RECIPE: Authentic Italian Dessert-gasm Tiramisù

This coffee-flavored dessert will have you singing an aria from Così fan tutte

After you’ve lived in Italy for a while, you discover what real Italian food is all about—and sadly, it bears no relationship to what we’ve managed to Frankenstein in the United States. First, Italians do not smother their pastas, pizzas, or entrees in cheese. That’s Olive Garden. Additionally, I’ve never had a chewy, buttery, garlicky breadstick here (also Olive Garden). Second, salads aren’t appetizers; they’re a second or third course intended as a palate cleanser between more substantive fare. Third, desserts aren’t “slabs” of bread and fifty cups of sugar like what you get at The Cheesecake Factory; they’re light and flavorful, the perfect complement to your meal, and won’t automatically spackle themselves to your thighs.

And the great thing about tiramisù is its simplicity. Tiramisù is a no-cooking-necessary dessert made of savoiardi (ladyfingers) dipped in coffee and then layered with a mixture of sugar, eggs, and mascarpone cheese flavored with cocoa. With so few ingredients, you know the overall taste won’t be overwhelmed by too much sweet, fat, or chocolate.

Let me walk you through the steps. Remember: there’s very little opportunity for you to go wrong, so don’t be afraid of working with “exotic” ingredients. Also, the traditional recipe doesn’t call for liqueur, but you can add some if you like that extra bite. Other than coffee liqueur, you could use amaretto, dark rum, marsala, brandy, or Frangelico.

Ingredients:

2 cups mascarpone cheese (cream cheese is not mascarpone, which has only two ingredients: heavy cream and citric acid—so, no substitutions!)

24 savoiardi cookies (we call them ladyfingers. They’re dry, egg-based, sweet sponge cakes roughly shaped like a large finger.)

1 cup strongly brewed coffee

4 egg yolks

3 egg whites

6 tbsps. sugar

2 tbsps. cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Divide the egg yolks and the egg whites into two separate bowls. Add 3 tbsps. of sugar to each. Using an electric whisk (preferably) or a fork, whisk the egg whites until they are stiff and glossy.

2. Whisk the egg yolks with an electric whisk until pale and thick.

3. Add the mascarpone to the egg yolks and mix until creamy.

4. Fold in the egg whites one-third at a time until the egg yolks, the egg whites, and the mascarpone are completely blended.

5. Pour the coffee (or the coffee and 4 tbsps. of coffee liqueur) into a shallow bowl and dip in the lady fingers (savoiardi cookies). You want to dip them into the liquid quickly (around 2-3 seconds), being sure to soak them thoroughly on each side.

6. Arrange the soaked ladyfingers in a glass or ceramic dish (I use a 20X20 cm dish), breaking the pieces to fit, if necessary.

7. Add half of the mascarpone mixture over the cookies and spread out in an even layer.

8. Continue with another layer of ladyfingers and mascarpone.

9. Dust the top with a “coverage” layer of cocoa powder. In other words, no mascarpone should be showing.

10. Chill in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours. Cut and serve.

You’re done! After giving the savioardi cookies time to marinate in the refrigerator, you will have a quick, easy, very Italian dessert to trot out when you want to look fancy and authentic without the heavy lifting.

Buon appetito!

If you’ve made tiramisù before, or have test driven this recipe and want to share your results, here’s the place to do it. Leave your comments below.

Copyright © 2022 Stacey Eskelin