Tiramisu [from italian tirami su or “pick me up” or “cheer me up”) is a coffee-flavoured Italian dessert made of ladyfingers (savoiardi) dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, and mascarpone cheese, flavoured with cocoa.
Tiramisu appears to have been invented in the 1960s or 1970s in the region of Veneto (Italy)or in the Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Numerous variations of Tiramisu exist using other cakes or sweet, other types of cookies, other cheese mixtures and others containing no eggs at all.

The following recipe is a complete and easy one very close to the classic one.

Difficulty level : easy

Prep time : 15 min

Rest time : 4 hours

Total time : 4 h 15 min

Yield : 6 servings

6 eggs

2 cups mascarpone

3 cups ladyfingers

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup bitter cocoa powder

2/3 cup coffee

1 pinch salt

2 tbsp Amaretto almond liqueur or Marsala liqueur

Beforehand :

• Take out the mascarpone and eggs at least 30 min before starting so that they are at room temperature.

Mascarpone cream :

• Separate the yolks from the egg whites, put them in two different bowls.
• Add 6 tbsp sugar to the egg yolks and mix with a whisk or electric mixer until the mixture becomes clear and fluffy.
• Add the mascarpone and mix until the mixture becomes smooth and fluffy.
• Whisk the egg whites until they have a dense and firm consistency.
• Add 6 tbsp sugar gradually and continue to whisk.
• Once the right consistency is reached, add very delicately to the egg yolks-mascarpone preparation, incorporating from the bottom up, so that the egg whites do not lose their softness.
• Pour the cream into a piping bag and put in the refrigerator.

Coffee-Amaretto (or Marsala) liquor :

• Mix the remaining sugar with the cold coffee (and possibly with the Amaretto or Marsala liqueur) to obtain the liqueur used to soak the Savoyard biscuits (on both sides, quickly, to prevent them from becoming too wet).

Assembly :

• Take a small dish (8*10 inch) going to the oven.
• Place a first row of cookies (either dry for a crunchier base and a milder coffee flavor or well soaked for a more intense flavor and spongy consistency), spread a layer of cold cream on it, sprinkle a little cocoa powder.
• Cover with a layer of soaked cookies.
• Cover with another layer of cream, then with soaked cookies and so on until all the ingredients are used up.
• The last layer should always end with cocoa to give a smooth and uniform tiramisu.
• Put in the refrigerator for at least 4 h.
• Before serving, sprinkle the surface with bitter cocoa powder.

NB: There are many alternatives to this traditional recipe. For those who don’t like the coffee taste, it is possible to dip the cookies in a strawberry syrup. The mascarpone can be mixed with pistachios or cherries.