Easy Tiramisu
An easy recipe for tiramisu, made with layers of sweetened mascarpone cheese, coffee and Kahlua soaked ladyfingers, fluffy whipped cream, and finished with a dusting of cocoa powder.
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Equipment
- Electric Mixer (Stand or Hand-Held)
- Medium-Sized Saucepan
- 8x11 or 9x13 Baking Dish
Ingredients
Filling
- 6 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- 1 lb mascarpone cheese or full fat block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 ¼ cups cold heavy whipping cream
Ladyfingers
- 2 pkg ladyfingers (a 7-oz package should contain about 24 ladyfingers, for 48 total)
- 1 ½ cups strong coffee or espresso
- ¼ cup Kahlua (optional)
Decoration
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
Make the Filling
- In a saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and milk. Over medium heat, cook the mixture for about 8-10 minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. It should have the consistency of a thin, pourable custard.
- Pour the custard into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap resting right against the surface of the custard, and chill in the refrigerator until completely cooled. (You can speed this up by chilling it in the freezer for 30-60 minutes.)
- Place the mascarpone cheese or cream cheese in a bowl, and use an electric mixer to beat until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add the vanilla and the cooled custard to the mascarpone, and beat for 1-2 minutes until smooth.
- Pour the cold heavy whipping cream into a separate bowl. Use your electric mixer to whip the cream for several minutes until soft, thick, fluffy peaks form.
- Add the whipped cream to the mascarpone mixture and fold together with a spatula until combined.
Assembly
- If you’re brewing coffee, make it double strength, then let it cool completely to room temperature. I made my espresso by whisking together 1 1/2 cups cold water with 3 tablespoons instant espresso powder, until dissolved, then stir in the Kahlua.
- Set out your pan and decide how you're going to arrange the ladyfingers. With two packages of ladyfingers, I had 48 ladyfingers. In an 8x11 pan, I was able to fit about 14 ladyfingers per layer, with the ones on the end cut in thirds to fit, so I assembled three layers, leaving me a few ladyfingers leftover. This size pan will make a very full layered dessert. If you use a 9x13 inch pan, your layers won't be quite so high, and you might also need a third package of ladyfingers to fill the pan with 3 layers.
- Start by dipping the ladyfingers in the coffee and Kahlua mixture, then arranging them in the bottom of the pan. When you dip them in the coffee, just very, very quickly dunk them in and then immediately lift them out. You do not want to hold them in the coffee to let them soak up a lot of coffee, or the ladyfingers will turn to mush, and your dessert will end up too soggy and watery. If you’re worried about letting them soak up too much coffee, you can also arrange the dry ladyfingers in the pan, dip a pastry brush in the coffee, and brush the coffee onto the ladyfingers.
- Once the pan is filled with the first layer of ladyfingers, spread 1/3 of the mascarpone filling over the ladyfingers.
- Repeat two more times, with layers of coffee-dipped ladyfingers, mascarpone filling, coffee-dipped ladyfingers, and finishing with the last of the mascarpone filling. For the top layer of filling, use an offset icing spatula to create some pretty swirls on top.
- Refrigerate the tiramisu for 4 hours, then use a small strainer or sifter to dust the cocoa powder over the top in an even layer before serving.
Notes
Cover the leftover tiramisu with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
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