Recipe

Tiramisù

8 servings · prep 30 min + 6 h chill · cook 0 min

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• dessert
• italian
• raw

Authored by the maintainer; Treviso method — no cream, just yolks-mascarpone-sugar.

Ingredients

the zabaglione

• 6 large egg yolks (very fresh)
• 150 g caster sugar

the cream

• 500 g mascarpone, room temperature
• 4 large egg whites (room temperature)

the soak

• 400 ml strong espresso, cooled to room temperature — Yirgacheffe coffee farm
• 60 ml dry Marsala (or dark rum / coffee liqueur)

the base

• 300 g savoiardi (Italian ladyfingers) — Puglia wheat farm

the top

• 30 g unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting — Tabasco cocoa farm

Method

1. Make the zabaglione base: whisk egg yolks and sugar over a bain-marie until pale, thick, and warm to the touch — about 5 minutes. Off heat. · 5 min
2. Whisk the mascarpone into the warm yolk mixture in two additions, until smooth and lump-free.
3. In a separate clean bowl, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Fold into the mascarpone mixture in three additions — keep the air in.
4. Combine espresso and Marsala in a shallow dish.
5. Dip each savoiardo in the espresso for 1 second per side — a quick in-and-out. Over-soaked fingers turn the bottom layer to mush.
6. Layer in a 25 × 20 cm dish: half the soaked fingers (in a single layer), half the mascarpone cream, smoothed flat. Repeat once.
7. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. The flavours marry; the texture sets. · 360 min
8. Just before serving, dust generously with cocoa powder through a fine sieve.

Notes

Tiramisù is a young dish — invented in the 1960s or 70s at Le Beccherie
restaurant in Treviso, though the origin is disputed. There was no
tiramisù before the Second World War. The dish became internationally
famous in the 1980s and has been bastardised ever since.

Two egg-safety options: use pasteurised eggs (sold at most supermarkets
in cartons), or temper the yolks over a hot-water bath until they
reach 71°C (160°F) before whisking with the sugar. Both produce a
texturally identical result.

Keeps 3 days refrigerated. The second day is in many ways the best —
the cocoa has bled into the cream, the savoiardi have fully soaked.