Classic tiramisu: mascarpone, coffee, ladyfingers, no baking
The Italian dessert that became compulsory at every Polish party: a cream of mascarpone and egg yolks whisked over steam, whites for lightness, ladyfingers dipped in strong coffee for a second a side, and a thick layer of cocoa. No baking, half an hour of work, six hours in the fridge. Yolks warmed over steam make a thicker cream than raw ones, but the whites here stay raw — for children, pregnant women and older people make the egg-free version (in the tips).
Your own work in that: 30 min.
- Cream 20 min
- Layers 10 min
- Setting in the fridge 360 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneBrew the coffee and cool it
Brew 300 ml strong coffee (espresso, a moka pot, or 4 teaspoons of instant in 300 ml water) and cool it completely. Warm coffee would turn the biscuits to mush. Separate the eggs into yolks and whites.
Ingredients: 300 g ladyfinger biscuits (savoiardi) · 300 ml strong coffee, cooled · 2 tbsp cocoa powder
TipClassically 2 tablespoons of marsala, amaretto or rum go into the coffee. Without alcohol the dessert is just as good. For children, though, choose the egg-free version (in the tips), as the whites here are raw.
Strong and coldWhisk the yolks over steam
Whisk the yolks with the sugar and vanilla sugar in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water (the bowl not touching the water) for 5 minutes, until pale, thick and warm, about 70 °C. Take off the steam and whisk another 2 minutes until cooled a little.
Ingredients: 500 g mascarpone · 4 pcs eggs · 100 g sugar · 1 tbsp vanilla sugar · 1 pinch salt
TipWarming over steam pasteurises the yolks and makes the cream thick and stable. The whites, however, stay raw, so use very fresh eggs, and for children, pregnant women or older people make the egg-free version or use pasteurised eggs.
Five minutes over steam, pale and thickAdd the mascarpone
Fold the cold mascarpone into the cooled yolk mixture with a spatula, briefly, only until it forms a smooth cream. Mascarpone worked too long and too hard turns runny and starts to release its fat.
Briefly, only until smoothWhip the whites and fold in
Whip the whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, 3 minutes. Fold into the cream in two batches, gently, from the bottom up, so as not to lose the air. The cream should be fluffy but hold its shape on a spoon.
Whites folded from the bottom up, keeping the airDip the biscuits and lay the first layer
Dip each ladyfinger in the coffee for 1 second a side, no longer, and lay them snugly in the base of a 20 × 30 cm dish, sugared side up. Half the biscuits for the first layer.
TipA second really is a second. The biscuits draw moisture from the cream in the fridge; soaked longer they collapse into mush and leak coffee onto the base.
One second a side, no moreCream, biscuits, cream
Spread half the cream over the biscuits. Lay a second layer of dipped biscuits and cover with the rest of the cream, levelling with a spatula.
Biscuits, cream, biscuits, creamChill and dust with cocoa
Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours, ideally overnight: the cream sets, the biscuits soften, the flavours join. Sift the cocoa through a sieve just before serving, thickly; dusted earlier it goes damp and dark. Cut with a knife dipped in hot water. Keeps 3 days in the fridge.
A night in the fridge, cocoa at the end
Before you start
Egg-free
Briefly mix 500 g mascarpone with 80 g icing sugar, then fold in 250 ml cream (30 %) whipped stiff. The cream is lighter and entirely safe; everything else unchanged.
In glasses
The same layers in 8 glasses, biscuits snapped in half. Looks elegant and needs no cutting.
The cream is runny
The mascarpone was warm or overmixed, or the yolks under-whisked. Refrigerate the dish anyway: after 6 hours it firms up regardless; next time, mascarpone straight from the fridge and a short mix.
