KO EN Italian Dessert⏱ 30 minEdit history

Tiramisu

Name: Tiramisu
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 250 g Mascarpone; 3 Eggs; 80 g Sugar; 1 pack Savoiardi (ladyfingers); 1.5 cups Strong espresso; 3 tbsp Cocoa powder; 2 tbsp Marsala wine or rum; Salt

Italy's beloved no-bake dessert — savoiardi soaked in espresso, layered with airy mascarpone cream, and dusted with cocoa. Just chill and set; a grown-up, coffee-scented icebox cake.

Ingredients

6servings

Mascarpone · room temperature250 g
Eggs · yolks and whites separated3
Sugar80 g
Savoiardi (ladyfingers) · about 200g1 pack
Strong espresso · cooled1.5 cups
Cocoa powder · unsweetened, to finish3 tbsp
Flavor (optional)
Marsala wine or rum · stirred into the coffee2 tbsp
Salt · a pinch for the whites

Steps

Whip the yolks with half the sugar until pale, then beat in the room-temperature mascarpone until smooth.
⏲ 5 min
Whip the whites with a pinch of salt and the rest of the sugar to stiff peaks.
⏲ 5 min
Fold the meringue into the mascarpone cream in 2-3 additions with cutting strokes to keep it airy.
⏲ 2 min
Dip the savoiardi in the cooled espresso (and Marsala) for just 1-2 seconds — over-soaking turns them mushy.
⏲ 1 min
Line a dish with the soaked cookies and spread on the cream. Repeat for a second layer.
⏲ 3 min
Cover and chill at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Dust generously with sifted cocoa powder just before serving.
⏲ 240 min

Tips & Variations

Variations

Alcohol-free: Skip the Marsala/rum and use just coffee — kid-friendly.
Yolks only (no meringue): Fold in whipped cream instead of whites for a richer set.
Strawberry tiramisu: Soak in strawberry and milk instead of coffee.
Matcha: Soak in matcha instead of coffee for a green-tea version.

Tips

Nothing in this dessert gels. Nanaimo bar asks the question this page ought to answer: "Being no-bake is not the interesting part. Tiramisu and panna cotta skip the oven too." Panna cotta sets with gelatine. This uses none, and no agar either. What firms it is fat and air — milk fat in the mascarpone stiffening at fridge temperature, and the air beaten into the meringue. It is the same class Nanaimo bar describes for its own middle layer: not a gel; firm because the butter is firm, and left at room temperature it simply slumps.
So the four hours is not setting time. It is two other things. One is the fat coming down to fridge temperature and stiffening (serving temperature). The other is the savoiardi equilibrating. Genoise, citing umm ali, states the principle: only something already dry takes up liquid and still holds its structure — which is why a sponge meant to be soaked is deliberately a dry one. A savoiardi is that property pushed as far as it goes.
Which is what makes "dip, don't soak" the load-bearing line. One to two seconds puts in roughly what the biscuit can hold. Past that there is no dry part left to keep its shape, so it collapses in the tin — and the coffee the biscuit could not hold has to go somewhere, which is into the cream. A slice that will not cut cleanly usually failed here rather than in the fridge.
Folding the meringue gently is about structure, not lightness. The air is one of the two things holding this up. Stirring it out is not a failure to make it airy; it is removing half the support.
Why the cocoa waits until serving. It is a dry powder sitting on a moist cream. Dusted early it draws water up from underneath and goes from powder to damp patches.
Bring the mascarpone to room temperature so it doesn't clump.
Dip, don't soak the savoiardi — 1-2 seconds is plenty, or they collapse.
Fold the meringue in gently — stirring deflates it.
At least 4 hours chilling is essential for clean slices.
Dust the cocoa right before serving so it doesn't go damp.
If raw eggs worry you, use pasteurized eggs.