My Easy Tiramisu – This recipe is the easiest Tiramisu you’ll ever make, no bake, delicious and an absolute crowd pleaser! This might be the easiest dessert you’ve ever whipped up, but if it’s not it’ll definitely be the tastiest!
Easy Tiramisu
Tiramisu is one of those wonderful cakes that is world famous for a reason. I’ve been making Tiramisu, specifically this recipe, for a couple decades now and this is about as easy as they come. Loaded with fine cocoa powder, espresso soaked lady fingers, and rich mascarpone, this cake is a winner.
I remember about 20 years ago a friend of mine came over and brought me some Tiramisu that she had made. 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!
What Is Mascarpone?
Tiramisu is an Italian dessert that involves soaking lady finger biscuits in espresso, layered with mascarpone custard. It’s a totally classic dessert. This dish is also perfect to share with a crowd, so bring this out the next time you’re looking to impress!
Ingredients In Easy Tiramisu
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Cheese – Cheese? Really? Yes really, mascarpone is an essential creamy addition to tiramisu and will provide some rich tang to our dessert.
- Coffee – You can use any coffee you’d like, from instant to espresso.
- Whipped cream – I used cool whip today for speed and ease but feel free to make your own from scratch if you’d like!
- Ladyfingers – This is a crisp dry sweet biscuit, it is best soaked in delicious coffee and infused into desserts.
- Chocolate – White chocolate curls shaved right over top and cocoa powder for dusting
- Eggs – We’re using 3 egg yolks raw, don’t be afraid of raw eggs just be sure they’re as fresh as possible and organic if possible.
- Rum – Feel free to use any kind of rum you’d like, I like a dark or a spiced rum.
How To Make Easy Tiramisu
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Create the mascarpone filling: 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.
- Soak the ladyfingers: 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 8×8 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.
- Assemble the cake: 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.
Looking For An Alcohol Free Tiramisu?
If you’d rather not use alcohol in this dessert, then leave it out! Just substitute the rum for some additional coffee and you won’t be missing a thing. You can also use rum extract or vanilla extract for a non-alcoholic substitute.
No Eggs? No Problem!
Afraid to add eggs to your tiramisu? Not to worry. Simply omit them and you’ll still end up with a great creamy tiramisu. You could replace them with some whipping cream for extra fluffiness.
Want To Make Your Own Whipped Cream?
It’s super easy and for some this step is a must, let’s get into it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
How to make whipped cream
- Combine all the above ingredients in the bowl of your mixer and beat on high speed till peaks form
- Don’t over beat your whipped cream!
Tips For Making The Best Tiramisu
- Ensure your mascarpone and eggs are right at room temperature before mixing as it’ll ensure you get a nice smooth mixture.
- If your ingredients aren’t fresh they might break down or separate in the recipe, so be sure to pick up your ingredients fresh!
- Don’t soak your ladyfingers in the rum and coffee mixture for too long, we don’t want them getting soggy!
Storing Leftover Tiramisu
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.
Can I Freeze Tiramisu?
Yes you can! Just place it whole in a container and wrap it in plastic wrap so that the plastic rests right against the cocoa powder to prevent skin from forming. Place another layer of plastic wrap and place a layer of aluminum foil over top all of this and it will keep for up to 3 months. You can defrost this dish right on the counter at room temperature till ready to serve.
Craving More Cakes? Try These Delicious Recipes:
- Mini Tiramisu Cheesecakes
- Sex in a Pan
- Magic Cake
- Tiramisu Tres Leches Cake
- Strawberry Tiramisu Trifle
- Apple Pie Cake
- Pound Cake Recipe
- Carrot Cake
- Red Velvet Cake
- German Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake
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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.
SHERI AGUILLON says
Jo, 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
If you have a popup blocker for ads, the video won’t show up. You need to disable that before the videos work.
Kate says
Do 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
If you’re using real cream whipped cream, put it on right before you serve it!
CbBakes says
Thanks 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
Jo
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
Hi 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
Thanks, 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
My pleasure! Happy holidays to you and your family as well!
farzana says
Hi.. can you suggest an alternative for Rum that is non alcoholic?
Joanna Cismaru says
I 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
This looks so good – I’d eat the whole thing – SO delicious:)
Tanya says
Light or Dark Rum?
Fenne Kieken says
Either type of rum will work for this or even your favorite liquor can be substituted
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
Oh 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
Yes 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
Hi 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
I 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
Looks 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
It will be better the next day, the longer it sits, the better it will taste. 🙂
Yvonne says
Hi 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
Thanks Yvonne, so glad you liked it. 🙂
Julio says
I’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
Hi 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
Thanks 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
The amaretto addition sounds incredible! I am making more today and will include the amaretto. Thanks for that idea!
roxy says
I 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
Hi 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
Eating 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
Hi 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
Is 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
You 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
hi! do i use sweetened cocoa? i will trying making my very first homemade tiramisu this weekend. hope it’s delicious!
jo says
Hi,
Yes you can, it doesn’t really matter. Hope it turns out great.
Alessia says
hi, 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
HI Alessia,
Thanks, I’ll give it a try. 🙂
Lannie says
Omg… 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
Hi 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