Tiramisu is a classic Italian no-bake dessert made with layers of coffee-soaked ladyfingers and incredible custard-like mascarpone cream that contains no raw egg. Tiramisu dessert is elegant and divine, and this recipe is easy enough for beginners. Watch my video tutorial below and learn how to make a classic Tiramisu.
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Helpful Reader Review
“Tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts, and this recipe is amazing! I’ve made it several times, and it’s always a hit.“ – Lisa ★★★★★
Italian Tiramisu Video
My homemade tiramisu recipe looks so impressive, tastes amazing, but comes together in only 5 simple steps. It’s a great make-ahead dessert since the flavors get better over time!
What is Tiramisu?
The word Tiramisu (tirami su in Italian) means “cheer me up” or “pull me up,” because one bite will put you in a good mood! Authentic Tiramisu dessert has 2 main layers: sponge cake (ladyfingers) soaked in coffee liqueur, and then topped by a decadent mascarpone cream layer. Classic Tiramisu recipes often contain raw egg yolks, but we use a different process to create the custard-like cream with the same amazing texture and flavor.
I love classic Italian desserts like Panna Cotta, Affogato, and let’s not forget the Berry Tiramisu. This classic Tiramisu recipe is probably the most iconic Italian dessert, which is why it’s on the menu in nearly every Italian restaurant. This homemade version does not disappoint!
Ingredients for Tiramisu
My easy Tiramisu recipe calls for a short list of ingredients, but be sure to check out the substitution ideas below.
- Espresso or strong coffee – Use espresso if you have an espresso machine, or use your favorite strong-brewed coffee. See substitutes below.
- Golden Rum – flavors the cream and the coffee syrup. The light color keeps the cream layer lighter in color.
- Ladyfingers – Lady Fingers, called “savoiardi” in Italian, are essentially sponge cake cookies, and they are easily found at grocery stores or online. Dry and crisp ladyfingers are preferred. Ladyfingers are great in other no-bake desserts like Charlotte Cake, Raspberry Mousse Cups, and my Berry Trifle.
- Egg yolks and sugar – heated in a double boiler to gently cook the yolks and dissolve the sugar. Use the leftover egg whites in an Omelette or to whip up delicious Pavlova.
- Mascarpone cheese – essentially the Italian version of cream cheese, stabilized with lemon juice or citric acid. It has a smoother consistency, is milder in flavor, and has twice as much fat as cream cheese.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – Use chilled right out of the fridge. Opt for Heavy cream instead of light or regular cream, since these could make the mixture runny.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – optional, for garnish.
Substitutions
My Tiramisu recipe uses classic ingredients, but you can get the same great result with these easy swaps:
- Rum – You can switch to dark rum, Grand Marnier, or amaretto, if needed, or you can omit it and add a bit of vanilla extract to taste.
- Coffee – if you’re concerned about caffeine, try decaf for the same traditional coffee flavor, but if you want a different flavor profile, check out our Berry Tiramisu.
- Mascarpone – substitute with full-fat cream cheese, like in our Tiramisu Yule Log
How to Make Tiramisu
- Soak the Ladyfingers – Mix coffee and rum in a bowl, and then quickly dip half of the ladyfingers in the coffee mixture. Arrange them in a 9×13 casserole.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a heat-proof bowl and then set it over a saucepan of simmering water to steam on low heat, but make sure the bowl isn’t touching the water. Whisk for 9-10 minutes. Remove from the steam and whisk for a few minutes to cool slightly.
- Beat mascarpone and rum together in a separate bowl with an electric hand mixer, and then beat in the cooled yolk mixture until blended.
- Whip cold heavy cream to stiff peaks. To get stiff peaks, start with a chilled bowl and whip the heavy cream until you can lift the beaters out of the fluffy cream and it stands straight up. If the tips fall slightly (soft peaks), whip a little longer. Fold half of the cream into the mascarpone mixture with a spatula, then fold in the rest.
- Spread half of the cream over the ladyfingers, and then dip the remaining ladyfingers and arrange them over the cream. Layer the remaining cream on top, and then cover and refrigerate overnight. Dust with cocoa powder and serve.
Tips for the Best Tiramisu Recipe
After years of making this recipe, here are a few of my tips to get the best result:
- Do not over-soak the ladyfingers, or the layers may collapse. A quick dip on each side is enough.
- Use cold HEAVY whipping cream to whip slowly to get stiff peaks for more stability. Don’t overbeat, or it will turn buttery and difficult to blend.
- Fold just until combined -when folding the cream into Mascarpone, do not over-mix or it may turn grainy.
- Chill the cake for at least 8 hours or overnight, and it will be very easy to slice and serve.
This is the best tiramisu recipe because the flavors are classic and decadent, but the easy-to-follow directions make it simple enough for beginners! Impress your guests with this elevated and supremely delicious dessert.
Make-Ahead and Storage
The eggs are cooked in my tiramisu recipe, so the dessert can be kept longer in the fridge. The flavors taste better the longer it rests!
- To Refrigerate: Cover and chill for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Cover in a freezer-safe, airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge.
Tiramisu Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups espresso , (or strong coffee), room temperature
- 6 Tbsp golden rum, divided
- 40 ladyfingers
- 6 egg yolks, (large)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 16 oz mascarpone, cold
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold*
- 2-3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, to dust the top
Instructions
Soak the Ladyfingers
- Dip – In a bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups espresso and 3 Tbsp rum. Quickly dip half of the ladyfingers, one at a time, and then arrange them in a single layer in the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. Dip once on each side so they are moist, but do not soak ladyfingers or the cake will collapse.
Mix the Tiramisu Mascarpone Cream
- Whisk – In a separate rimmed* medium glass bowl, whisk together yolks and sugar. Place over steam (on a saucepan with simmering water) and whisk 10 minutes on low heat until the mixture is lighter in color, slightly thickened, and not grainy when you rub between your fingers. Remove from heat and whisk for a few minutes off the heat to help it cool down. Then set it aside to cool while doing step 3.
- In a separate bowl, beat together 16 oz mascarpone and 3 Tbsp rum. Use an electric hand mixer to beat in the warm yolk mixture until well incorporated.
- Whip – In a separate chilled bowl, beat cold heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form*. Use a spatula to gently fold half of the whipped cream into mascarpone cream, then blend in the remaining whipped cream, just until incorporated. Do not overfold, or it will become grainy.
Layer the Tiramisu
- Spread half of the cream over the first layer of ladyfingers. Dip and arrange the remaining ladyfingers on top, and then spread the remaining cream on top. Cover with foil and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Dust with cocoa powder before serving. It is ok to dust with cocoa ahead of time – the color will just darken from the moisture.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Dessert Casseroles
These are the best-rated and most requested desserts that fit conveniently into a 9×13 casserole dish:
- Tres Leches Cake
- Lemon Bars
- Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Apple Crisp
- Baklava
- Pumpkin Cake
- Easy Cinnamon Rolls
- Peach Crisp
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad
do I cover the tiramisu when it’s in the fridge overnight?
Hi Julie, I would cover it with saran wrap.
Hi Natasha,
Is there an alcohol free liquid I could use as a sub for the rum?
Hi Connie, If you prefer to omit the alcohol completely, you can just leave out the rum or add a little bit of vanilla extract to taste.
I tried this recipee,my children loved it.
May God give you more success.
Thanks a lot
Glad they loved it, Jia! Thanks for sharing.
I made it twice and it came out sooo good 👍, thank you for the recipe it’s a keeper 👌
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Katy!
Hi Natasha!
Would like to know where did you get the tiramisu server (cake server) from?
Hi Jane, you can find our favorite kitchen tools in our Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE.
I have always wanted to try one of your recipes and finally got to make this Tiramisu. I can’t tell you how happy my fam was when they tasted it! The custard and mascarpone blended very well, it was not runny at all and the layers were set so well! Absolutely loved it, will be making it again and again!
Hello Yashi, I’m happy to hear that you loved it! Thank you for sharing that with us.
Amazing! Tastes just like the ones from the bakery’s! Thank you so much Natasha! Can’t wait to try more!
Isn’t it so good! I’m so happy you enjoyed that, D. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hi natasha
I want to make this recipe what kind or brand of caffe do you recommend for the Tiramisu cake.
Thanks🤗 for your amazing recipes
Hi Fanny, we used brewed coffee but any coffee or espresso is used in Tiramisu.
perhaps under “ingredients for tiramisu” for you could, i don’t know, LIST THE INGREDIENTS???
i know this sounds outrageous but, MY GOD! i didn’t come here for a 14th century culinary history OF tiramisu but, guess what, INGREDIENTS for tiramisu (and perhaps a recipe)
Hi there, I’m not sure what you mean but the ingredients are listed in the recipe card. To quickly go to it, click Jump to recipe.
Ur legit super rude and for what reason, don’t vent your personal anger and frustration out on some blog post just to be heard, not a good look.
No need to be so rude, especially when you are the one who is wrong. Everything you need is there if you would actually read.
This is a BLOG, not just a recipe site. You will get commentary along with the recipe. Most of us enjoy reading the commentary, which also happens to include some really helpful tips. Be nice.
Sorry to say, I feel the same. I know all about what Tiramisu is and what the name means; so having to scroll forever to get the ingredients and any tips is somewhat annoying. But the recipe does sound amazing. Making it to bring for Thanksgiving, we’ll see.
Hi Rita, At the top of each post, you can click “jump to recipe” to see the printable recipe card! I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha, I tried this recipe and it’s delicious. However, as many other people mentioned here, mascarpone and egg mixture IS runny. In your recipe on this page you say that mascarpone should be out of the fridge for 15 min. In comments below you say you use it straight out of the fridge. Which one is correct? Thanks.
Hi! Was it possibly referring to heavy whipping cream? We usually find the culprit is people using whipping cream instead of heavy whipping cream that was also not cold enough. Leaving the mascarpone out for 15 minutes is correct. I hope this helps 🙂
Hi Natasha! I absolutely love your recipes. I make your Tres Leches Cake and it’s everyone’s favorite now. Quick question about the tiramisu: can I use the same recipe to make individual tiramisu cups?
I’m glad you’re enjoying my recipes. I imagine that will work, however, I haven’t tested that yet to advise of the measurements. Please share with us how it goes if you do an experiment.
Hi, I had the same problem the first couple of times and I’ve made this about 6 times now. Make sure that the egg yolk mixture has cooled enough especially in hot climate conditions and Do not use hand blender to mix the yolk into the mascarpone. Can use a wooden spatula or a wire whisk and beat only until combined and smooth. It turns out perfect. Hope this helps
can i replace rum with whiskey?
Hi Precious, I haven’t tried that substitution; if you experiment, I would love to know how you like that.
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes. I plan on making Italian tiramisu. It looks very tempting!! Please can you clarify what’s the quantity of coffee and water to make the espresso mix. Looking forward to hearing from you and trying my hands on it!
Thank you,
Ekta
Hello Ikta, you are very welcome! About the coffee, I would make it based on the package instructions. Please share with us how it goes!
Truly fabulous results with this recipe and love that the egg mixture is cooked, so no chance of salmonella. I made the ladyfingers from scratch. The result was a totally delicious tiramisu.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Evelyn!
Hi Natasha
Thank you for the delicious recipe. The problem I have is that once I add the mascarpone+egg+whipped cream, the mixture becomes too watery unlike the video.
Hi Esther, I haven’t had that experience, but I’m happy to troubleshoot. Was anything altered in the recipe? Make sure you also whisk the eggs and sugar on the stove-top long enough, or it can also get a little loose, and lastly, make sure not to oversoak the ladyfingers, which will also add too much moisture to the cake. I hope that helps for next time. I’m so glad you enjoyed the flavor!
Looks really great. Have not made yet but plan to very soon; I have all the ingredients. I’ve read another recipe which uses the egg whites to make a meringue to fold into the custard instead of using whipped cream. Seems like it would make it lighter on the butterfat. Have you ever tried this?
Hello Charles, I haven’t tried that yet to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how itn goes.
This recipe passed my father-in-law’s (who is Italian) expectations. Phewww
I substituted w Kalua and the flavor was perfect.
The only thing that was perfect was the consistency. I’m not sure where I went wrong. I bear the heavy cream until I had medium to formed peaks. Shall I have beat it longer? The egg mixture cooked for about 10 minutes but never really got thick.
Thoughts?
Hi Alex, it helps to use a rimmed bowl for heating the eggs and sugar – if it never thickened or lightened in color, it sounds like maybe water got into your bowl? Also, was it over steam the entire time with the heat on under the saucepan? The water should be simmering the whole time. Also, make sure to follow the temperatures of the various ingredients. I added some clarifications to the recipe card.
Hi Natasha, I tried making tiramisu for the first time following your recipe and ended up using close to 1 liter of mascarpone and 1 liter of heavy cream 🙁 all because my egg and sugar mixture was too watery so when I added it to the mascarpone it was too runny so I had to adjust the cream and before I know it, I’ve used up the entire container lol. But I gotta say it still tasted really good, the cream mixture didn’t set but it’s so good. Do you think it could have been the eggs?
Hi Mira, are you using only the egg yolks and not the whites?
Hello. When I was making the cake my mascrapone did not whip up but got clumpy and because of that the cream turned out very wet. Is there a special mascrapone brand I should use?
Hi Dina, I have the one I used photographed in the recipe post above but I have tried this recipe with a couple different brands with the same results. It might help to know at what point the cream got lumpy to determine what may have gone wrong. Also, make sure all of the ingredients were the correct temperature and lastly I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to see where things started to look different. I hope that helps.
I tried using Natasha’s recipe for the first time today. I have to say that I’ve made Tiramisu using many other recipes before this. The cooking time of the egg yolk+sugar is the main factor that will determine the thickness of the cream. I almost over whipped the heavy cream and I think this part will alter the thickness too, if it was overwhipped. Taste is fantastic.
Delicious! So so much better than any store bought or restaurants I have ever tried. I love Tiramisu so I have tried many!
I didn’t think it was this easy to make. Thank you Natasha for sharing another delicious recipe.
I have made as it is and also without rum (sub 1tbsp of vanilla as you suggested) so that my son could eat. He loved it so much. I make half size with 9 x 9 baking dish.
Thank you!
So great to hear that your son loved this cake, Eri. Thanks for sharing that with us!
I love it
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi… I am making this tomorrow for Mother’s Day and I only have white rum. Do you think that will be ok or should I run to the store?
Hi Sue, I haven’t tested this with white rum but here’s what one of our readers wrote: “This was delicious, a big hit! I used the dry lady fingers, worked so well. I also used white rum as did not have “golden” rum. I was concerned after starting to cook the yolk/sugar mixture to “slightly thickened,” as it was already pretty thick- wondered if my large egg yolks were small, so added a 7th yolk. This gave the mixture a chance to thicken! And it did! I am so sorry there are leftovers- I can’t stop from eating it!! Thank you!” I hope this helps.