Tell me who doesn't like Tiramisu?
Tiramisu is a coffee-flavored Italian dessert. This Italian Tiramisu Recipe is made from ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, and mascarpone cheese, flavored with cocoa. Who can resist cream, coffee and sugar together with lady fingers?
Not I, said the woman who loves sweet desserts! Oh, did I mention that a little bit of liquor also goes into this dessert recipe? You can use rum, grand marnier, cognac, a chocolate flavored liquor or a coffee flavored liquor. Either one of these liquors will work well in t his dessert.
This cake doesn't need to be made in a spring-form pan. You can make it in a glass baking dish like Pyrex glassware or a ceramic dish. The dish can be square, rectangular or circular. It doesn't matter. For this recipe, I used a spring form pan so that the lady fingers act as a wall to hold in the layers of cheese and lady fingers in the centre of the cake.
This dessert is simple and it will impress your fussiest guests. Best of all it doesn't require any baking at all.
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Tips and Tricks to Making this Easy Italian Tiramisu Recipe
What are Lady Fingers?
No they aren't some woman's fingers you use to bake a cake. Lady fingers are a stale Italian cookie made in the shape of a thick finger. Hence the name lady fingers. I don't discriminate, I have used different brands of lady fingers to make this Italian Tiramisu Recipe. This is just one brand that I have used before.
Using Mascarpone or a Substitution
Mascarpone is a thick creamy Italian cheese that is very mild and spreadable. It's very similar to Philadelphia cream cheese. Essentially, if you don't have mascarpone or your local grocer doesn't carry it, you can substitute cream cheese in this recipe for Italian Tiramisu Recipe.
Make this Tiramisu with one of the best Italian coffee brands.
You can make this cake in advance and leave it in the fridge to rest for a couple of days. The longer it sits, the more time the lady fingers have to absorb the alcohol and the coffee. This is one of those desserts that tastes better after sitting for a couple of days.
This dessert also freezes well. Freeze cakes or leftovers in an airtight container for future use for a maximum of one month. When you are ready to serve your Tiramisu, take it out the night before and thaw it out in the fridge. Keep the Tiramisu refrigerated until you are ready to serve it to your guests or family.
If you love Tiramisu, then you will love one of these other Italian Desserts.
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Make this recipe for Italian Tiramisu no or PIN it for later.
Recipe Details
Italian Tiramisu Recipe
Ingredients
- 450 g mascarpone cheese
- 4 eggs seperated
- ½ cups sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 2 cups coffee (instant will do)
- 4 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 oz coffee liquor (or something chocolatey)
- 1 pkg savairdi cookies
- ¼ cups Cinnamon Cocoa, or Oreo Cookie crumbs ((any or all))
Chocolate Cream Topping
- 2 pkgs dream whip
- 1 tbsp instant chocolate pudding (powder)
- ¼ cups corn starch
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add mascarpone cheese and vanilla. Beat to combine and set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold egg whites into mascarpone mixture a little at a time until well combined.
- Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture making sure to be gentle that you do not deflate the mixture. Set aside.
- In a large soup plate or bowl mix the room temperature coffee, liquor and 2 tbsp. of cocoa until well combined.
- If you are assembling the cake in a round spring form pan (8"), dip half the cookie in the coffee mixture and stand the cookie on the side of the pan, repeat until you have completely lined the circumference of the pan. Then begin layering the bottom of the pan. Once you have completed one layer, spoon ⅓ of the mascarpone mixture and layer one inch of the mixture atop the cookies. Repeat until you have completed three layers ending with the mascarpone mixture. Refrigerate while you make the chocolate topping.
- For the chocolate topping, prepare Dream Whip as per instructions. I used two packages. Before the mixture gets stiff, add the chocolate pudding, about ½ cup of the leftover coffee mixture and the corn starch. The corn starch will help to stabilize the whipped topping. Continue mixing until stiff. If the cream is too stiff add in a little bit more of the coffee mixture but be careful not to add in too much.
- Top the cake with the chocolate coffee cream. You can pipe out some dollops and then sprinkle cocoa, cinnamon and oreo cookie crumbs if desired. Traditionally Tiramisu is topped off with a sprinkle of cocoa only. Let chill overnight preferably so that the cookies get soft and absorb the coffee mixture.
Loreen says
You do not mention to separate the eggs - using the yolks and sugar (saving the whites to beat with a mixer as that would be easier than trying to beat egg whites with a whisk).
The beaten egg whites should be added last to keep the volume. If you add things after they are folded in you are taking out the air you just tried to put in.
AmyG says
Good point Loreen! I'll update it to make it clearer. I guess i'm so used to making it without instructions that sometimes I forget to be clear in my recipe steps. Have a good day.