This classic tiramisu recipe is one of our absolute favorite desserts. We layer espresso-soaked ladyfingers with a light, airy filling made with mascarpone cheese. If you have never tried making tiramisu at home, now is the time to try!
Watch the Video
What is Tiramisu?
Tiramisu is a classic Italian dessert made with layers of cream and ladyfingers quickly dipped in coffee and Marsala wine. It is deliciously creamy, perfectly sweet, and has the perfect hint of bitterness (thanks to the coffee and a bit of chocolate). Traditionally, Marsala wine is used when making Tiramisu, which we love, but we have provided substitutions in the recipe for an alcohol-free version.
Key Ingredients
- Ladyfingers: Look for Italian ladyfingers (or Savoiardi). They are hard and dry with a sugary top.
- Coffee: I use very strong coffee when making Tiramisu. If you have an espresso maker, use it!
- Marsala wine: It tastes like nutty brown sugar, which is why it’s so delicious mixed with coffee in this tiramisu recipe! You can substitute dark rum, brandy, or a coffee-flavored liqueur (like Kahlua). To make Tiramisu without wine, leave it out or use a bit of rum extract instead (tips are below the recipe).
- Mascarpone: For the best Tiramisu, use mascarpone cheese. It’s similar to cream cheese but richer (made with cream, not milk) and tastes naturally sweeter.
- Egg yolks and sugar: When making Tiramisu, you’ll use Italian Zabaglione, a creamy cooked mixture of egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala wine. It’s easier than you might think, so stick with me!
- Cream: This recipe does not call for raw egg whites, which some traditional Tiramisu recipes call for. Instead, I use whipped cream. If you prefer Tiramisu with whipped egg whites, I have included tips below the recipe.
- Chocolate: I grate bittersweet chocolate into the layers of my Tiramisu (it’s so good). Some recipes call for cocoa powder, but I prefer grated chocolate.
How to Make Tiramisu
Tiramisu has three layers:
- Ladyfingers dipped in coffee and Marsala wine.
- A deliciously creamy mixture made with mascarpone, egg yolks, sugar, Marsala wine, and whipped cream.
- Grated chocolate.
You’ll start by making the creamy layer, starting with Italian Zabaglione. Place a heat-safe bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water to create a double boiler. Then, use a handheld electric mixer to beat the egg yolks, Marsala wine, and sugar until they look pale yellow, and the beaters leave tracks as you move them through the mixture (see our video or the photo below for reference).
Remove from the heat and beat in the mascarpone cheese (it’s okay if the mixture is still hot). Then, allow the mixture to cool while you whip some cream.
When the mascarpone mixture is cool, fold in the whipped cream. It should be creamy, light, and absolutely delicious!
Now, you can assemble your Tiramisu. Grab a wide bowl and mix coffee, more Marsala wine, vanilla extract, and some sugar. Then grab your ladyfingers, dip them into the coffee mixture, and line them up in a baking dish.
When one layer of ladyfingers covers the bottom of your dish, spread half of the creamy mascarpone mixture over it and then grate over lots of chocolate (yum). Repeat with another layer of coffee-dipped ladyfingers, the remaining mascarpone mixture, and more chocolate on top.
Now, as hard as it is, you can’t dig in yet. Chill your Tiramisu for at least 6 hours. As it sits, the ladyfingers soften and absorb the moisture and flavor from the cream.
When ready to serve, grate more chocolate over the top (because why not), and then enjoy!
Storing Homemade Tiramisu
Homemade Tiramisu lasts for up to 3 days in the fridge. As it sits, it gets better and better. You can freeze Tiramisu for up to 3 months, although the texture and flavor will be slightly different as it thaws. Thaw it overnight in the fridge.
Best Classic Tiramisu
- PREP
- TOTAL
You will love this incredible Tiramisu recipe! We make it with three layers: coffee-dipped ladyfingers, mascarpone cream, and grated chocolate. To make the mascarpone cream, you will cook egg yolks with Marsala wine and sugar in a double boiler (a heat-safe bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water). Watch our video to see me do it.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
20 to 30 Italian ladyfingers, Savoiardi in Italian
3/4 cup (175ml) brewed espresso or strong coffee at room temperature
5 tablespoons (75ml) dry Marsala wine, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons (50g) granulated sugar, divided
8 ounces (225g) mascarpone cheese at room temperature (about 1 1/4 cups)
3/4 cup (175ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
1 ounce (30g) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate for grating
Directions
- Prepare Tiramisu
1Set aside a 9×9-inch baking pan or dish.
2Add the warm coffee, 3 tablespoons of Marsala wine, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of sugar to a wide, shallow bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves, and then set the bowl aside.
3You will need a double boiler. If you have one, use it. Otherwise, find a heat-safe bowl that fits over a small saucepan. Fill the saucepan with an inch or two of water and place over medium-low heat. Bring the water to a simmer.
4With the heat-safe bowl on the counter, add the egg yolks, 2 tablespoons of Marsala wine, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Beat with a handheld electric mixer at medium speed until frothy, 20 to 30 seconds.
5Place the bowl over the simmering water, and continue to beat on medium using the electric hand mixer until the mixture has tripled in volume, looks pale yellow, and the beaters leave distinct tracks as you move them through it, 5 to 8 minutes. Do not stop beating, and keep the water at a low simmer during this step (otherwise, you risk scrambling the eggs).
6Remove the bowl from the heat, then while it is still hot, beat in the mascarpone cheese until just combined. Allow the mixture to cool while you whip the cream.
7In a clean bowl with clean beaters, whip the cream until it reaches medium to firm peaks (as you pull the beaters away, the peaks will hold for a bit and then slowly fall back).
8Use a spatula to fold half of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Then, repeat with the remaining whipped cream. The whipped cream will slightly deflate, but the mixture should be light and airy.
- Assemble Tiramisu
1Vigorously whisk egg yolks, 2 tablespoons of Marsala, and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water until tripled in volume, 5 to 8 minutes. To make this step easier, use a handheld electric mixer at medium speed. (Do not stop beating until removed from the heat).
2Remove the bowl from heat, and then beat in mascarpone cheese until just combined.
3Whip cream in a bowl until it holds stiff peaks. Once the yolk-mascarpone mixture has cooled a little, gently fold in half of the whipped cream into the yolk-mascarpone mixture, then the remaining half just until fully incorporated (the whipped cream will deflate a little).
- To Finish
1Dip half of the ladyfingers very quickly into the coffee, and line the bottom of a 9-inch square dish. (You might find that you need to break a few into pieces to fit them in the dish).
2Spoon half of the mascarpone filling over the lady fingers and spread into an even layer. Grate half of the bittersweet chocolate over filling. Then dip the remaining ladyfingers very quickly into the coffee and arrange a second layer over filling.
3Spoon remaining mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers. Grate more chocolate on top or dust with cocoa powder. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours.
4When ready to serve, dust with more grated chocolate or cocoa powder. Leave out at room temperature about 20 minutes before serving. (Tiramisu can be chilled up to 2 days, but no longer or else the ladyfingers will break down and become mushy).
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Substitutes for wine: Try dark rum, brandy, or coffee-flavored liqueur. These are stronger than Marsala, so consider increasing the coffee and using less alcohol. Try the coffee mixture before dipping the ladyfingers and adjust to your taste.
- Tiramisu without alcohol: Leave the Marsala out of the recipe or use rum extract (we recommend using 1 ½ tablespoons of rum extract).
- Using egg whites instead of cream: Some authentic recipes for Tiramisu use whipped egg whites instead of whipped cream. Tiramisu made with egg whites is lighter and more airy. To make our recipe with egg whites, whip 3 egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. Then, instead of folding whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture, fold the whipped egg whites. Since the egg whites are not cooked, I recommend fresh, high-quality, pasteurized eggs.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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I’ve been making this recipe now for 3 years , It’s my go to. Never fails. The best tiramisu recipe out there!
Yay! Thanks for coming back to leave such a kind review 🙂
I made this twice this week, once with the cream and once with egg whites. Both were good, but the one with egg whites was better texture-wise. Can’t wait to make again!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Thank you for writing this recipe out, posting it and making a terrific video to go with it. This is basically the recipe I’ve used for years to make Tiramisù but I like your idea of using a hand mixer on the stove top to make the preparation easier. I made your recipe for tailgating this weekend and the Tiramisù turned out beautifully. Grazie!
Yes, we freeze tiramasu and can’t really tell the difference. That was done with home made mascarpone.
This was a great video that provided good instructions for making tiramisu at home. I used to make full size sheet pans of tiramisu using rectangular frames at the Mark Hopkins hotel in SF many years ago. Making it at home versus a commercial kitchen is very different, considering how big that hotel kitchen was! (I used a 60 quart mixing bowl to make the marscapone base…the recipe used 30 yolks.) In the pastry shop we used a thin layer of vanilla sponge cake at the bottom of each pan which was brushed with the coffee rather than lady fingers.(The soaked lady fingers were the third layer) Other than that, it is very similar. So I really appreciated your instructions. Thank you so much! It came out beautiful and delicious!
Hi!i really love your reciepes i have never baked/cooked something so good .
I searched high and low for a really great recipe before attempting a tiramisu and I’m so glad I chose this one, it turned out exactly as I wanted it – perfectly creamy and delicious. I used Kahlúa in place of marsala and followed the advice to halve the quantity as it is stronger, but found I ran out of liquid for dipping the ladyfingers – possibly due to overenthusiastic dunking of the first few! – so ended up adding an extra tablespoon of the liqueur anyway. If you wanted to avoid this you could make sure to have a little extra coffee prepared – but I didn’t find the extra booze overwhelming so next time I might use the full quantity of liqueur anyway. I made the recipe with cream because I already had some to hand but would be interested to try with egg whites next time – and there definitely will be a next time!
Omggg. The best Tiramisu receipe ever! Easy to make it and soo yummy. I made it on Sat morning and just had it for today Easter desert. Thank you for sharing the receipe and all the tips. This will be a keep!
An absolutely wonderful recipe that turned out perfectly on my first try. The tips made a massive difference, especially when my cream curdled and I had to resort to egg whites!
I have been making this since 2015! For 5 years it has been an absolute favourite and made me the Tiramisu Lady at any party and occasion. Thank you so much for that! I am making it for tonight too. Merry Holidays! Anna
I just made this recipe today, substituting coffee liquor for the Marsala wine. Absolutely AMAZING!!
Recipe could use more coffee. It was only 1/2 a cup. I would double it next time. Taste great and would highly recommend it. The videos were very helpful especially for someone whose making it for the first time.
This is a great recipe and it came out beautifully. I was my first time making tiramisu and the recipe gave so many helpful tips I was confident it would come out the way I like it. I did not use egg whites, and next time might use just a teensy bit more coffee, but only because I love it. Thank you for sharing this great recipe. I am back here today to make it again!