Authentic Tiramisu

Walking into my grandmother’s kitchen, the scent of espresso and mascarpone always meant one thing – tiramisu day. She’d laugh at how I’d hover around, waiting for that first heavenly spoonful of what she called “pick-me-up cake.”

This isn’t just dessert – it’s layers of coffee-soaked memories wrapped in clouds of mascarpone cream. The best part? You don’t need any fancy equipment or professional skills to make it taste like it came straight from a Roman café.

Let’s skip the fussy steps and get straight to the good stuff. This is my grandmother’s recipe, stripped down to its essential glory. No bells, no whistles – just pure, classic tiramisu that’ll make your guests think you’ve been hiding Italian heritage.

Ingredients

• 3 large egg yolks, cold
• 1 cup unpacked powdered sugar, sifted
• 2¼ cups full-fat mascarpone, cold
• 27-36 Italian ladyfingers (hard ones)
• ½ cup cooled brewed espresso or strong coffee
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Steps

1. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and powdered sugar with an electric mixer (whisk attachment) on medium-high speed until creamy and the sugar dissolves completely, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add cold mascarpone to the egg mixture and mix on medium speed just until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Don’t overmix or it’ll get grainy.
3. Quick-dip both sides of each ladyfinger into the coffee (1-2 seconds per side) and create your first layer in a 9x7x3-inch or 8x8x3-inch casserole dish. You’ll need 9-12 ladyfingers depending on their size.
4. Spread about one-third of the mascarpone cream over the coffee-soaked ladyfingers. Repeat the layering twice more: ladyfingers, cream, ladyfingers, cream, ladyfingers, cream.
5. Wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (8-12 hours). Just before serving, dust the top with cocoa powder.

Substitutions That Actually Work

• Replace mascarpone with a mixture of 8 oz cream cheese + 2 tablespoons heavy cream + 2 tablespoons butter (room temperature)
• Use decaf espresso if serving late at night
• Swap ladyfingers with pound cake slices (but reduce coffee soak time to 1 second per side)

Making It Diabetes-Friendly

• Use monk fruit sweetener instead of powdered sugar (use ¾ cup as it’s sweeter)
• Replace regular ladyfingers with almond flour-based keto ladyfingers
• Add 1 teaspoon espresso powder to the coffee to enhance flavor without extra liquid

Tips & Storage

• Keep mascarpone cold until mixing – room temperature will make it separate
• Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days (but it’s best within 48 hours)
• Don’t freeze – the texture becomes grainy when thawed
• Make coffee extra strong – the flavor mellows as it sits