Tiramisu
Tiramisu is an Italian dessert with layers of espresso-soaked savoiardi (lady fingers), creamy mascarpone, and shaved chocolate or cocoa powder. This dessert can be made in advance and does not require baking.
Ingredients
Coffee Soak
- 1 cup strongly brewed coffee (or espresso)
- 1/4 cup Dry Marsala wine (see notes)
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Mascarpone Filling
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 2 tbsp Dry Marsala wine (see notes)
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup heavy cream (see notes)
- 3 egg yolks
To Assemble
- 7 oz Lady fingers (about 24 biscuts)
- 2 oz dark chocolate, grated
Instructions
Coffee Soak
- Whisk together coffee (or espresso), wine, vanilla, and granulated sugar. Set aside.
Mascarpone Filling
- Whisk egg yolks, wine, and sugar in a double broiler (or saucepan with simmering water) over medium heat. Make sure to whisk continuously for 5-8 minutes. The mixture will turn slightly foamy and triple in size. Remove from heat. Add mascarpone cheese and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Whip the heavy cream in your stand mixer or hand mixer until you have stiff peaks.
- Fold in half of the whipped cream with the mascarpone mixture until combined. Add the second half of the whipped cream until just combined. The goal is to avoid deflating the whipped cream as much as possible. Set aside.
To Assemble
- Grate 2 oz of chocolate on a cheese grater using the smaller hole.
- Set aside a 9 inch square baking dish (or similar). Place your landy fingers, coffee mixture, mascarpone, and shaved chocolate close by.
- Take half of the lady fingers and individually dip each in the coffee mixture very quickly (the lady fingers will absorb the coffee quickly.... you do not want them to get too soggy). Place dipped biscut in the bottom of the baking dish. Continue dipping lady fingers and placing them in the baking dish until the bottom is fully lined. You may have to break a few biscuts in half in order to fully line the bottom. That is okay- nobody will know! It is more important for the bottom to be fully covered.
- Spoon half of the mascarpone mixture over the lady fingers. Use a spatula to carefully smooth it out evenly. Sprinkle half of the grated chocolate over the mascarpone.
- Repeat with remaining lady fingers, mascarpone, and grated chocolate for the second layer.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (or overnight).
- Before serving: let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. If needed, sprinkle with more chocolate (always recommended). You can also add chocolate curls, see notes.
- Enjoy within 2 days for best flavor and texture. After that, it will start to get soggy.
Notes
- Marsala wine is preferred because it is traditional and not overpowering. You could also try a dark rum, brandy, or coffee liqueur. Marsala is less potent and smoother than those substitutes so you may have to use less of the substitutes in order to not overpower the other flavors. I recommend sticking to marsala.
- Heavy cream versus egg whites: Instead of heavy cream, you can whip 3 egg whites until you get stiff peaks and proceed with recipe as written. Make sure to use high-quality eggs that have been pasteurized.
- Chocolate curls: This is the recipe I followed to make chocolate curls: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/chocolate-curls-recipe-2107673