Tiramisu
Ingredients
- 4-5 eggs, separated
- 100 g sugar
- 500 g mascarpone
- 300 ml strong brewed espresso, cooled
- 24-30 savoiardi (Italian ladyfingers)
- unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
- Marsala wine, optional
Authentic tiramisu keeps to just a handful of ingredients: mascarpone, eggs, sugar, espresso and savoiardi (ladyfingers). Egg yolks are beaten with sugar into a pale cream, lightened with whipped egg whites and folded with mascarpone, then layered with ladyfingers briefly dipped in strong coffee. It's chilled for hours so the biscuits soften and the layers meld, and finished with a heavy dusting of cocoa powder.
Method
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and thick.
Fold the mascarpone into the yolk mixture until smooth.
Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold them into the mascarpone mixture to lighten it.
Briefly dip each ladyfinger into the cooled espresso (with a splash of Marsala if using) — just enough to moisten, not soak through.
Arrange a layer of dipped ladyfingers in a dish, spread with half the mascarpone cream, then repeat with a second layer of ladyfingers and the remaining cream.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
Dust generously with cocoa powder just before serving.
Ingredients
- 6 egg yolks
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 500 g mascarpone
- 300 ml strong brewed coffee, cooled
- About 30 savoiardi (ladyfingers)
- unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
Tiramisu was invented around 1969-1970 at the restaurant Alle Beccherie in Treviso, generally credited to owner Ada Campeol and pastry chef Roberto Linguanotto. The restaurant's original recipe — since registered with a notary to protect it — is even more minimal than most modern versions: only egg yolks, sugar, mascarpone, ladyfingers, coffee and cocoa, with no liqueur, no cream, and no whipped egg whites folded in. The silkiness comes entirely from beating the yolks and sugar to a pale foam before folding in the mascarpone.
Method
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until they form a light, pale, airy foam — this takes several minutes and is the base of the whole dessert.
Delicately fold in the mascarpone by hand until fully incorporated and smooth, taking care not to deflate the yolk foam.
Briefly dip each ladyfinger in the cooled coffee — just enough to moisten, not soak through — and arrange a layer in a dish.
Spread half the mascarpone cream over the ladyfingers.
Add a second layer of coffee-dipped ladyfingers and top with the remaining cream.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours, ideally overnight.
Dust generously with cocoa powder just before serving.
