Classic Tiramisu Recipe

WHAT IS TIRAMISU?

Tiramisu is a coffee flavored traditional Italian dessert. This dessert is made of savoiardi cookies (also known as ladyfingers) dipped in coffee, mascarpone and cream custard, eggs and cocoa powder. The meaning of the word tiramisu is "pick me up" or "cheer me up”.

DOES TIRAMISU HAVE RAW EGGS?

In most traditional Italian tiramisu recipes, you will find raw eggs, and basically it’s totally fine if the eggs are fresh. There are versions of tiramisu that are made without raw egg yolks, some recipes don’t use eggs at all, some using just egg whites or using heavy whipping cream instead of eggs.

CAN I SKIP RAW EGGS IN TIRAMISU RECIPE?

If you don’t want to use raw eggs do this: whisk the egg yolks and sugar over a bain marie (double boiler). Whisk constantly, until the sugar is dissolved, and the custard thickens. The temperate of egg yolk should reach 154-158ºF (68-70ºC). Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. This process called pasteurizing and it’s killing bacteria’s such as Salmonella.  You can see how I make this process in the video above. This step is totally optional and if you are using fresh eggs there is no real danger. But, many people intimidate eating raw eggs so it’s up to you.

WAHT CAN I USE INSTEAD OF HEAVY CREAM IN TIRAMISU?

Instead of heavy cream you can use 4 egg whites. Beat them to stiff peaks, then fold to the mascarpone mixture. This is the Italian traditional way. But, I find that the version with the heavy cream is richer, more stable and tastes better. But, again, it’s up to you.  

WHAT CAN YOU USE INSTEAD OF MASCARPONE?

Mascarpone is a kind of high fat cream cheese with a slightly sweet taste. There is no other cheese that tastes exactly like mascarpone cheese. Although regular full fat cream cheese has a sour taste, this is the closest replacement. If you are sing cream cheese instead of mascarpone don’t expect to have the same taste, but it will be good enough for some people.

HOW FAR IN ADVANCE CAN YOU MAKE TIRAMISU?

Tiramisu can be made 1 to 2 days ahead and stored (covered) in refrigerator. It will keep for up to 4 days in total. You can leave tiramisu out of the refrigerator for up to two-three hours during serving before it will begin to spoil.

WHAT CAN WE USE INSTEAD OF ALCOHOL IN TIRAMISU?

If you don’t like the flavor of alcohol in your dessert you can just omit it from the recipe.