Better Than a Roman Cafe: Master This Authentic Italian Tiramisu That Melts in Your Mouth

If you’ve ever traveled to Rome and tried the traditional tiramisu in one of the Italian capital’s best cafes, it’s likely you never let go of a thought to try and make the famous dessert in your own kitchen.

Despite seeming a bit complicated, the recipe for the classic tiramisu is actually very easy to follow, even allowing to experiment with taste and substitute coffee flavor with whatever else you like. However, it’s better to master the classic recipe first — and here it is.

Ingredients (for 8 portions): 500 g of mascarpone cheese, 100 g of ladyfingers, 6 egg yolks, 250 ml of coffee, 6 tbsp of sugar, 2 tbsp of cocoa powder, berries for garnish (optional).

Wash the eggs thoroughly, then carefully separate the whites from the yolks.

Beat the yolks with sugar using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until the mixture is light, fluffy, and smooth. You can also place the bowl with the yolks over a pot of boiling water to beat the mixture over a double boiler, but be sure to remove the cream from the double boiler immediately after beating.

Add the mascarpone to the beaten yolks and beat again.

Brew the coffee. Tradition has it that a little fortified Marsala wine is added to the coffee for soaking, but you can also use amaretto or even cognac, or you can do without alcohol at all.

Put a small amount of cream into a suitable, fairly deep dish. Quickly dip the cookies in the coffee and arrange them in a row.

It’s important not to leave the cookies in the coffee for too long (2–3 seconds is enough), otherwise the dessert will end up too watery.

Spread about half of the cream over the cookies, then arrange another row of ladyfingers, making sure to place them crosswise to the previous row. Spread the remaining cream and smooth it out evenly. Sift cocoa powder over the dessert using a fine-mesh sieve.

Cover the dish with plastic wrap or a lid and place it in the fridge for 3-4 hours to set.