Ingredients & Equipment
7oz Package of Lady Fingers
4 Large Eggs (separated)
1 Cup Granulated Sugar (divided into 2x 1/2 cups)
5 Tablespoons Kahlua or Coffee Liqueur
16oz Mascarpone (cold)
1.5 Cups Strong Coffee
1 TSP Vanilla Extract
Cocoa Powder (for dusting on top)
TOOLS
9×13 Baking Dish
Wide, Shallow Pan or Container (for dipping lady fingers)
Stand Mixer
Execution
Brew Coffee: Brew 1.5 Cups of super strong coffee. If you have a coffee bean grinder, use your finest grind (espresso). Pour the coffee into your shallow pan and add 3 Tablespoons of your Coffee Liqueur. Set aside.
Whip the Meringue: Pour your egg whites into the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on medium until they begin to foam, then gradually pour in 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Once combined, increase the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form. To test for stiff peaks, stop the mixer and pull up the whisk attachment. If the meringue peak sticks straight up, that’s stiff. If the tip flops over, that’s a soft peak. Keep beating until the peaks stick straight up (about 2-3 minutes total depending on your mixer). Transfer the meringue to a large mixing bowl making sure to get almost every drop out of the mixer.
Whip Your Zabaglione: Clean the bowl of your mixer and then add the egg yolks. Whip on high while slowly adding the other 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Whip until the sugar is fully incorporated and the mixture looks pale yellow and fluffy (about the same amount of time as you whipped the meringue). When ready, pause the mixer and add all of your mascarpone, vanilla extract, and 2 TBS of coffee liqueur. Whip on high again until fully combined (about a minute or so).
Fold The Zabaglione into the Meringue: Using a rubber spatula, add half of the zabaglione into the bowl with the meringue. Gently fold the zabaglione into the meringue until fully combined and homogenous (no traces of white meringue). You don’t want to stir! You want to gently fold the mixture over itself (under to over) to prevent deflating the meringue. If you’re not sure, look up a quick video tutorial on how to gently fold a batter.
Fold the Remaining Zabaglione: Once the first half is combined, add the remaining zabaglione to the meringue mixture and fold again until fully combined. Set aside.
Dip the Lady Fingers: This is arguably one of the most important steps when making tiramisu. You want to coat the lady fingers in the coffee + liqueur mixture, but you don’t want to completely “soak” them or else your lady fingers will be too soggy. The best method is to take a lady finger, dip it into the shallow pan filled with your coffee mixture, and quickly roll the lady finger in the mixture for just 2-3 seconds. This is enough to coat the outside of the lady finger, while still leaving a soft cake-like interior. This is why you want to use a shallow dish for your coffee mixture because you don’t want to fully submerge the lady fingers. After dipping, immediately place the lady fingers in your baking dish in a single layer. They don’t have to be touching, you can leave a 1/4 inch space between each finger in the pan if you prefer.
Layer the Mascarpone Cream: Once you have a single layer of lady fingers in your baking dish, cover them with about half of your whipped mascarpone mixture. Smooth the top so that you can fit another layer of lady fingers.
Layer More Lady Fingers: Dip and layer another single layer of lady fingers on top of your first layer of mascarpone cream. Finally, top the second layer of lady fingers with the remaining half of your mascarpone cream.
Dust and Refrigerate: Dust the top of your tiramisu with a light layer of cocoa powder. Then, and this is super important, place your tiramisu in the refrigerator overnight to set. Trust me, it just doesn’t taste as good if you try to eat it too soon. Have patience and wait at least 8-12 hours. In fact, the longer you wait, the better it tastes. The cream needs time to set and the lady fingers need time to absorb all of that tasty goodness.
Additional tips
- Original Recipe Link: Broma Bakery’s Classic Tiramisu
- Sugar: I would not reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe if I were you. It’s literally perfect. The sugar perfectly balances the strong coffee and coffee liqueur flavor. It’s a dessert for God’s sake…have a little sugar. Jeez.
- Seriously, let it sit.: I know you want to dig into this delicious tiramisu right away, but I promise you it’s not worth it. It’s not going to taste good if you try to eat it within a few hours of making it. In a rush? Sorry, this isn’t the dessert for you. You need to learn some patience. If you decide to try and eat it anyway (stubborn…I kind of respect that), don’t blame me for your weird tasting tiramisu.
- Fancy: You can make this look fancy by piping dollops of the mascarpone cream on top of your second layer of lady fingers instead of spreading it. I’ve never done this, but knock yourself out.
- American vs Classic Tiramisu: American’s seem to be terrified of raw eggs. Thus, most American adaptations of tiramisu are made with heavy cream (whipped cream) and pasteurized eggs in some way. This is pure food blasphemy in my opinion and produces an inferior tiramisu. Find farm fresh eggs or high quality local organic eggs and make the recipe just as the Italians intended. Even better, use fresh duck eggs if you can find them.
