Tiramisu

This Valentines Day (or any special day of the year), surprise your sweetheart with a piece of delicious Tiramisu. This Italian cake recipe is a must for coffee lovers and you’ll be surprised that this elaborate looking dessert can be so easy it is to make.

Ingredients:

Cream Cheese – 8oz box at room temp
Sugar – 6 Tbsp (divided)
Whipped Cream – 3/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream plus 1 Tbsp Sugar whipped to 1 1/2 cups (1 1/2 cups of Cool Whip may be used as an instant alternative)
Egg Yolks – 3
Strong Coffee – 1 cup (or as needed) mixed with 2 Tbsp Rum (optional)
Lady Fingers – 1 package (Alternative: 1/2 box white cake mix, see below)
Cocoa Powder & Powdered Sugar – for garnishing

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix softened Cream Cheese with 3 Tbsp of sugar until sugar is completely dissolved.
2. In a separate bowl, mix 3 egg yolks with remaining 3 Tbsp of sugar and whisk continuously in a double boiler until eggs are cooked (approx 1-2 minutes). The color of the yolks will turn a lemon yellow when done.
3. Immediately mix the egg mixture into the cream cheese mixture and stir well.
4. Add 2-3 Tbsp of the coffee into the mixture and mix well.
5. Whip Heavy Whipping Cream and 1 Tbsp Sugar in a bowl over ice until fluffy. Fold Whipped Cream into cream cheese/egg mixture until well incorporated.
6. Dip each Lady Finger into the coffee (for 1-2 seconds on each side) and place into square or rectangle tray until the bottom is completely covered.
7. Spread 1/2 of the cream cheese filling evenly on top of the fingers.
8. Lightly dust cocoa powder over the filling. Tea strainer works great!
9. Repeat with another layer of coffee dipped fingers.
10. Top with remaining filling.
11. Sprinkle cocoa powder over the top to form a coating.
11. Chill overnight to set.
12. Garnish with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Alternative Method Using Boxed White Cake Mix:

1. Bake cake per package directions. Only 1/2 box is necessary for this recipe.
2. After cake has cooled, flip baking pan over on a flat dish or work surface.
3. Using a long bread knife, cut the cake in half horizontally, creating two thin layers of cake.
4. Carefully place the top layer back into the baking pan.
5. Using a pastry brush, dab coffee onto the cake. More coffee may be required to soak the cake.
6. Spread 1/2 of the cream cheese filling onto the cake and dust with cocoa powder.
7. Carefully place the second layer of cake on top of the filling.
8. Dab more coffee onto the cake.
9. Spread remaining filling evenly and dust with cocoa creating an even layer.
10. Cover and chill overnight.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

224 thoughts on “Tiramisu

  1. Hi Hetal and Anuja

    I tried tiramisu today for my second anniversary which is going to be tomorrow and it has come out very well… I have a doubt I dont have cocoa powder so can i use instant coffee powder itself for decorating…
    Thank you

  2. Hi Hetal .. I tried out your way of tiramisu and came out well .. Thanks ..
    Actually I wanted to make it for my husbands birthday ,but I don’t want it in a bowl to serve .. How can I make it as a birthday cake …??

  3. Hi Hetal/Anuja-

    Thanks for the great recipe.
    Instead of the 8oz cream cheese, can I substitute it with 8oz of mascarpone cheese? Thanks.

  4. Hi i just came across this recipe and it looks delicious. I intend on trying it. On another note, i just tried a tiramisue recipe and im mad because i spent alot of money on the ingredients and its not turning out the way it should. PLease help!
    The recipe calls for sugar, kahlua, brandy, and mascarpone, and half and half, well i added everything together and it just curdled. i dont get it, i tried blending it several times and its just curdled and wont emulisify. What do i do to emulisify the mixture so it can be put into my ice cream machine? any body have any tips, please email me testemorte555@aol.com

  5. Hello Ladies!
    I came back here to once again congratulate on a job well done!
    Since you’ve taught us to make this cheesecake, no Tiramisu from the best of the best shops is good enough for me now!

    You might know about Gourmet Affairs! Just tasted their Tiramisu (a branch is in New Delhi, India). You will be proud to hear that theirs can’t even compare to your Tiramisu! A complete waste of Rs.650/-

    Thanks to you I can proudly say that “I can do so much better” even if that’s about the only dish I can make without messing up!

    Thanks Once Again!
    Anuj Kalra

  6. hii

    I have been waiting for ur reply to my previous question about the cake mix alternative..Can you please let me know as soon as possible.

    Thanks

  7. Hii Hetal

    I have a question regarding the cake mix alternative.As you said in the recipe the only half pack cake mix is necessary and bake as per package instructions,so instructions on the package are for baking the whole pack and if i require half of it what should i do?should i follow the instructions for the whole package or half of the things i require to bake it??please advise

    Thanks

    1. Hi Sam,

      So sorry for the late response.

      You use only half the box. You can divide out the cake flour by using measuring cups or weigh it if you have a kitchen scale. Just half all other ingredients. When dividing eggs, one egg equals 3 Tbsp. Just beat the egg and use a tsp measure. It will be about little more than 4 tsps.

  8. Hi Hetal & Anuja!!
    Thanks for this wonderful recipe!!
    I tried making this dessert and the problem I faced was the creme cheese and whipped cream mixture became too liquidy. and hence I could not layer it well and it got soaked by ladyfingers.
    Is it because I used “light whipped cream” that we get in cans to use as a topping??
    Hoping for your tips so that I can try it again, successfully this time..

    1. Hi Roshni,

      Yes, the light whipping cream is most probably the culprit. You must use “Heavy Whipping Cream” which comes in a liquid form if you are going to be whipping it yourself. Otherwise, use something like Coolwhip.

      1. Thank Hetal. Looking forward to make it again.
        And I have a request to you guys. Will you please try to upload some recipes that use non-Indian vegetables that we get here in US? Since I am new to this country, it will be really helpful to me and other ladies like me.

  9. I made it during new year eve and turned out great. Thanks so much! Before trying your recipe, I googled but never found one without a negative comment ( Even Giada’s from food network had a lot of -ve coments). We loved this and even the guests did too

  10. I was just browsing the site for a way to use up the egg yolk from your macaroon recipe….had no idea until I viewed this and then the Vah Reh Vah recipe how creative you can be with tiramisu! I think I’ll try it with a good slug of Baileys (v popular with mothers and aunties in the UK 😉 ) in the top layer.

    Thanks again Ladies!

  11. Hi Hetal and Anuja,

    I am big fan of your cooking blog and website and check out recipes regularly. I would love to try out the Tiramisu recipe , however I am allergic to eggs. Can you please suggest an alternative in the recipe.

    Thanks so much!
    Debamitra

    1. Hi Debamitra,

      Some people have made this recipe by leaving out the eggs completely (no substitutions). The texture will not be as rich, but it will still taste great.

  12. Hi heal n anuja,
    I have been trying lots of ur receipes but this one was best n my friends really liked it in potluck…thank u for sharing this was the best dish which came out perfect test.

    Sapna

  13. Hey guys!
    Thought i’d share a little tip!
    You know the cheese cream, which as these ladies say is an alternative to the traditional mascoporne cheese.

    If u can’t find even cream cheese, use equal amount of strained yogurt. To strain it, tie up some yogurt in a cheese cloth and hang it up overnight.

    I’ve tried it; it tastes awesome! Also here’s proof for the validity of what i’m saying:

    http://allrecipes.com/howto/common-ingredient-substitutions/

    and

    http://www.vahrehvah.com/Tiramisu+desi+style:6808

    though honestly, just use the yogurt option from the vahchef; not all of the recipe! SMTC’s way better!:)

  14. Hi! Hetal & Anuja!
    Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
    I tried it today. I didn’t have fingers and call it bad luck but the local store stopped keeping the cake mix.

    So instead i used a Britannia Cheese Cake (Butterscotch) and it came out rally really well!

    Thanks ladies! You make the chef in me come out!
    🙂

  15. Hi thank you for your step by step video and instructions, I just made the tiramisu today but was a bit disappointed the base of my container was a bit watery. I found that mine turned out a bit plain taste – did i use too much coffee that’s why the tiramisu did not taste as sweet? Is it supposed to taste sweet?
    Also my egg yolks did not turn out light yellow – I did forget to mix sugar with egg yolks before handwhip on hot double boiler….
    Thank you

    1. Hi Lily,

      Sorry to hear that…

      The tiramisu is supposed to be sweet so I am not sure why yours was not. Did you finally add the sugar into the eggs after cooking them or did you leave it out completely? The fingers need to be quickly dipped into the coffee and pulled out. If you dunk them in too long, they will go soggy. A perfect tiramisu will have fingers that have the texture of regular cake.

  16. Hi Anuja/Hetal

    Awesome recipe..This is one of my favorite cake..Thank you so much

    One request I have for you girls, Can you please share recipe of Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting 🙂

    Thanks

  17. Hi hetal and anuja,

    1) Can i use Reddi Wip dairy topping as an alternative to whipped cream.
    2) Since i have Mascarprone Tiramisu cheese,should i add coffee decotion to the cheese as mentioned in step 4????

      1. Hi Hetal,

        I made the tiramisu from your recipe and it came out really well. I just want to know that if i want to make a eggless tiramisu can i use the flaxseed powder with water. Does it taste as good as the tiramisu with egg.

  18. Hi Hetal,

    I am not able to find lady fingers at walmart, safeway or fry’s. Any suggestions from where can i buy? Or any other easy substitute apart from sponge cake?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.