Ladyfingers (also known as “savoiardi” or “sponge fingers”) are simple sponge cookies that are often used to make Tiramisu! These versatile finger-shaped cookies are great for soaking up the flavors of whatever sweet treat you add them to. My recipe is simple, quick, and uses ingredients you probably already have in your pantry! Includes a how-to video!
Homemade Ladyfingers
I’ll be completely honest, ladyfingers aren’t my favorite cookies. In fact, they’re not even in my top 100… at least not for enjoying by themselves. These light, airy, delicate sponge cookies have their place in my kitchen, but usually only if they’re dipped in coffee and rum and buried beneath airy mascarpone cream. Maybe you’ve had them this way before? They’re a key ingredient for making Tiramisu!
Unfortunately, ladyfingers can be notoriously difficult to find in most grocery stores (or maybe that’s just the grocery stores near me?) so when I started developing my Tiramisu recipe (coming next week!) I knew I needed to provide a way for you to make your own ladyfingers. Besides, everything is better made from-scratch anyway.
Today I’m sharing my recipe for homemade ladyfingers or, “savoiardi”. They work perfectly in Tiramisu and while they may be plain, simple and not that great on their own (just sharing my honest opinion, if you’re looking for a good simple snacking cookie then try my meringues), they’re still definitely worth knowing how to make. Let’s get started.
What You Need for Homemade Ladyfingers
This recipe uses basic ingredients you probably already have on hand:
- Eggs. You’ll need six eggs total and you’ll need to divide the yolks and whites. For best results, use room-temperature eggs. You’ll get more volume when you whip them and this helps to keep the ladyfingers from going flat while baking.
- Granulated Sugar. Most of the granulated sugar will go into the batter, but sprinkling a bit on top of the unbaked ladyfingers gives them a lightly sweetened and crunchy exterior.
- Flour. I use and recommend all-purpose flour and have not tested any other type of flour with this recipe.
- Cornstarch. Cornstarch adds structure to the batter and helps keep the savoiardi from spreading.
- Salt & Vanilla extract. For flavor!
Room Temperature Eggs, FAST: Bring eggs to room temperature quickly by placing them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 15 minutes, then dry and use as indicated!
How to Make Ladyfinger Batter
There’s a bit of technique required to make perfect ladyfingers (anytime we’re working with egg whites things can get a bit fussy) but follow my steps and you won’t have any problem:
- Whip your eggs and half of the granulated sugar to thick, glossy, stiff peaks. They’ll increase greatly in volume and be fluffy, opaque, and when you pull the beaters out of the mixture the peak that forms will stay tall and sturdy. Use an electric mixer or stand mixer for this step or you’re up for the most exhausting arm workout of your life.
- Separately, whisk together the egg yolks, remaining sugar, vanilla, salt, until thickened and lightened in color. You can use the beaters you used from your egg whites to save a dish (but don’t ever whip the yolks first and try to use the same beaters for the egg whites or you’ll never get stiff peaks!).
- Combine egg whites and yolk mixture and sift flour and cornstarch over the batter.
- Use a spatula to gently fold the ingredients together (do not use your electric mixer at this point!).
Piping & Baking Ladyfingers (Savoiardi)
- Be very gentle when folding ingredients together and stir until ladyfinger batter is completely combined, but don’t overdo it. It may not be completely smooth but it should be mostly uniform in color and texture.
- Carefully add the batter to a pastry bag with a ½” piping tip and pipe into 4″ lines, leaving 2″ of space between sponge cookies.
- Evenly sprinkle additional granulated sugar over the cookies.
- Bake the ladyfingers for 15-18 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Savoiardi are best enjoyed the day they are made (unless you’re using them for Tiramisu) but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. They also freeze well and may be frozen for up to 2 months in an airtight container.
Most likely the egg whites were not whipped fully to stiff peaks or the batter was over-worked when the egg whites were combined. Once whipped to stiff peaks, egg whites are delicate and need to be handled as such. Over-mixing the batter will cause them to deflate, resulting in flat cookies.
Room temperature eggs will also yield much better volume when you whip them to stiff peaks, resulting in thicker, sturdier savoiardi, so always start with room temp eggs!
Egg whites can be finicky things, and even the weather can affect them. If even a small, teeny tiny bit of yolk was in with the egg whites or if even a tiny bit of grease or water was in the bowl, they may never whip to stiff peaks.
Yes! This recipe divides in half very well, simply use half of each ingredient called for.
Yes! For Tiramisu they should be stale, though, so make them a day or two in advance and let them sit uncovered on your counter before using. This recipe makes enough for a batch of Tiramisu that is served in a 9×13 pan.
Some people enjoy them plain or dipped in whipped cream and served with fruit. They’re also quite good dipped in chocolate gravy.
Savoiardi are most often used in tiramisu, trifles, charlottes, or even sometimes icebox cakes.
More Recipes You Might Like
Enjoy, and stay tuned for my Tiramisu post coming early next week!!
Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
Ladyfingers (Savoiardi)
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs yolks and whites separated (room temperature preferred)
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (187 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- additional granulated sugar for sprinkling over cookies, optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Place egg whites in a large, completely clean, dry, and grease-free bowl. Use an electric mixer (or stand mixer) to beat until you have soft peaks¹.
- Continue to stir on medium-speed and gradually (1 Tablespoon at a time) add half (½ cup/100g) of the granulated sugar. Continue to beat until you achieve stiff peaks². Set aside.1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- In a separate bowl combine egg yolks, remaining sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on medium/high speed until lightened and color and slightly thickened (this will take several minutes and the mixture will slightly increase in volume).1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt
- Gently pour the yolk mixture over the egg whites. Sift flour and cornstarch over the mixture and use a spatula to gently fold everything together until completely combined (take care to mix carefully and do not use an electric mixer for this step, you don’t want to deflate your egg whites).1 ½ cups (187 g) all-purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a ½” piping tip (I use a Wilton 1A, you could also use a disposable piping bag with the end snipped off for an opening that is ½” wide).
- Pipe batter into 4” (10cm) lines, leaving 2” (5cm) of space between cookies.
- Sprinkle additional granulated sugar evenly over cookies if desired (alternatively you can dust them with powdered sugar after baking and cooling) then transfer to 350F (175C) oven and bake 15-18 minutes or until cookies are slightly golden.additional granulated sugar
- Allow to cool at least 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
- If using for Tiramisu, let them sit, uncovered at room temperature overnight before using. Otherwise, store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Notes
Soft & Stiff Peaks
¹Soft peaks simply means that when you pull the beater straight out of the mixture, the “peak” that forms hardly holds its shape and will fall over itself. ²Stiff peaks means that the peak that forms firmly holds its shape and does not fold over or curl. The mixture will be thick, sticky, and fluffy.Storing
Ladyfingers are best when served the same day they are made, but may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Ladyfingers may also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months. They thaw quickly at room temperature.Tiramisu
If using for Tiramisu, let ladyfingers sit uncovered at room temperature overnight. This recipe makes enough for Tiramisu made in a 9×13″ pan.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Michele Sellers
My Amazon order of savoiardi didn’t arrive in time for me to make a promised birthday tiramisu.thanks for the rescue! The recipe was easy to follow and they came out great! They did spread a bit, but the whipped cream/mascarpone filling will hide 🙂 thanks again !
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy it worked out so nicely for you, Michele! Thanks for using our recipe 🩷
Josh
I followed the recipe to a tee and mine came out with flour clusters in every bite. Why is the flour folded and not mixed in with the yolks before being added to the egg whites?
Sam
I’m sorry to hear this happened, Josh! It may have just needed a little more folding together. 🙁
Kelsee
I’ve made them several times. They taste and work fine for tiramisu but for some reason mine always spread and get wide and flat. Not sure what I’m doing wrong but they don’t hold their shape like the pictures.
Sam
Hi Kelsee! I’m glad you are ultimately enjoying them. My best guess on why they are spreading is the egg whites. If they aren’t to the proper texture it could cause some spreading. 🙁
Cindy
Is it possible to fill these with a cream cheese mixture? If so, how would you do it?
Sam
Hi Cindy! I’m not sure how you would accomplish that. These are a pretty delicate cookie. You could sandwich a layer in between 2 cookies if you wanted to do it that way.
Jacqui
I’ve never had ladyfingers so I don’t know what to compare the taste to but from what I can tell they came out ok. Pretty easy to whip up but mine did not need 15 minutes of bake time. They were very golden and not the pretty picture from this recipe but hopefully they will be just fine in the Strawberry Chantilly Tiramisu dessert I’m making tomorrow!
P. F.
I must have done something wrong, but my ladyfingers were hard as rocks, and barely soaked up any espresso (for a tiramisu). They never softened enough in the tiramisu either. I don’t think cornstarch is needed in a ladyfingers recipe, but I do not know if that ingredient caused my problem. I have other ladyfingers recipes I have used with success, but this one did not work for me.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this! The cornstarch wouldn’t make these hard. If anything it would make them softer. Honestly I’m stumped. Even if they were way over-baked and stale they should still absorb the liquid. Could something have been mis-measured or did you make any substitutions?
PF
Thanks for responding. I don’t think I mismeasured. I’m just not sure what went wrong, but something did and they did not soak up much, if any, of the coffee mix. They tasted good, though!
Leah Young
I made these substituting Bobs Redmill 1 to 1 gluten free flour and they are AMAZING. I have dreamt of gluten free Tiramisu for a year and these were a delight!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for letting us know, Leah! We are so happy you enjoyed them 🩷
April
So if I were to guess I would think them being tough and not absorptive may have to do with meringue not being whipped quite stiff enough! The best way I’ve found to tell when it’s ready is when it starts sticking in your whisk like crazy. Whisk until the whole thing fills up and then you’re golden! I’m not a professional and could be absolutely wrong about the cause but the ladyfingers turned out perfect for my tiramisu! Best of luck!
Lori Dominguez
Super easy recipe to follow. Cookies are perfect. Gave 4 stars because I only got 30. I measured the batter 4″as per recipe. Had to make another batch. Maybe next time I will make them 3″. They will bake to 4″ from rising.
Danielle Morshead
These are great! Made them twice. One note is that they tend to stick to my sheet pan so I bake them on parchment paper for no-mess removal.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad you enjoyed them, Danielle! 🩷
Eric the Escapist Chef
Really great recipe turned out perfect for tiramisu, My one issue I had is that they actually Baked in half the time, It could’ve been something wrong with my oven, It’s usually hotter on the bottom so I have to switch out the trays halfway through, But when I open the oven to switch them, I found that the top ones were perfectly done and the bottom ones were slightly Over-crisped on the bottom, In total, it took 8 minutes. But they still turned out amazing, just a warning
Gene
same issue for me. baked in 7 minutes. also, probably better to have a hole larger than 1/2 an inch. more like 1 inch to get the typical shape of savoiardi
foodie
amazing it turned out great and the taste was just extravagant