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Italian

Tiramisu

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Tiramisù

Layers of coffee-soaked ladyfingers and a light mascarpone and egg cream, chilled until set and dusted with cocoa.

Tiramisu is an Italian dessert, ready in about 6 hours 45 minutes and made with espresso, mascarpone and ladyfingers. It serves 8 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Indulge in a slice of tiramisu garnished with fresh mint on a classic marble plate.
Photo: Arian Fernandez / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
30 min
Cook
15 min
Rest
6 h
Total
6 h 45 min
Serves
8
Level
Intermediate
Calories
405

Ingredients

8 servings

Cooked egg cream

Italian meringue

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Set a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, without the base touching the water. Add the egg yolks (opens in a new tab) and the 40 g sugar (opens in a new tab) and whisk (opens in a new tab) constantly for 5–8 minutes until the mixture is thick, pale and foamy and a thermometer reads 71 °C. Lift the bowl off the heat and keep whisking until it cools to room temperature.

    If the yolks start to catch, lift the bowl off the water for a few seconds while you keep whisking. Holding the mixture at 60 °C for at least 3½ minutes is an equally safe alternative to reaching 71 °C.

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Beat the mascarpone (opens in a new tab) into the cooled yolk mixture until smooth.

  3. Step 3

    Italian meringue: in a small pan, heat the 60 g sugar (opens in a new tab) with the water, stirring only until it dissolves, then boil without stirring to 118–121 °C. Meanwhile whisk (opens in a new tab) the egg whites (opens in a new tab) in a clean bowl to soft peaks. With the mixer running, pour the hot syrup onto the whites in a thin stream down the side of the bowl, then keep whisking for 4–5 minutes until the meringue is glossy, stiff and barely warm.

    Food safety: Sugar syrup at 120 °C causes serious burns. Pour it away from the beaters so it doesn't spatter, and keep children clear of the pan.

  4. Step 4

    Fold the meringue gently into the mascarpone (opens in a new tab) cream in two or three additions until no streaks remain.

  5. Step 5

    Mix the cooled coffee with the liqueur, if using. Dip the ladyfingers (opens in a new tab) one at a time — just a second per side — and lay them in a single layer in a 20 × 30 cm dish.

  6. Step 6

    Spread half the cream over the biscuits, add a second layer of dipped biscuits and finish with the rest of the cream. Smooth the top.

    • 5 min

  7. Step 7

    Cover and chill for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Dust thickly with cocoa just before serving.

    • 1 min

About this dish

Origin
Veneto / Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy · Origin disputedItalian origin is clear; Treviso (Veneto) and Friuli-Venezia Giulia both claim to have invented it.Also popular in United States, United Kingdom, Germany, FranceMore food from Italy
Dish
Dessert · Desserts
Cooking method
Whipped
Taste
sweet, creamy, bitter, rich
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free
Without the optional extras: Alcohol-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Festive & celebration
Cook more with
Espresso · Egg yolk · Sugar · Egg white · Cocoa powder
Techniques
Simmering · Emulsification

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom mascarpone, ladyfingers
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg yolk, egg white, ladyfingers
  • Contains: Wheatfrom ladyfingers
  • Contains: Glutenfrom ladyfingers

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

405 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 161 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 9%
  • Carbohydrate 33%
  • Fat 58%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy405 kcal252 kcal
Protein9.3 g5.8 g
Carbohydrate34.1 g21.3 g
Net carbohydrate33.4 g20.8 g
Sugars——
Added sugars——
Fibre0.8 g0.5 g
Fat26.5 g16.5 g
Saturated fat14.4 g9 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol216 mg135 mg
Sodium260 mg162 mg
Salt equivalent0.7 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
200 mg
Calcium
88 mg
Iron
1.5 mg
Magnesium
47 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
271 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
0.5 µg
Folate (DFE)
48 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: coffee liqueur.
  • Mascarpone: Full-fat cream cheese used as a stand-in; mascarpone is richer (roughly 40–45% fat vs about 34%), so energy and fat are underestimated.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Cold mascarpone straight from the fridge can turn grainy when beaten — let it warm slightly.
  • Shortcut: with pasteurised eggs you can skip the cooking — whisk the yolks with 80 g sugar until pale, beat in the mascarpone, then fold in the whites whipped to soft peaks.

Common mistakes

  • Soaking the ladyfingers too long, which makes the dessert soggy and watery.
  • Folding mascarpone into a still-warm yolk mixture, which melts it and leaves the cream runny.

Food safety

  • Both egg components are heat-treated: the yolks to 71 °C over the bain-marie and the whites by the 118–121 °C syrup. If you take the raw-egg shortcut, use only pasteurised eggs.
  • Keep refrigerated and eat within 2 days.

Storage

  • Keep covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Variations

  • Egg-free tiramisu: Replace the egg cream with mascarpone beaten with sugar and lightly whipped cream.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

The body of the dish

Cooked egg cream

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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