Tiramisu
Tiramisùtee-ra-mee-SOO
Coffee-soaked biscuits between layers of thick, sweet mascarpone cream, under a dark dusting of bitter cocoa. This is the plain classic, with no cream and no liqueur, and the yolks gently cooked so anyone can eat it.
At a glance
- Sugar : mascarpone
- 1:5
- Active time
- 30 min
- Total time
- 395 min
- Makes
- 8 portions
- Serve
- Chilled
- Kit
- Hand mixer + dish
Ingredients
Note: Use pasteurised egg whites if you fold them in and are serving anyone pregnant, elderly, very young or immunocompromised. The yolks here are cooked.
Method
-
Brew and cool the coffee
Make 300 ml of strong coffee and let it cool completely in a shallow dish.
Warm coffee dissolves the biscuits on contact.
-
Cook the yolks with the sugar
Whisk the yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, without the bowl touching the water. Whisk constantly until the mixture is pale, thick and reaches 70°C. Four to six minutes. Take it off and keep whisking until it cools.
This is a sabayon. It makes the yolks safe and gives a more stable cream.
Whisk 4 to 6 minutes -
Beat in the mascarpone
Add the cold mascarpone to the cooled yolks and beat briefly on low speed until smooth and thick. Stop as soon as it is combined.
Mascarpone overbeaten turns grainy and splits.
-
Fold in the whites, if using
Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and fold them into the cream in two goes. It makes a lighter, mousse-like tiramisu. Without them it is denser and richer. Both are traditional.
-
Dip the biscuits quickly
Dip each savoiardi in the coffee for one second each side, no longer, and lay it in a 20 by 30 cm dish. Make one tight layer.
The biscuits keep absorbing as they sit. One second is enough.
-
Layer and repeat
Spread half the cream over the biscuits. Add a second layer of dipped biscuits and the rest of the cream. Smooth the top.
-
Chill overnight and dust
Cover and chill for at least six hours, ideally overnight. Dust thickly with cocoa through a sieve just before serving.
Dust it last. Cocoa left on overnight absorbs moisture and turns to a damp paste.
Chill 6 hours or overnight
Why this works
Tiramisu is a set cream, and the setting comes from fat and time rather than gelatine or baking. Mascarpone is around 40 percent fat or more. Beaten with the yolk mixture and chilled, that fat firms and the cream holds its shape on a plate. Overnight matters because the biscuits need time too. Savoiardi are a dry, porous sponge and they finish absorbing coffee in the fridge, softening until they are almost cake, while the cream around them firms.
Cooking the yolks to 70°C is a modern change, and a good one. It brings the yolks to a temperature that greatly reduces the risk from salmonella, and it whips them into a sabayon, a stable foam held by partly set egg proteins. That foam gives the mascarpone cream more lift and makes it less likely to weep. Whisking constantly and keeping the bowl off the water stops the yolks scrambling.
The coffee has to be strong and unsweetened because it is fighting a great deal of fat and sugar. Weak coffee gives a tiramisu that tastes of sweet cream. Cocoa on top adds a dry, bitter edge, which is why Dutch process, less acidic and darker, suits it best.
The origin is argued over. The most widely cited version is from the restaurant Le Beccherie in Treviso in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Friuli has a competing claim from the 1950s, and Italy's agriculture ministry listed tiramisu as a traditional product of Friuli Venezia Giulia in 2017, which Treviso did not take kindly. The name means pick me up, which refers to the coffee and, by most accounts, the sugar.
Variations
- With Marsala: 30 ml of Marsala in the coffee, a common addition though not in the Treviso original.
- With cream: 200 ml whipped cream folded in instead of the egg whites, for a stable, lighter cream.
- Individual: layered in glasses, which needs only four hours to set.
- Tiramisu latte: the drink. See tiramisu latte.
If you fold in raw egg whites, use pasteurised whites for anyone pregnant, elderly, very young or immunocompromised. The cooked yolks in this method are brought to 70°C.
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Questions
Is tiramisu made with raw eggs?
Traditionally, yes. This recipe cooks the yolks with the sugar over simmering water to 70°C, which makes them safer and gives a more stable cream. If you add whites, use pasteurised ones.
How long should tiramisu set?
At least six hours in the fridge, ideally overnight. The biscuits soften and the cream firms as it chills.
Why is my tiramisu runny?
Usually the mascarpone was overbeaten and split, the biscuits were soaked too long, or it did not chill long enough. Beat the mascarpone only until smooth and dip the biscuits for one second.
Does tiramisu have alcohol?
Not in the Treviso original. Many recipes add Marsala, rum or a coffee liqueur to the coffee, which is a matter of taste.
How long does tiramisu keep?
Two to three days covered in the fridge. It is often best on the second day.