Homemade tiramisu, from the ladyfingers to the mascarpone cream, is so rewarding to make from scratch. Your efforts will be worth it!
It’s been over a month since our trip to Italy. Oh, how I miss it! My husband’s favorite thing to eat on vacation was the caramel flavored tiramisu from a place in Rome called Two Sizes. As their name implies, they serve tiramisu in two sizes. When we returned back to the states, we found a place that made a tiramisu that rivaled the one in Rome. Alas, I wasn’t able to get a hold of the recipe.
Imagine my joy when I was flipping through the free Neighbors magazine in the mail and saw a recipe for a homemade tiramisu. The mailer is one of those little publications that are mostly made up of advertisements from local businesses. An Italian woman named Chiara moved to the neighborhood and shared her tiramisu recipe the readership. The instructions were pretty sparse, so I had to fill in some of the blanks.
While I typically use store-bought ladyfingers in tiramisu, I figured that I’d try to make it on my own. When I’ve attempted tiramisu in the past, the texture wasn’t quite right. It could have been from the preservatives in the store-bought ladyfingers, so I wanted to eliminate that possibility. While this particular tiramisu took a little bit of time, it was well worth it. Also, being a non-coffee drinker, I had to ask the local Starbucks barista on her recommendation for the best coffee to use. Because I didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg for 2 cups of espresso, we settled on a medium roast of coffee.
Well, I should have used the espresso because the coffee flavor wasn’t pronounced enough. However, the mascarpone cream filling and the texture of the ladyfingers was spot on. When I make this again (and there WILL be a next time), I will likely bit the bullet and buy the espresso. I needed about one full cup of coffee to make this tiramisu, so hopefully I won’t have to spend too much on the espresso next time.
This was such a lovely reminder of our trip in April. Here’s hoping we can go again soon!
Husband’s rating: 4 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4.5 out of 5
My rating: 4.5 out of 5
Homemade tiramisu
Ingredients
- 2 packages ladyfingers I made my own - see below for the link to the recipe
- 500 grams mascarpone cheese I needed two containers
- 5 large eggs separated
- 5 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- pinch salt
- 2 cups coffee espresso preferred
Instructions
- If you are making ladyfingers from scratch, do that first. Make sure they are cooled before assembling your tiramisu.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, beat the (5) egg whites and the pinch of salt on high speed until you achieve stiff peaks. Set aside (or transfer to another bowl if you are using the bowl of a stand mixer - no need to clean the bowl).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (no need to clean the bowl from before) or in a separate large bowl if using a handheld mixer, mix the mascarpone, 5 egg yolks, and granulated sugar together on medium speed. The mixture should look white and creamy. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape down the sides a few times.
- Turn the mixer off. Using a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula, gently fold in the egg whites. Make sure you fold from bottom to top and top to bottom and use a gently motion to incorporate the egg whites and being sure not to deflate them. Set this aside.
- Get out a 9"x13" rectangular baking pan (I like using a clear glass pan). Dip the ladyfingers very briefly into the coffee and set them in a single layer in your pan. Make sure you do not dunk the ladyfingers or else they will get very soggy.
- Add a layer of cream on top and spread it even on top of the ladyfingers. Repeat until you run out of ladyfingers. The top layer should be cream.
- Sprinkle the top with unsweetened cocoa powder. I used a little sifter so that there weren't any clumps.
- Allow the tiramisu to set for about an hour before slicing and serving.