Italian Tiramisu is a much loved dessert. But do you know how to make tiramisu at home? Follow my recipe for delicious restaurant results. This classic Italian dessert layers coffee dipped savoiardi (also known as Lady Fingers) and a wonderful mascarpone filling with no raw egg!
1 square pan or glass serving dish (8 x 8 inch x 2 inch or 20 x 20cm x 5cm)
1 double boiler see Note 1 below
Ingredients
Coffee Dip
1 ¼cupsstrong coffee(300 mls (more if needed))
2tablespoonsdark rum
2tablespoonswhite sugar
Zabaglione and Mascarpone Cream
4egg yolks(at room temperature)
½cupwhite sugar(100 grams)
½cupsweet marsala wine(120 mls)
2cupsmascarpone cheese(450 grams or 1lb)
1cupheavy whipping cream(240 mls (containing at least 36% fat) (for stabilized whipped cream see Note 2 below))
For Assembly
24savoiardi cookies(approximately 8oz/250 grams or enough for two layers in the pan)
1tablespoonunsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
To prepare the coffee dip
In a shallow dish pour coffee. Add sugar and rum. Stir until dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Make the zabaglione
Put the egg yolks and sugar in a glass/ heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler. Whisk lightly until combined. Whisk in the sweet marsala wine.
Place the bowl or top of double boiler over barely simmering water. The bottom of the bowl mustn’t touch the water.
Whisk continuously until the mixtures thickens and becomes pale and creamy. This will take approximately 10 minutes. Be careful not to make scrambled sweet marsala wine eggs. If necessary , take the bowl off the heat every so often if you think it’s getting too hot.
Once the zabaglione is ready, cool it down quickly so that it doesn’t keep cooking. I do this by have a bowl ready with a small amount of ice and water. Suspend the hot bowl in the ice water and stir with the whisk until the zabaglione has cooled to room temperature. Set aside.
To make the mascarpone filling
Pour the heavy cream into a medium bowl and whisk either by hand or with an electric mixer until firm peaks form. You want more than soft peaks but not stiff peaks.
Use a spoon to stir in the mascarpone cheese. I usually do this directly in the container it comes in. The purpose of this is to loosen the mascarpone cheese enough so that it blends easily with the whipped cream. Don’t over beat because the mascarpone cheese can split.
Gently but thoroughly fold the cooled zabaglione and loosened mascarpone cheese into the whipped cream. The filling is now ready.
To assembly Italian Tiramisu
Briefly dip half of the savoardi in the coffee one at a time and place them in one layer in a 8 x 8 inch x 2 inch (20 x 20cm x 5cm) pan. Be careful not to let the savoiardi soak too much because they will fall apart.
This should make one complete layer. If not add more.
Spread half of the mascarpone filling over the first layer of savoiardi.
Repeat the dipping of savoiardi in the coffee adding another layer. You may not need all of the coffee dip depending on how much the savioardi soaked it up.
Spread the remaining mascarpone filling over the second savoiardi layer.
Sift cocoa powder over the tiramisu.
Refrigerate for 6 hours or better still overnight for the flavours of this Italian Tiramisu to combine and the filling to set.
Notes
Note 1: Instead of a double boiler you can DIY. Use medium saucepan and a large glass/ heatproof bowl that fits snuggly over the saucepan so that it can trap in the steam. There needs to be at least 4 inches (10cm) of space between the bace of both the saucepan and the bowl. The bottom of the bowl should never touch the simmering water in the saucepan.Note 2: If you prefer a more firm filling, stabilize the whipped cream with powdered gelatine. To do this, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of powdered gelatine over 4 teaspoons of cold water in a microwave proof bowl. Let it sit for 3 or 4 minutes. Then microwave for a few seconds until the gelatine is fully dissolved. Set it aside to cool slightly. Add to the cream at the soft peaks stage on low speed then increase speed and beat until firm peaks form.Tips for SuccessThis Italian Tiramisu is best made the day before but can be made even 2 days before. It will keep for at least 5 days in the refrigerator.Italian Tiramisu can be frozen for 3 months. Place a layer of non stick paper over the top then wrap well in plastic wrap. Defrost in the refrigerator. On hot days tiramisu is delicious eaten as a frozen dessert.Method using egg white instead of cream for the Mascarpone Filling Substitute 4 egg whites and a pinch of salt for the cream. Mix mascarpone with zabaglione. Whisk egg white and salt until soft peaks. Fold egg whites gently into mascarpone mixture so as not to deflate the egg whites. Use as per the recipeAlcohol Free Italian TiramisuLeave the rum out of the coffee dip and substitute 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract for the sweet marsala wine. Because there is less liquid, it will cook more quickly so watch it carefully. You could make up the rest of the liquid with grape juice but I've never personally tried that.