…….the unsweetened cocoa powder?
Yes, I used natural unsweetened cocoa powder.
Hello! I just finished making this recipe for the third time and it’s absolutely delicious. However, this time I noticed my cream wasn’t as thick as it usually is. It was a tad bit runny. I whipped the heavy cream till soft peaks formed and once I added the egg/marscapone mixture it loosened a bit . It tastes great but I’m just worried it won’t thicken. Will it thicken overnight in the refrigerator?
It’s hard for me to say from a distance, but it might. I hope it turned out ok!
I just added the mascarpone to the egg yolks and the mixture is kinda runny.. is that how it’s supposed to be? I haven’t added the whipped cream yet so I’m not sure if that’ll thicken it up a bit? Making this for thanksgiving tomorrow.. please reply ASAP thanks! 🙂
That sounds like it’s fine. The whipped cream does help it thicken.
Holy cow this was delicious!! Huge hit with the family! Keeping this saved for the future for sure! Thank you!
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed!