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
Natasha
I have only 8 oz of mascarpone, may I mix with 8 oz cream cheese for the layer of mascarone/rum/cream/?
Or will vanilla pudding with 8 oz mascarpone work?
Hi Jane, in some cases, you can substitute with cream cheese like in our Tiramisu Yule Log but the flavor and texture will be different.
First time making your Tiramisu recipe and my 10 yrs old daughter said: this is Amazing!!! Do we have more? I did make a mistake by adding the 6 tbsp Bacardi rum to coffee instead of 3. This mistake I will do it again next time making this recipe 😉 plus 3 tbsp Bacardi added to the mascarpone! I had to translate it and send this amazing recipe to my sister in EU.
My kids love baking your chocolate chip cookies. Another amazing recipe! Thank you for sharing and can’t wait to purchase your book!
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great, Marinela! THank you for sharing your thoughtful review!
WOW!!!! This was Fabulous !!!.
Halved the recipe , used 8×8 pan. Subbed espresso liquor for the rum. Followed directions and video. Easter dessert was a big hit. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Sooo good !
Have a request for tre Leche cake for a June birthday. Will try your recipe for that one next.!!
Hi Ann, thank you for sharing your experience with this recipe. So glad it was a hit. I hope you love the Tres Leches Cake, it is one of my personal favorites! 🙂
Made this for Easter and it was a big hit! Using the Servings adjuster in the recipe, I reduced it to 8 servings and used a 9×9 glass pan. For the coffee dip, I subbed 2.5 Tbl of Amaretto for Rum, and used concentrated decaf w/ 1 generous tsp of instant espresso.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Tricia! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Looking forward to trying this recipe! Should the eggs be brought to room temp or can we use them straight out of the fridge?
No need for room temp eggs for this recipe.
Can this recipe be cut in half? If so are all ingredients halved or just some?
Made your onion rings! They were the best I ever had. Yum!
Hi Linda! I’m glad you enjoyed the onion rings! Yes, you can adjust the servings of this recipe. Go to the recipe card and you will see the number of servings in red lettering, if you hover your cursor over this you can adjust the serving and it will convert the recipe for you.
Natasha,
Your recipes are fantastic.
My kids are GF and DF.
Can you recommend the substitutions for the cream? Can I use coconut cream?
What is the technique with eggs whites instead of cream?
THANK YOU!
Hi Irina, I haven’t really tried making a GF version of the recipe. Maybe others have tried it and can share with us?
Everyone loved this recipe. I didn’t have golden rum so I subbed dark rum. I got rave reviews and am making it again today!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Jennifer!
Thank you for the recipe. But, I can’t eat sugar,
Any replacement for the sugar?
Hello Lena, I honestly haven’t tried any substitute for sugar so I can’t advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how how it turns out.
Can someone tell me at what temperature is the mascarpone mixed. Room temperature or cool?
Hi Alicia, We have that note on the recipe card: “mascarpone, cold”. I hope that helps!
The best, the simplest tiramisu ever! There are no words! I made it for myself and coworkers once and I’m about to make them another one knowing they’ll 100% love it! Thank you!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
How can I make espresso at home without a machine? What would the measurements be?
Hi Lynn, you could also use a strong-brewed coffee if you do not have an espresso machine.
I have made this Tiramisu several times. I just brew espresso coffee in a regular drip coffee maker. It works great!😊☕️
Hi Natasha,
I would like to try this recipe, but I don’t have rum only Grand Marnier. How much little should I put? As I don’t want to omit the alcohol.
Hi Cherry, I think it should be ok to just substitute it straight across in the recipe.
Can you make tiramisu without coffee as I’m allergic to coffee but it looks and sounds delicious
Hi Christine, coffee or espresso is used in Tiramisu. If you are concerned about caffeine, you can use decaf coffee so you can still enjoy the same classic flavor. If you prefer a different flavor profile, you can turn this into a Berry Tiramisu and omit the cocoa powder.
Can I use rum extract instead of rum with this tiramisu recipe?
Hi Dayma, I imagine that will work. If you prefer to omit the alcohol completely, you can leave out the rum or add a little bit of vanilla extract to taste.
Hi Natasha, I would like to omit the rum and substitute it with vanilla extract, how much vanilla should I add? Thank you
Hi Danna, I would use maybe 2 tsp of vanilla if omitting the rum.
My water wasn’t even quite simmering, I whisked those egg yolks for 10 minutes and eventually realized that they were thoroughly cooked, but still grainy. Had to throw them out and start over, with a different recipe (others say to use fine sugar, or to whisk a bit before beginning to heat).
Hi Natasha. In the recipe it says stiff peaks but in your video it says you don’t want stiff peaks? When I made my kid I didn’t really have to spread it. It wasn’t that stiff…. We will see if it turns out!
can you freeze this? How long. Thanks Natasha. love you and all your recipes 🙂
Hi Annmarie, I haven’t tried freezing this, but one of my readers said: “I tried to freeze the tiramisu and turn out still good”
Hi! Could I layer everything in two 8×8 baking dishes instead?
Hi Claire, It would be a much thinner Tiramisu in two 8×8 pans. You may need to adjust the recipe to fill those pans nicely.
Hi! I was wondering if this recipe could be halved or would there be adjustments to the ingredients? Thank you!
Hi Prachi, You could do half the recipe but the cream part will be a little skinny since it will be more spread out.