Italian tiramisu
Creamy and intensely coffee-flavored, tiramisu is an Italian dessert that does not require baking. This simple tiramisu recipe is based on mascarpone cheese, cocoa, sugar, eggs, strong coffee and sponge biscuits.
I always start the preparation of tiramisu by preparing a coffee infusion. The coffee can be prepared in a coffee machine or brewed in a mug, however, it is important that when it is used for dessert, it should not contain coffee grounds. I leave the brewed coffee for a while to cool down, then I combine it with a bit of sugar and liqueur. When the soaking is almost cold, I start preparing the sugar, egg and mascarpone cream.
In the first step of preparing the cream, I beat the egg yolks with sugar, then add the mascarpone, and finally the whipped egg whites. I thoroughly soak each sponge biscuit in the soaking, put it in a dish or on a baking tray, cover it with cream cheese and sprinkle with cocoa. I build tiramisu from two layers of biscuits and cream, so I repeat the same steps again. I cover the prepared dessert with cling film and put it in the fridge for a few hours. This allows the biscuits to soak up a bit more and the cream to thicken.
This easy-to-prepare tiramisu impresses with its taste and simplicity. In the traditional version, this dessert is based on raw eggs, which is why you will find such eggs in the mascarpone cream below. Of course, you can make quick tiramisu, which does not contain eggs and cream, but it will not be a traditional tiramisu. I recommend serving this no-bake dessert at special events or without any occasion, when you fancy something sweet without baking and quickly. Below are some suggestions for no-bake desserts, if you are a fan of this type of sweets.
- chocolate mousse
- no-bake cheesecake with fruits
- coconut truffles
- kogel-mogel with fruits
- no-bake blueberry cake
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Ingredients for Italian tiramisu.
- 500 g mascarpone cheese
- 280 g ladyfinger biscuits
- 250 ml strong coffee i.e. espresso
- 3 eggs “L”
- 80 g icing sugar
- 30 g dark cocoa
- 3 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
How to make Italian tiramisu.
Pour the brewed, cold espresso coffee into a bowl, add liqueur, vanilla, 1 tablespoon of icing sugar and mix.
Remove the mascarpone cheese from the fridge about 20 minutes before adding it to the dessert. Scald the eggs with boiling water, then separate the yolks from the whites. Add half of the remaining icing sugar to the yolks and beat until creamy and fluffy. Add the mascarpone to the egg mass, not at once but a spoon at a time, beating constantly. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Then, gradually add the remaining icing sugar to them, while beating all the time. Fold the egg whites gently into the mass of yolks and mascarpone.
Soak each sponge biscuit for a few seconds in the infusion of coffee and liqueur, then place them next to one another in a rectangular dish. Cover the biscuits with half of the mascarpone cream and sprinkle with half of the cocoa. Put the second layer of biscuits on the cocoa, the remaining cream and sprinkle the cocoa again. Wrap the dish in cling film and put it in the fridge for a few hours.
Good to know when making Italian tiramisu.
The addition of alcohol in the soaking is not obligatory, but in my opinion it changes the taste of this dessert. If you don’t have Amaretto liqueur at home, you can replace it with dark rum or whiskey.
You can also add grated chocolate, but it is not a mandatory ingredient.
I prepared the dessert in a rectangular baking tray measuring 24 by 24 centimetres.
I never soak all the sponge biscuits at once, but only as much as I need for the first layer. I immediately put each soaked sponge biscuit into the tin in which I make the dessert and place them next to each other.
Do you like coffee desserts? If so, try our recipe for Tartlets with coffee cream.
