My rich and decadent tiramisu recipe is surprisingly simple and will make you feel like you’re eating dessert in an Italian cafe from the comfort of your own home. This is a great make-ahead dessert! I’ve included plenty of detailed tips, pictures, and a how-to video so you can have flawless results every time!

A Completely From-Scratch Tiramisu Recipe

I’ve been working on perfecting this tiramisu recipe for months now, but it’s truly worth the wait. I wanted it to not only be the literal best you’ve ever had, but I also wanted the recipe to be foolproof, so I put it to the Zach test.

Zach knows his way around the kitchen, but tiramisu was unlike anything he’d ever made before, so I left him with this recipe and left the kitchen (not an easy thing for me to do) to see what he ended up with. If it turned out, I knew it was ready to share.

When he served me a slice, I was ecstatic (that might be an understatement) with the results. This really is the best tiramisu recipe and I’m finally ready to share it with you. I promise, the wait was worth it!

Tiramisu is the perfect way to follow up an Italian dinner of baked ziti or your favorite rigatoni or stuffed shells. It’s sweet, but not overly so, and it’s certainly not a sugar-bomb; there are actually many dark/bitter flavors at play here. Unsweetened cocoa, dark spiced rum, and black coffee work in beautiful contrast against the creamy, lightly sweetened mascarpone layers and unassuming ladyfingers.

🧂 Ingredients

Before we begin, let’s discuss a few of the key tiramisu ingredients behind my recipe:

• Ladyfingers. It’s possible your local grocery store may carry these but mine does not. You can either purchase them on Amazon (I’ve included a link in the recipe card) or you can make my homemade ladyfingers (note: some people have also mentioned that they’ve substitute Pavesini). If using homemade, let them sit at room temperature uncovered overnight before using. Ladyfingers add structure and stability to the tiramisu, they become softened to a cake-like texture once the dessert has had time to sit and thoroughly chill.
• Egg yolks. These will be cooked with sugar and salt to form a zabaglione, which will be the custard base of your tiramisu layers. While some tiramisu recipes use the egg whites elsewhere in the tiramisu, I opted not to as they are traditionally uncooked and many people let me know on my chocolate mousse recipe that they are not comfortable eating raw eggs.
• Sugar. I use regular granulated sugar, but caster sugar is ideal if you happen to have it as it will dissolve faster when cooking your zabaglione.
• Coffee. Tiramisu is primarily a coffee-flavored dessert, so it’s important that you use coffee that you like. There’s no need to use anything expensive; use the coffee you love and drink every day.
• Spiced Rum. Use your favorite variety! Rum gives this tiramisu recipe a unique flavor with a kick. If you don’t have a brand preference, try using a middle shelf spiced rum to maintain good flavor and not break the bank. If you want to make this recipe alcohol-free, see my FAQ section below.
• Mascarpone cheese. This is a soft Italian cheese that closely resembles cream cheese and helps give tiramisu its rich flavor. This is widely available at most grocery stores in the cheese and/or dairy section. Do not use low-fat mascarpone, which has more water than the full-fat version and can make a runny tiramisu.
• Heavy cream. Since we aren’t going to be using raw egg whites in this recipe, we have to make a substitute that still offers creamy stability. I opt to use heavy cream to make a homemade whipped cream, it yields similarly textured, delicious tiramisu recipe. Heavy cream, heavy whipping cream, or double cream will work in today’s recipe.

SAM’S TIP: Save your egg whites! They can be used to make meringues, Swiss meringue buttercream, white cake, funfetti cake, or angel food cake! Store covered in the fridge for up to two days or frozen for several months, but make sure they are not contaminated by any yolk and that you keep them in a completely clean, dry, and grease-free container.

How to Make the Zabaglione

Zabaglione (also known as sabayon) is the starting point of my tiramisu recipe, and is often served as a dessert in and of itself. Despite its foreign and polysyllabic name, it’s actually fairly easy to make, though some patience is required. It’s simply a custard made by whisking together egg yolks and sugar, and salt on a double boiler until the sugar is dissolved and the whisk leaves tracks through the liquid. Alcohol is often cooked with the eggs, but here we’re adding it afterwards.

1. Bring a double boiler to a simmer and ensure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water.
2. Combine egg yolks, sugar, and salt in the bowl of the double boiler and whisk to combine.
3. Whisk constantly until the sugar is dissolved, the mixture is pale yellow, and it’s thickened enough that it offers some resistance to your whisk and the wires of the whisk leave trails that hold for a second or two before dissipating.
4. Remove from heat and stir in rum and coffee.

Have patience. Don’t crank up your heat to speed up cooking, it can take around 10 minutes or longer and if you rush the process you could end up with scrambled eggs. Conversely, if the zabaglione is not cooked enough, your tiramisu will be runny.

SAM’S TIP: You can check that the sugar has dissolved by rubbing a small bit of the mixture between your thumb and forefinger. It should be smooth and grit free. However, if your mixture meets all of the other criteria but has a small bit of grit remaining, don’t stress, this should dissolve while your tiramisu chills.

You’ve made your zabaglione. That’s the hardest part of making any tiramisu recipe. Give yourself a pat on the back and let it cool for now. Now, make the mascarpone layer:

Preparing the Mascarpone layer

1. In a large bowl, whip heavy cream to soft peaks. note: Don’t panic if you accidentally whip all the way to stiff peaks. Some tiramisu recipe call for stiff peaks and it will work here, I just prefer and recommend the softer, creamier, and less-fluffy consistency of soft peaks.
2. Place mascarpone cheese in a separate, large bowl and stir until smooth. Just until smooth. Don’t overdo it as mascarpone is fickle and when over-beaten it curdles and may become runny.
3. Gradually, slowly, stir cooled zabaglione into mascarpone until completely combined.
4. Fold together mascarpone mixture and whipped cream until combined.

SAM’S NOTE: Mascarpone is finicky! It’s important that it’s neither too cold or too warm or it could curdle. I pull mine out of the fridge about 20 minutes before I need to use it.

How to Make Tiramisu

1. Hold ladyfinger cookies by the ends and dip half of the cookie lengthwise in a shallow dish filled with mixture of coffee and rum, then turn over and dip the other half. Do this very briefly, you don’t want the cookies to become soggy or it’ll make the entire tiramisu recipe soggy!
2. Place ladyfingers in an even layer on the bottom of a 9×13″ baking dish. Most likely you’ll need to break a few cookies to make sure the dish is covered completely (it helps to lay them all out before dipping).
3. Layer half of the mascarpone filling over the ladyfingers.
4. Sprinkle a tablespoon of cocoa powder over the top.
5. Place another layer of ladyfingers.
6. Then another layer of cream.

SAM’S TIP: The technique for dipping the ladyfingers is carefully written so that all of the cookie is evenly dipped and the tiramisu doesn’t become overly saturated. Don’t be tempted to dip the cookies straight into a mug of coffee; they’ll absorb far too much of the liquid and become soggy, resulting in a runny, messy tiramisu with unbalanced flavor.

Before serving, sift another tablespoon of cocoa powder over the surface of the tiramisu. I prefer to wait until just before serving as it will begin to absorb the mascarpone mixture and turn dark if added too soon (it will still taste good, it’s purely aesthetic reasons that I like to wait!).

Frequently Asked Questions

Whew. I know we covered a lot today but hopefully all the steps, photos, and video (below) are helpful, especially if this is your first time attempt at tiramisu (if so, thank you so much for choosing my tiramisu recipe as your first!).

Enjoy!

Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card! 

More Italian Desserts to Try

Pizzelle

Chocolate Biscotti

Cannoli

Biscotti