Last updated on April 24th, 2019 at 07:03 pm
Jo’s Easy Tiramisu – This recipe is the easiest Tiramisu you’ll ever make, no bake, delicious and an absolute crowd pleaser! You’ll never guess where I got the recipe from!
Tiramisu is one of those wonderful cakes, and probably one of the most popular Italian cakes. I’ve been making Tiramisu, specifically this recipe, for a couple decades now and the recipe is about as easy as they come. I remember about 20 years ago a friend of mine came over and brought me some Tiramisu that she had made. I’ve always been a fan of Tiramisu and it’s one of those desserts that I always order whenever I’m in an Italian restaurant.
I really liked her version though and she said she’d teach me to make it because it was really easy. She then told me her secret. She had gotten the recipe from the back of the lid of the Mascarpone cheese. I can’t remember what brand it was now but I went and bought the mascarpone cheese and sure enough right there on the back of the lid was this simple recipe for this beloved Italian cake.
This was so easy to make, that I remember I was making it pretty much every week and taking it to work to share with my colleagues. Needless to say they all loved me and every time there was a potluck or a get together at someone’s house, I was always asked, begged rather, to bring my famous Tiramisu.
WHAT IS TIRAMISU
Tiramisu is favorite Italian dessert consisting of layers of lady fingers or sponge cake soaked in coffee and brandy, mascarpone cheese and powdered chocolate. Did you know Tiramisu quite literally means “a pick me up.”
HOW TO MAKE TIRAMISU
Seriously though, this is probably hands down the best no bake dessert out there. Couldn’t get any easier! Normally I wouldn’t top this with cool whip, but this time I decide to go for extra decadent. I topped it with cool whip, dusted it with cocoa powder then topped it with some white chocolate shavings! Simply divine!
I shared this tiramisu recipe with you approximately 6 years ago and have been meaning to take new pictures for years now. The pictures were simply horrendous. That’s all I have to say!
Over the years you guys have asked me about the raw eggs in the mascarpone cheese mixture and if it’s ok to eat it. As long as you’re using good quality and fresh eggs, yes, it’s absolutely fine. Go with good free range organic eggs, those are the best.
CRAVING MORE DESSERTS? TRY THESE
Jo's Easy Tiramisu
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 lb mascarpone cheese *
- 24 ladyfinger cookies **
- 2 cups brewed coffee
- 1/4 cup rum
- 2 cups cool whip optional
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup white chocolate shavings optional
Instructions
- Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla extract in your mixer on medium high speed until almost white and thick, could take 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the mascarpone and beat until everything is well combined. The mixture should be quite thick. Set aside.
- In a shallow plate combine the coffee and rum together.
- Dip the ladyfingers in the coffee mixture one at a time and arrange 12 of them in the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking dish. You don't have to soak them in the coffee for a long time, just briefly dip them on both sides, no more than a second. Spread half of the cheese mixture over the ladyfingers and repeat with the remaining ladyfingers, then cheese mixture.
- Cover this and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours.
- Dust with cocoa powder just before serving. You can also top with white chocolate shavings.
Watch How To Make It
Notes
- Cover with plastic wrap or in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days, no more, since the ladyfingers will break down and become mushy. However, the tiramisu is better the 2nd day.
- Use rum extract or vanilla extract for a non-alcoholic substitute.
- * Mascarpone cheese is an Italian cream cheese coagulated by the addition of certain acidic substances such as lemon juice, or vinegar.
- ** Ladyfinger cookies are dry, egg-based and sweet sponge biscuits shaped like a large finger.
- Make sure your eggs are good quality and as fresh as possible. Best of course are free-range organic eggs.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition
SHERI AGUILLON says
March 2, 2019 at 6:58 amJo, I can never access your videos. I press on the link that says, “jump to video” and try to select the word “video” in the recipe itself, but nothing ever happens.
Can you help me to be able to see them?
Thank you,
Joanna Cismaru says
March 3, 2019 at 4:34 pmIf you have a popup blocker for ads, the video won’t show up. You need to disable that before the videos work.
Kate says
December 17, 2018 at 9:11 amDo you put the whipped cream on top before or after you refrigerate it? It looks awesome, and I can’t wait to try it!
Nicole Beaulieu says
December 17, 2018 at 11:42 amIf you’re using real cream whipped cream, put it on right before you serve it!
CbBakes says
July 17, 2018 at 11:06 amThanks for posting non-alcohol alternatives. 5 years sober, but want to make this as close as possible to your recipe without the alcohol.
Rosemarie Carneal says
December 18, 2017 at 11:13 amJo
Please tell me how I can get an answer to a question I asked about the new love of my eating
world
Have written last week and really would so like your input asap – my dinner is this week
I asked if I could make the Tiramisu on Thursday for a Saturday dinner party?
Will be unable to do the day before as I have always done with this recipe – as you suggested but this time it just won’
t work out to do on Friday
Know it’a better the day after being made – although there usually is nothing but crumbs left – just worried that two days might make it soggy (like my very first one due to not
following your directions)
Please help if you can – would so appreciate it
And just want to put a PS in for all your readers
First of all – now listen up – anything that JO sends out is wonderfully perfect and as yummy as she says
Second – this Tiramisu – without a doubt – is the very best EVER!!
Don’t usually order desserts in restaurants but now it seems my husband must order Tiramisu if it is on the menu just to compare it to JO’s
And JO’s wins hands down every time!
What a wonderful find, Jo
And thanks for everything –
Hope you have a minute to help me out!!
Joanna Cismaru says
December 18, 2017 at 11:23 amHi Rosemarie! It’s possible your comment went to spam, but anyway I’m here to answer your question now. Yes you can make it on Thursday. That’s the great thing about Tiramisu, the longer it sits the better it gets. Tiramisu will last about 4 days in the fridge and you can also freeze it and it will last about a month. Hope this helps!
Rosemarie Carneal says
December 20, 2017 at 12:33 pmThanks, Jo –
Appreciate the quick answer and ALL your recipes too
Our favorites are this one and the Blueberry Galettes – made those with cooked pears and fresh ginger too – and that was super too
Know I’m getting your cookbook from Santa – anxiously awaiting that
Happy Holidays to you and your family – hope they are super
Thank again
Rosemarie
Joanna Cismaru says
December 20, 2017 at 12:38 pmMy pleasure! Happy holidays to you and your family as well!
farzana says
January 30, 2017 at 10:41 pmHi.. can you suggest an alternative for Rum that is non alcoholic?
Joanna Cismaru says
January 31, 2017 at 9:20 amI would completely just omit the rum, but if you really wanted a bit of rum flavor, you could add a couple tsp of rum extract, though that may still have very little alcohol content, or vanilla extract.
mary says
January 26, 2017 at 7:27 pmThis looks so good – I’d eat the whole thing – SO delicious:)
Tanya says
January 25, 2017 at 9:12 amLight or Dark Rum?
Fenne Kieken says
January 25, 2017 at 9:52 amEither type of rum will work for this or even your favorite liquor can be substituted
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
January 25, 2017 at 7:09 amOh wow – this does most definitely sound like an easy recipe – I LOVE tiramisu – but too intimidated to try making it – though this recipe might just be shashi-friendly! Thanks so much for sharing it again!
Fenne Kieken says
January 25, 2017 at 9:56 amYes Tiramisu always sounds like it is a difficult recipe to make and this recipe is super fun and super easy. Do give it a try and let us know how you liked it.
Mahes says
November 24, 2016 at 8:59 pmHi Jo!
I don’t have a mixer, can I use a blender instead? or just manually do it with a spoon?
Thanks in advance and Happy Thanksgiving!!
Mahes
Joanna Cismaru says
November 25, 2016 at 9:26 amI think it depends what kind of blender you have, but honestly I haven’t tried with a blender. You could always do it by hand with a whisk,
sarah says
February 26, 2014 at 2:55 amLooks amazing! this is my first attempt~want to make ahead of time; could it sit overnight and still be good to serve the next day?
jo says
February 26, 2014 at 3:06 amIt will be better the next day, the longer it sits, the better it will taste. 🙂
Yvonne says
September 26, 2013 at 4:43 pmHi Jo!
Thanks for this awesome recipe!! This is actually the first time I’ve made a cake and it turned out so much better than I ever imagined 🙂 It’s a simple simple recipe, (even for a beginner like me) tastes amazing and has a great texture; I urge all of you who happen to stumble across this recipe to be sure to try it out!!
jo says
September 27, 2013 at 12:42 amThanks Yvonne, so glad you liked it. 🙂
Julio says
September 10, 2013 at 2:16 pmI’ve made tiramisu twice now from this recipe and both times it came out amazing.
I’ve posted it on my blog, check it out http://viewfromthefield.blogspot.com/
Joy says
July 22, 2013 at 7:06 pmHi there! Thank you so much for posting this recipe. The pictures made it easy to follow! It was sooo delicious & my husband loved it. I added a splash or two of amaretto to the coffee & rum mixture just because we had some on hand. I can’t wait to make another one! Looking forward to reading more of your posts! Thanks again!
jo says
July 23, 2013 at 12:32 amThanks Joy, glad you liked it and it turned out, it’s one of my favorite recipes that I’ve been making for years. 🙂
Julio says
September 11, 2013 at 1:35 pmThe amaretto addition sounds incredible! I am making more today and will include the amaretto. Thanks for that idea!
roxy says
November 25, 2012 at 1:39 amI made Tiramisu last week, using a similar recipe and it was a total disaster. First off, the egg yolks didn’t turn white, like yours. I suspect the problem is that I didn’t use the right mixer knives. I use the same ones all the time, for mashed potatoes and mixing cake batter. My hubby thinks I should have used the other knives (I never used them, but I suspect they’re used for whipped cream and egg whites and such). Well, even if it didn’t look right, I added the mascarpone and kept mixing. I used the same knives 🙂 to mix the egg whites and they weren’t as fluffy as they were supposed be either. Well, long story short, I even assembled the tiramisu and even attempted eating it :))) It tasted ok, like regular tiramisu, but it looked weird and it definitely have a weird texture. It ended up in the garbage 🙁
So, what do you think? Suggestions?
P.S. I am Romanian too…. I am supposed to be a better cook, right? 🙂
And for people who don’t want to use raw eggs, they can use the bain-marie method. Hope you don’t mind if I add a link I just found
http://lola-elise.com/recipes/tiramisu-recipe
jo says
November 25, 2012 at 2:07 amHi Roxy,
Nice to meet another Romanian, always makes me happy. You made me laugh so I thank you for that. 🙂 Well I’m not sure what you did wrong, but if you use the mixer attachment like you see in my pictures, it should work, make sure you turn it on high, so usually when you mix egg yolk and sugar at a fast speed you will end up with a light mixture, it’s kind of like making mayonnaise, except in mayonnaise you use oil. You should use the attachment for whipped cream because this is close to that. I really hope you have better luck next time. 🙂
Marie louise says
November 4, 2012 at 8:49 pmEating raw eggs can sometimes upset my stomach is there something you use to substitute? Your recipe looks easy and delicious! Thanks for posting.
jo says
November 4, 2012 at 11:52 pmHi there,
If you want to skip the eggs, you could try a mixture of mascarpone cheese, whip cream and maybe some vanilla pudding in there. I made a similar cream mixture for the strawberry trifle recipe you can find here. It would work wonderfully with the tiramisu.
Vijay says
August 7, 2012 at 3:37 pmIs there a way to make this without the egg? Consuming raw egg is not something I’m up to risking my health for.
jo says
August 7, 2012 at 8:18 pmYou could try using pasteurized eggs. You could also try eliminating the eggs, but it might not taste the same. However, you could use whipping cream and just fold it in with the mascarpone cheese and the other ingredients, it should be just as good.
tiramisu says
May 7, 2012 at 8:46 amhi! do i use sweetened cocoa? i will trying making my very first homemade tiramisu this weekend. hope it’s delicious!
jo says
May 7, 2012 at 9:57 amHi,
Yes you can, it doesn’t really matter. Hope it turns out great.
Alessia says
February 4, 2012 at 4:45 amhi, great recipe, but the one i use, encorporates the egg whites by beating them to a peak and folding them into the marscarpone mix, makes the mix very light and airy and would make a bigger amount of tiramisu, when the coffee is hot it soaks easier into the biscuts. this is an old italian recipe, give it a go. but props for not using cream….
😀
Alessia
jo says
February 4, 2012 at 4:59 amHI Alessia,
Thanks, I’ll give it a try. 🙂
Lannie says
February 1, 2012 at 5:14 pmOmg… your pictures. Make me so hungry. I love that one photo with one drop of cream dripping off of mixer into bowl… so scrumptious!
I’m just starting the food blogging thing, and would be honored if you had time to send some photo pointers my way!
http://www.the5to9cook.com
jo says
February 1, 2012 at 5:37 pmHi Lannie,
Welcome to the food blogging world, you’ll love it, it certainly has been an adventure for me. Unfortunately the pictures in this post are not that great, they were taken in the early days of my food blogging career. I have since improved or so I think I have and will update these pictures soon, well I’m always in the mood for tiramisu so that’s my excuse. I’ve already looked at your blog and it looks great, your pictures are already wonderful. One thing I can suggest is lighting is everything. If you can take your pictures outside or near a window that would be the best thing you could do for your pictures.
Jo