This Classic Italian Tiramisu is seriously one of the easiest desserts to make! It's picture perfect with a sweet mascarpone filling, espresso dipped lady fingers and all the cocoa powder on top!
Recipe by Gaby Dalkin on March 31, 2023
Prep time: PT20M
Total time: PT20M
Rating
4.96 stars (126 reviews)
Keywords
classic tiramisu, traditional tiramisu
Ingredients
1/4 cup Dutch Processed cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
1 cup brewed espresso (optional to add a few tablespoons of dark rum)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks, cold (I use pasteurized eggs)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
16 ounces mascarpone cheese, chilled
1.75 cups heavy cream, chilled
28 hard ladyfinger cookies
Categories
Dessert
Cuisine
Italian
Steps
Whisk together the cocoa powder, espresso and vanilla in a bowl and set aside
In a mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick, about 5 minutes. Add in the salt, mascarpone cheese and continue to whip until smooth. Add the chilled heavy cream and continue to whip, until light, creamy, smooth and can hold a soft peak.
Dunk each ladyfinger in the espresso mixture to absorb the liquid and start to line a 7x11 oval baking dish with the cookies. Top the first layer of cookies with ½ of the whipped mascarpone mixture and use the back of a metal spoon to spread it into an even layer. Dust with cocoa powder. Repeat for another layer and then finish by dusting with cocoa powder on top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 535 kcal
Carbohydrates: 33 g
Protein: 9 g
Fat: 41 g
Saturated Fat: 24 g
Cholesterol: 252 mg
Sodium: 148 mg
Sugar: 11 g
Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
Reviews
Keira May on 2026-03-02 (5 stars): Hello! Do you use only the egg yolk? Or the full egg?
Thank you 😊
Jessica on 2026-02-16 (5 stars): I made this tonight. The only change I made was to cook the eggs and sugar over a double boiler while constantly stirring, then I let that cool before adding the rest of the ingredients. I also added 2 tbsp dark rum to the espresso. Holy smokes, this is heavenly. It's the first time I've made tiramisu and I'm so glad I chose this recipe. Thank you!
Emalee on 2026-01-23 (5 stars): This was AMAZING. I made the full batch 2 days in advance of the event I was making it for, and made a large dish of it plus two small containers of it to keep at home for my family. The large dish was goopy in the middle for my event, but the smaller containers were just fine (not gloopy). I wouldn't make it so far in advance next time, but I will ABSOLUTELY be making it again. I used butter cookies instead of ladyfingers and spooned the coffee/cocoa mixture on top of the cookies instead of dipping. Way easier. Thanks for such a great recipe, I can't wait to make it again. I originally had tried making a tiramisu icebox cake for an event and it was "good" but disappointing. I didn't want to give up on making tiramisu so I tried this recipe after the icebox cake failure and I'm so glad I did. This was raved over.
Linda on 2026-01-13 (5 stars): Amazing recipe! My daughter has made this 4 times already and everyone loves it!! Perfectly balanced flavors and a new fam fave! Thanks Gaby!!! 💜🙌🏻
Jessica on 2025-12-27 (5 stars): Not gonna lie...I was intimidated to make this but decided to give it a go for Christmas this year. I used Kahlua and pasteurized the eggs myself but otherwise followed this exactly as written. And it was PHENOMENAL. Gaby, as always, thank you for making us all seem like pros. I am exceeding grateful for you.
Erin on 2025-12-26 (5 stars): Every time I made this to bring somewhere, people tell me it is the BEST tiramisu they have ever had, and I totally agree. This is my third year making this recipe for Christmas and I have also made it for a work luncheon, I thought I would just add a little advice that helped me. The brand of lady finger matters for the dunk time. The first time I made this I did the quick dunk as instructed and the crackers never softened (I do not recall the brand). The next time I used a different brand of crackers, soaked them longer, and it was total mush. (Please note every time the taste was still unreal, it was just the consistency of the cracker.) I now use 2-200g packs of Vicenzovo Lady fingers (Amazon) and the dunk time as directed in this recipe works great. However, the amount of cream filling this recipe creates is double than what is needed for one 200g package of lady fingers. SO, I double the liquid ingredients (1/2 c. cocoa, 6TBS dark rum, 2c. espresso, 2TBS vanilla) and do the rest as directed. I did two 8x8 pans for Christmas, one for the in-laws on Christmas Eve, and one for my Italian family on Christmas day. There is enough of the cream filling in the original recipe for two layers in two pans. Both groups absolutely love this recipe. It is now December 26 and I had 5 bites of the leftover Tiramisu for breakfast and am resisting eating the rest but it is very hard because it is so good. This is why I only can make it once a year to share with others :) My final suggestion is that you write this recipe down if ever this page disappears because now my families will be expecting this delicious Tiramisu every year.
