How to Make Real Tiramisu
How to make Tiramisu the Italian way.
AKA how an American girl in France makes Italian Tiramisu.
While living in the US, I never liked Tiramisu. The cream part was tasty yet lacked the rich creaminess found in mascarpone cheese, the ladyfingers were always too wet and made with mediocre coffee, the almond taste from the Amaretto was nowhere to be found. It was just a disappointment every time I tried to give it a shot.
In July 2016, the family I was nannying for brought me with them on vacation to Loreto, Italy—a tiny village in Ancona, Italy on the Adriatic Sea. Ancona is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. The only tourists around were other French people who always seemed to know one another. Everyday we took the family car to the beach, enjoyed the sun, ate pizza for lunch, and snacked on freshly sliced coconut from a man who walked up and down the beach everyday yelling, “COCCO BELLO COCCO!” Coconut, beautiful coconut.
On one of our last nights in Italy, the parents I worked for invited another French couple over to the family home for a dinner party. The mom made an absolutely massive tiramisu and I watched her make it every step of the way. The mom I worked for did not cook or bake often, but when she put the effort in, it was always sublime. That night, she was critical of herself when it came to the Tiramisu. She was certain that she added too much cocoa powder and wanted to make a good impression on the couple joining us for dinner. I still think that was the best tiramisu I’ve ever had.
Now I make Tiramisu using my own tweaked recipe, usually twice a month for dinners at our apartment.
Scroll down for the recipe.
Enjoy!
Tiramisu
Katherine in Paris
Tiramisu
The recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes
Rest time: Minimum 3 hours
Total time: 3 hours 15 minutes (tiramisu must sit in fridge to set)
Servings: 4-6 people
Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: tiramisu, Italian tiramisu, real tiramisu, authentic tiramisu
Ingredients
750g/26oz of mascarpone cheese (you could use 500g or 17.5oz instead. I use extra because I love a creamy tiramisu)
2 large eggs
80g or 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1/4 tsp lemon juice (or cream of tartar)
2-3 packets ladyfinger cookies
a strong pot of coffee
Amaretto liquor
1/4 tsp almond extract
unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
Start by separating the egg yolks and the whites.
Add the egg yolks to the white sugar.
Whisk the eggs and the sugar until the mixture is light in color and creamy.
Add the mascarpone to the egg mixture and whisk together. Add 1/4 tsp of almond extract to the mascarpone mixture.
Then in a second bowl, whip your eggs whites with the powdered sugar and lemon juice until it holds its shape. Do not over whip!
Fold the whipped egg whites into the mascarpone mixture. Put to the side.
Make a pot of coffee with the highest quality/best tasting coffee you can get your hands on. Good quality coffee makes a huge difference.
Add a few tbsp of Amaretto to the coffee. If you don’t have Amaretto on hand, you can use whiskey and some almond extract instead.
Place the ladyfinger cookies into the coffee mixture and let it soak it up. Do not let it get soggy.
Place the ladyfingers into the serving dish you would like to use. Make sure it is deep enough to layer the tiramisu.
Make sure the bottom layer is entirely covered with the ladyfinger cookies.
Next add the mascarpone mixture on top. You can either have one thick layer (mascarpone mixture on top of ladyfingers), or layer them multiple times. Ex: Ladyfingers, mascarpone, ladyfingers, mascarpone, etc. I usually layer them in a huge bowl 3-4x.
Place the dessert in the fridge to set.
When it is time to serve, sift the cocoa powder on top of the tiramisu.
Enjoy!
