Tiramisu

Tiramisù

Traditional recipe

Ladyfingers soaked in coffee, mascarpone cream, eggs and sugar, bitter cocoa: the most famous and imitated Italian dessert in the world.

270 min

8 servings

Easy

Veneto

EasyVeneto

Tiramisu is one of the most recent desserts in Italian cuisine, with controversial origins. The most widely accepted version attributes it to the El Toulà restaurant in Treviso in the 1960s and 1970s, where Roberto Linguanotto created it. Other claims come from Friuli and Veneto. The name literally means "pick me up," alluding to the energizing properties of coffee and eggs. The original Treviso recipe used raw eggs (not heavy cream), quality mascarpone, the ladyfingers Dipped in bitter coffee. Tiramisu is now one of the most famous Italian desserts in the world, available in a thousand variations (with Baileys, strawberries, lemon)—but the original version with coffee and bitter cocoa remains the most beautiful.

Instructions

Voice reading

4 steps · natural Italian voice

Making the mascarpone cream

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar for 6–8 minutes whisks until you get a mixture Lightly fold in ribbons. Add the room-temperature mascarpone and gently fold with a spatula until smooth and evenly combined.

Whip the egg whites and prepare the coffee

Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks with shiny tips; they must keep their shape when lifted whisks. Prepare (10.14 fl oz) 300 ml of strong espresso, cool and, if desired, add (2 tbsp) 2 tablespoons Of Marsala or rum. Keep the coffee at room temperature.

Soak the ladyfingers and assemble

Dip the ladyfingers in the coffee for 1–2 seconds per side: they must soften but not fall apart. Arrange a first compact layer in a baking dish, cover with half the cream, level without compressing, repeat with a second layer of ladyfingers and finish with the remaining cream.

Rest and finish

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4–6 hours, preferably 8–12 hours to allow the cream to firm up. Before serving, sift in plenty of unsweetened cocoa powder through a fine sieve to obtain a uniform coating; serve chilled.

Chef's Tips

THE ladyfingers they are soaked briefly: if left too long, they fall apart. egg whites mounted to stiff peaks They're the secret to the cream's lightness: don't omit them. Add the unsweetened cocoa powder only just before serving; if you add it too early, it will get soggy and turn gray.