This original tiramisu with Marsala wine is the most loved Italian cake in the world. The classic version of this spoon dessert is made with eggs, Marsala, mascarpone, layers of coffee-soaked ladyfingers, and a bitter cocoa sprinkle.
Authentic Italian tiramisu
What is the authentic tiramisu recipe? Authentic Italian tiramisu is made with raw eggs ("uncooked eggs"), mascarpone, coffee, cocoa powder, and alcohol (a modern addition to the recipe).
Almost every household and pastry chef in Italy has its own recipe for tiramisu. The recipes vary depending on how they are made: with egg yolks, with egg whites, with tempered eggs, with or without whipped cream, with or without alcohol, etc.
Here is the traditional tiramisu recipe for a classic Italian dessert. It is also called the true Italian grandma’s tiramisu, made with raw eggs, Marsala wine, and Italian mascarpone.
I have never met someone who doesn't like tiramisu, a no-bake dessert made in 20 minutes!
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Tiramisu ingredients
For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.
You only need a few simple ingredients to make tiramisu. Use extra-fresh eggs and mascarpone (with a long expiration date).
- Espresso - make real espresso with your own espresso machine or pick it up at the local coffee shop. Or replace it with high-quality, strong coffee, but avoid instant coffee. Use decaffeinated coffee if you don't want any caffeine in your tiramisu.
- Italian ladyfingers - use store-bought, also known as savoiardi biscuits or homemade ladyfingers. I recommend Forno Bonomi, Balocco, or Matilde Vicenzi brands that produce crispy lady fingers cookies (not cake-style). You can buy them on Amazon or an international section of your local grocery store. If you want to make a gluten-free tiramisu dessert, choose gluten-free ladyfingers.
- Eggs - only pasteurized eggs at room temperature! While shopping, look for the word "pasteurized" on the egg carton box: it might be written with small letters and hard to locate. Since the eggs will not be cooked, also opt for extra-fresh eggs (with a long use-by date), better organic, or at least free-range. If you can't purchase pasteurized eggs at your grocery store, pasteurize eggs yourself.
- Sugar - granulated sugar, caster sugar, or baker's sugar.
- Mascarpone cheese - check the expiration date: it has to be long enough. The fresher the mascarpone, the thicker the tiramisu cream. I highly recommend the Galbani, Bel Giosi, or Vermont Creamery brands if you live in the United States. If you cannot find mascarpone, replace it with cream cheese. The tiramisu cream's flavor and consistency will be different, but it will work.
- Marsala - is the key to the authentic tiramisu. If you don't want any alcohol, omit this ingredient.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
How to make traditional tiramisu step-by-step
Step 1. Prepare the coffee and cool it in the refrigerator. Using an egg separator, separate the egg whites from the yolks.
Pro tip: Make sure to clean eggs with a dry cloth (not by washing), crack them on a flat surface (not on the edge of the bowl), and wash your hands before and after touching them. While separating egg whites from the yolks, ensure that they are never in contact with the external part of the shell.
Step 2. To make the tiramisu mascarpone cream, in a clean medium bowl, whip the raw egg whites and half of the sugar with an electric mixer until stiff peaks.
Step 3. In a separate bowl, whisk the raw egg yolks with the remaining sugar at medium-high speed for about 5 minutes. The mixture will whiten and double in volume. The grains of sugar must be dissolved, and the mixture has to fall heavily from a spoon.
Step 4. In a large mixing bowl, loosen the cold mascarpone (right from the fridge) with a fork, add Marsala, and whip until creamy. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the cheese mixture and mix gently with a rubber spatula. Take your time to combine ingredients well from the bottom to the top.
Step 5. Add the whipped egg whites in three additions once the mascarpone mixture is homogeneous. Always mix gently from the bottom up to avoid deflating the cream.
Step 6. To assemble the tiramisu, pour the cold espresso into a shallow bowl or dish.
Step 7: Quickly dip ladyfingers (1 to 2 seconds) in the coffee and place them in an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking dish, creating a base. Cut ladyfingers with a serrated knife to avoid creating spaces at the bottom of the dish. Also, try to arrange cookies in one direction.
Step 8. Using a spoon, add an even layer of half of the mascarpone filling. Cover it with the second layer of soaked sponge fingers and another half of the mascarpone mixture. Make a decorative pattern if desired.
Pro tip: Alternatively, place the cookies at the bottom of the bowl and brush on the coffee. This trick controls how much coffee gets on the ladyfingers.
Step 9. Cover the dish with a lid, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil and refrigerate for 4 to 12 hours.
To serve, use a fine-mesh sieve for dusting cocoa powder (make a light veil) over the top of the tiramisu. Serve it well chilled.
Slice tiramisu into servings with a sharp knife, clean it between the cuts, or scoop it onto plates. A metal serving spatula helps remove the slices.
Expert tips
- Cool the coffee in the fridge before dipping the cookies: it prevents cookies from going to mush. It must be unsweetened since the tiramisu is sweet, but you can sweeten it according to your desired taste.
- Dip the cookies one at a time. Don't dip ladyfingers longer than 2 seconds to prevent them from getting too soaked and crushed. To test, try to dip one cookie and bend it in half; the center of the cookie should still be somewhat dry. Remember: too much liquid soaked will result in a mushy dessert!
- Try a crisscross with ladyfingers in layers: they will look pretty when you cut them. Or opt for a single layer of cookies and a cream layer if desired.
- Place biscuits face down (flat side) against the bottom of the dish to keep the authenticity of the tiramisu.
- Chill the tiramisu dessert for at least a couple of hours; it is better for 3 to 4 hours or overnight.
- Don't sprinkle cocoa powder before refrigerating the tiramisu cake: cocoa powder will darken as it soaks into the mascarpone cream. Sprinkle icing sugar before applying cocoa powder if you want your tiramisu to remain presentable over the hours.
- Store the leftover tiramisu covered with cling film in the fridge.
- With leftover egg whites, make French financiers or coconut macaroons.
- Attention: the classic tiramisu dessert is made with raw eggs, which could be considered unsafe, especially for kids and pregnant women. To enjoy this treat without worrying about safety issues, make the tiramisu with pasteurized eggs ("cooked" eggs) or eggless tiramisu.
Marsala substitute for tiramisu
While sweet Marsala wine is traditional for making classic tiramisu, you can also use
- cognac,
- dark rum,
- brandy,
- whiskey,
- Amaretto,
- Irish cream,
- Grand Marnier,
- coffee liqueur Kahlua,
- Tia Maria,
- Disaronno, or
- vanilla extract.
Recipe variations
- Ladyfinger substitutes: Try one of 27 ladyfinger substitutes like pavesini biscuits, pink champagne biscuits, shortbread cookies, Oreos, slices of pandoro, sponge cake, or even French toast. Or use speculoos cookies to make speculoos tiramisu.
- Coffee replacement: Dip spoon cookies in milk, fruit juice (for example, red fruit, pineapple, orange, etc.), or a mix of equal amounts of maple syrup and water.
- One more tiramisu layer: Add a layer of Nutella, lemon curd, fruit confit, fresh fruit, caramelized bananas, grated chocolate, or coffee over the soaked biscuits.
Storing and feezing
Store your tiramisu in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Cover your dish tightly with a lid or plastic wrap to refrigerate tiramisu. If tiramisu is made with "cooked" eggs (at 250°F/121°C), you can extend the storage time to 2 days.
To freeze, wrap the dessert (without cocoa powder) with cling film twice, then aluminum foil, and freeze it for two weeks.
To thaw, take it out in the fridge for about 2 hours, sprinkle it with cocoa powder, and serve.
Recipe FAQ
The word tiramisu comes from the Treviso dialect. It was Italianised into tiramisù in the second half of the 20th century. Tiramisu is pronounced as tee·ruh·mee·soo.
Tiramisu is an Italian spoon dessert inverted between the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. Four different regions claim ownership of this delicious treat: Piedmont, Tuscany, Veneto, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
The word tiramisù is the fusion of the Italian 'tiramiu' (pick me) and 'suu' (up), so it means "pick me up" or "cheer me up."
There are plenty of recipes for eggless tiramisu, but the term "eggless' means removing the raw eggs in the tiramisu cream, while the ladyfingers used to make the dessert still contain the egg content.
Love tiramisu desserts? Try these next!
- Fig tiramisu
- Lemon tiramisu
- Tiramisu torte (made with "cooked" eggs)
- Speculoos tiramisu
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PrintRecipe card
Classic Tiramisu With Marsala and Mascarpone
This authentic tiramisu recipe is for the most loved Italian cake in the world. The original version of this spoon dessert is made with eggs, mascarpone, Marsala, a layer of ladyfingers soaked in coffee, and a bitter cocoa sprinkle.
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 24 ladyfingers (250 g)
- 3-4 espresso cups of cold espresso
- 17.6 oz. (500 g) cold mascarpone
- 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon Marsala
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
*Don't you have the correct baking pan on hand right now? Try this simple Cake Pan Converter!
** If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
Instructions
-
Prepare the coffee and cool it in the refrigerator. Using an egg separator, separate the egg whites from the yolks.
-
To make the tiramisu cream, in a clean medium bowl, whip the egg whites with half of the sugar with an electric mixer until stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, whisk the raw egg yolks with the remaining sugar at medium-high speed for about 5 minutes. The mixture will whiten and double in volume. This step is essential: the grains of sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture has to fall heavily from a spoon.
-
In a large mixing bowl, loosen the cold mascarpone (right from the fridge) with a fork, add Marsala, and whip until creamy. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the cheese mixture and mix gently with a rubber spatula. Take your time to combine ingredients well from the bottom to the top. Once the mascarpone mixture is homogeneous, add the whipped egg whites in three additions. Always mix gently from the bottom up to avoid deflating the cream.
-
To assemble the tiramisu, pour the cold espresso into a shallow bowl or dish. Quickly dip ladyfingers (1 to 2 seconds) in the coffee and place them in an 8-inch/20 cm square baking dish, creating a base. If necessary, cut ladyfingers with a serrated knife to avoid creating spaces at the bottom of the dish. Also, try to arrange cookies in one direction. Alternatively, place the cookies at the bottom of the bowl and brush on the coffee. This trick controls how much coffee gets on the ladyfingers.
-
Using a spoon, add an even layer of half of the mascarpone filling. Cover it with the second layer of soaked sponge fingers and another half of the mascarpone mixture. Make a decorative pattern if desired. Cover the dish with a lid, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil and refrigerate for 4 to 12 hours.
-
Before serving, use a fine-mesh sieve for dusting cocoa powder (make a light veil) over the top of the tiramisu. Serve well chilled. Slice tiramisu into servings with a sharp knife, cleaning it between the cuts, or just scoop it onto plates. A metal serving spatula helps remove the slices.
Notes
- Sweeten the coffee according to your taste if desired.
- Dip the cookies one at a time. Don't soak ladyfingers longer than 2 seconds to prevent them from getting too soaked and crushed. To test, try to dip one cookie, bend it in half; the center of the cookie should still be somewhat dry. Remember: too much liquid soaked will result in a mushy dessert!
- Try a crisscross with ladyfingers in layers: they will look pretty when you cut them.
- If desired, you can opt for a single layer of cookies and a cream layer.
- The sign of the tiramisu authenticity is placing biscuits face down (flat side) against the bottom of the dish. It is up to you to follow this rule.
- Before serving, the minimum chilling time is a couple of hours, better 3 to 4 hours.
- Don't sprinkle cocoa powder before refrigerating the tiramisu cake: cocoa will darken as it soaks into the mascarpone cream.
- If you want your tiramisu to remain presentable over the hours, sprinkle icing sugar before applying cocoa powder.
- Store the leftover tiramisu covered with cling film in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 617
- Sugar: 16.9 g
- Sodium: 124 mg
- Fat: 42.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 23.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 43.1 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 7.9 g
- Cholesterol: 349 mg
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
Elisa says
I always wanted to try to make the authentic tiramisu but was not ready to use raw eggs. Thanks for all the tips in the recipe. So I pasteurized eggs, and the tiramisu turned out perfect!!