When you go out to eat, what’s your favorite ‘I don’t-get-that-at-home’ dessert? Because ours is definitely tiramisu! It seems so delicate and unattainable outside of a nice Italian restaurant, right? Then one day, on impulse, I decided to try making it. Literally, I walked past lady fingers at the grocery store, grabbed some and told Kevin, “I’m making tiramisu today.” Surely he was excited but probably also confused as hell!
As it turns out, my easy homemade tiramisu recipe is pretty simple. The hardest part is getting the egg yolks cooked, so there’s a bit of extra guidance there, but otherwise it’s a cinch!
Easy Homemade Tiramisu Ingredients
Shockingly, there’s not too many ingredients in this delicious dessert. Most are household items with a couple less common things you’ll probably need to pick up.
- 14 oz of ladyfingers (approx. 44 ladyfingers, your use may vary slightly)
- 16 oz of espresso (can be brewed, canned or instant espresso)
- 24 oz of mascarpone cheese (found by soft refrigerated cheeses i.e. cream cheese or ricotta, may not be at very basic grocery stores)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 6 large egg yolks (this tool makes it easy)
- 1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream
- Approx. 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (you’ll need one of these, too)
Note: all cold ingredients should be kept in the fridge until use, including your espresso. Warm espresso will mush your lady fingers faster, so the colder the better.
My Tiramisu Filling Hack
The eggs are tricky to cook because with too much heat too fast, they’ll scramble. Here’s how I get the fully cooked as quickly and simply as possible.
Separate Egg Yolks into a Heat Safe Bowl
First, get a pot of boiling water going. Then, separate egg yolks into a microwave/heat safe bowl, adding the salt and sugar afterwards.
Pro Tip: save the egg whites for breakfast, they’re good for a day in an airtight container.
Be cautious about placing a glass bowl directly on a hot pot. I placed mine on a metal cheese grater over the boiling water to keep it from contact shattering. The whole time I thought “wow, a heat safe silicone bowl would be PERFECT for this”.
A combination of microwaving and stovetop mixing was key to cooking this in a reasonable amount of time. Many recipes use stovetop only, but that’s way more arduous and truly makes no difference. I was mixing for 10+ minutes and the eggs barely hit 100 degrees. For reference, 165 degrees is fully cooked.
Pro Tip: To ensure your eggs are fully cooked, use a reliable food thermometer. I used my go-to meat thermometer which I’ve had a while and adore. It’s bluetooth compatible and syncs to your phone, no more reading tiny dashes on a manual thermometer!
Keep Eggs Mixed and Cooking
Situate the bowl safely over the boiling water and mix constantly. This is the hand mixer I used, it’s the best!
Once everything is well mixed (I use the low 1 and 2 setting on my hand mixer for this part), microwave it for 30 seconds. This will drastically increase the temperature, cutting your cook time WAY down. Then, put it back on the stove and mix again for another 30-60 seconds before microwaving again. Repeat this cycle 2-3 times until the mixture reaches 165 degrees internally.
Once fully cooked, let the mixture cool for 2-3 minutes.
How to Make Tiramisu
Now that the eggs are cooked, let’s assemble the rest of my easy homemade tiramisu.
Start by adding the mascarpone cheese and vanilla into the egg mixture and beating until well combined (I used a low, 1-2 setting on my hand mixer). Don’t overly mix as the mascarpone cheese can curdle.
Next, place 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream in a separate bowl and mix on medium-high speed (speed 5 on my mixer) until the peaks are slightly stiff. They’ll stand up but have slight curls on the top, like above.
Fold half of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture with a spatula. Once well mixed, repeat with the second half of the mascarpone mixture.
Once all of your mascarpone mixture is combined with your whipped cream, you’re ready to layer your homemade tiramisu.
Important Ladyfinger Prep Tips
Functionally speaking, it doesn’t matter which way you layer the espresso dipped ladyfingers in the pan. Do whatever fits best!
However, it’s SO IMPORTANT to only quickly dunk the ladyfingers in espresso. I can’t stress this enough. It should be a quick, flash dunk on each side, letting excess drip off. If they’re soaked, especially the bottom layer, the tiramisu will be mushy or even watery. You don’t want that! The espresso in that bottom layer has nowhere to go but the pan so the cookies will be very mushy with too much espresso.
This picture is the perfect example. The left side of the bottom layer has too much espresso while the right side maintained the perfect amount. When you cut into the tiramisu you want to see a dark, espresso ring around the ladyfingers and a fluffy inside. The tops on this slice are a perfect example as well!
Layering Easy Homemade Tiramisu
Assembling the tiramisu is pretty simple. It’s a layer of espresso dipped ladyfingers on the bottom, half of the mascarpone mixture, another layer of ladyfingers and the remainder of the mascarpone mixture. Then you finish the top with a thick layer of finely sifted cocoa powder.
The mascarpone mixture was pleasantly easy to spread. I was nervous it’d be like frosting a cake and I may tear apart the ladyfingers while spreading, but as long as you’re not forceful you’ll be fine. The ladyfingers are tough when not overly soaked!
Top with Fine Cocoa Powder
First, if you don’t have a sifter, buy one now (like this inexpensive sifter from Amazon). It makes a HUGE difference on your final product. You don’t want big chunks of cocoa on top ruining your perfect presentation.
There’s fancier cocoa powder out there, but this is all my store had. Honestly, no one even noticed and it tasted wonderful! If you want try something higher quality, a more worldly grocer may have additional options.
To coat the top, add a little cocoa powder into your sifter and shake gently back and forth about 2-3 inches above the tiramisu. Do this until the top is fully coated and the yellow mascarpone mixture isn’t visible on top at all.
Cocoa Powder Sifting Hack
Afraid of making a mess? Nip that possibility in the bud before you even get started with this trick.
Only open your cocoa powder a tiny bit, don’t rip the whole seal off! This will control the flow as you dispense it into the sifter.
Let the Tiramisu Sit Overnight
This is a ‘the longer the better’ scenario. Many resources say let it sit 8-10 hours, but mine sat nearly a full 24 hours and based on that experience I think it peaks right around 24 hours later.
Keep in mind, it does need to be eaten within 4-5 days for optimum freshness. Don’t let it sit too long before digging in!
When are you giving this easy homemade tiramisu recipe a try? Soon, I hope! It’s a delicious no-bake recipe that’s especially nice in the warm weather so you don’t have the oven going in the heat. Let me know your favorite parts of the recipe or tips from your own experience in the comments!
Looking for a more decadent dessert option? Try my Grandma’s Gooey Brownies recipe!
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