Tiramisu
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My grandmother loved tiramisu and always made one when she was expecting a house full of guests for the holidays. It is one of my favorites, too, and it is especially nice to have on hand this time of year — it can be made ahead and tucked in the fridge, and it feeds a crowd. Recipe is below.
I hope all is well, Everyone.
How to Make Tiramisu, Step by Step:
Gather your ingredients:
You’ll start by cooking egg yolks and sugar in a double boiler for roughly 5 minutes or until the mixture becomes ribbony in texture and is warm to the touch.
Let it cool briefly, then stir in mascarpone.
In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream until it holds stiff peaks. Then fold it into the mascarpone-egg-sugar mixture.
Time to assemble stir brandy or rum into brewed espresso (or instant espresso + hot water). Brush the mixture over a layer of lady fingers in a 9×13-inch pan. Top with half of the mascarpone-heavy cream-egg mixture. Repeat with another layer of lady fingers and the remaining cream mixture.
Shave chocolate over the top; then store in the fridge for at least 12 hours before serving.
Remove and serve.
Heaven!
Tiramisu
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: Serves 10
Description
Notes: This tiramisu recipe calls for soft lady fingers (versus hard), which are often found in the bakery sections of grocery stores. Some grocery stores stock them in the freezer, so be sure to ask someone if you can’t find them. Typically, packages contain 12 whole lady fingers split in half, so 24 total halves. You need three of these packages for this recipe.
Also, if you want to be really picky about ingredients, here are two more suggestions: superfine sugar and imported Italian mascarpone (which is typically sold in small tubs—you will need two of these tubs, which will leave you with some leftover). Don’t worry, however, if you can’t find or don’t feel like seeking out these ingredients.
Finally, instead of purchasing a jar of instant espresso that might sit around for an entire year after opening, just go to your favorite coffee shop and order and a few shots of espresso or a cup of strong coffee. You need about 2/3 cups liquid total. Obviously, if you have an espresso machine, brew a few shots and add enough hot water to bring the total volume to 2/3 cup.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups (430 g) heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups (250 g) sugar (superfine is ideal)
3 packages soft lady fingers, see notes above
1 1/4 cups (310 g) mascarpone
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 to 4 teaspoons brandy or rum
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, see notes above
2/3 cup hot water
A bar of chocolate (semi-sweet or your favorite bar of dark chocolate) for shaving/garnishing
Instructions
- With a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, beat cream until stiff. Transfer to a small bowl and stick in the fridge. Wipe mixing bowl and beaters clean with a paper towel or dish towel. (No need to fully wash.)
- In the same bowl, beat egg yolks until thick, about 2 minutes on medium-high to high speed. Add sugar and beat until thick and pale, another 2 minutes at the same speed.
- Fill a wide-mouthed pot with water about half or two-thirds full. Bring to a boil. Set mixing bowl filled with egg yolk-sugar mixture over top. Reduce heat to medium-high or medium or so that the water is just gently simmering (or less than simmering) below the bottom of the bowl. Stir the egg yolk-sugar mixture with a heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon for five minutes. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl.
- Prepare brandy-espresso brushing mixture: If you are using instant espresso, stir the 2/3 cup boiling (or hot) water into the espresso powder. Stir in brandy or rum to taste. (Note: If serving to children, 2 teaspoons is recommended; if not, add booze to taste.) If using hot coffee or espresso, brew enough to yield 2/3 cup. Stir in alcohol to taste.
- Line the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish (glass, Pyrex or ceramic (versus metal) is ideal) with one layer of lady finger halves, cut side facing up. Brush each with the espresso-alcohol mixture. Be generous with the saturation.
- Using a whisk or spatula, stir the mascarpone and vanilla into the slightly cooled egg yolk-sugar mixture. Try to whisk out any lumps, but don’t worry if a few remain. Fold in whipped cream until blended.
- Pour half of the cream mixture over the first layer of lady fingers. Even cream out with a spatula (an offset spatula is ideal for this). Top with another layer of lady fingers. (You will likely have a few lady fingers leftover.) Brush each with the espresso-alcohol mixture again being generous with the saturation. Top with the remaining cream, spreading it out to form an even layer.
- Using a vegetable peeler, shave chocolate over the top of the entire dish. Cover dish with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 4 hours before serving. Can be prepared 2 to 3 days in advance. If necessary, shave more chocolate over top before serving.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian, American
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12 Comments on “Tiramisu”
Looks at all of those beautiful babies! You guys are so blessed.
PS Ella looks just like you did as child!!
Oh, thank you Nina! It was really fun having the cousins all together. And, re Ella, I am getting that a lot recently. When she was born, everyone said she looked just like Ben, but it seems her looks are starting to change a bit.
PS: I have been looking at your blog for Xmas ideas. So many great ideas!
So beautiful – can I ask how you scooped it so beautifully into the bowl? It’s painful to see all the hard work put in, and how lovely it looks in the pan only to look like a sloppy mess when served up! Thanks
Liv, hi! OK, a few suggestions: 1. Use a shallow bowl if you can. The picture is a little deceiving — that bowl is only 2-inches tall. It has straight sides and is 3 inches in diameter, so pretty small overall. I know you might not have a choice in terms of vessels, but if you do, I thought I’d mention that. 2. Use a spoon to scoop one layer into the bowl, and then scoop another layer directly on top — it’s a layered dish anyway, so there’s no worry about smushing the bottom layer. Finally, shave some more chocolate over each serving. Hope that helps!
This isn’t even the first time you’ve written for Joanna’s site, right? You’re so big-time 🙂 Your tiramisu sounds amazing! So fun that you shared a family recipe.
Had to also say that I made your apple pie for our Thanksgiving this year. It was a HIT. It was just the prettiest and most tasty crust I’ve ever made (I’m a crust girl when it comes to pie). It really shamed the store-bought pie it was next to on the table 😉 In a good way!
Sophie, you are too sweet. I posted on Cup of Jo this past spring — it was a leek and goat cheese omelet recipe.
I am so happy to hear you liked the apple pie, and that the crust was the tastiest you’ve ever made! There is nothing like a flaky, buttery pie crust, right? Hope the mashed potatoes and gravy were a hit. Happy Holidays, Sophie!
Alexandra, beautiful site! Nice work. So, I’m Timmy’s cousin. Had heard you have a blog. We do too. I remember you and Ben from their wedding. So happy to see the kiddos in your post. We haven’t met Arabella yet. Can’t wait to see those guys again soon. Liam looks just like Mr T.
We’ll be stopping by your site more frequently. Your cooking looks pretty impressive!
Timmy’s cousin?! So much fun to see a comment from you. And I am going to check out your blog immediately. It was so much fun having Thanksgiving with Tim and Lindsey and the kiddos. The morning after Thanksgiving, Tim treated us to homemade English muffins, bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce for the best eggs benedict I have ever had. Truly they were delicious. I have been dreaming about them. Hope to meet you sometime! Thanks for writing in.
I made this recipe for Easter and the family loved it! But even more impressive, I froze the leftovers and pulled them out this weekend to share with my sister-in-law and it was still fantastic. She texted me today that she was thinking about it all day today! 🙂
I have a question though, about finding it on the website. I always have to scroll through desserts to find it, when other recipes pop up in the search or as recently viewed. I’m not sure why this one doesn’t? Just thought I would mention because I specifically looked to see if you had a Tiramisu recipe since I love ALL your recipes, and when it didn’t show up I thought I would just see what other recipes I might make, when I did see you have one. So maybe it’s a website glitch? Just in case others are searching your site for it I thought I would let you know. GREAT recipe!!
Connie, I’m so happy to hear all of this, especially about the freezing! I never would have guessed that tiramisu would freeze well.
And thank you for letting me know about the search results. I just looked and the post had been unindexed for some reason, so I re-indexed it, and it should be good to go … it may take a few days to show up, but I’ll keep an eye on it.
So great to hear you and your SIL loved it 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi! I didn’t realize tiramisu has uncooked egg yolks… which is crazy bc I order it all the time! Do you think this can impose any salmonella risks from eating them raw- even pasteurized? Any advice to make me feel better lol?!? Thank you!!
Hi! The eggs get cooked in a double boiler over the stovetop, and my understanding is that they are heated to a degree that any risk of salmonella is eliminated. I don’t think you have anything to worry about!