Classic Tiramisu with Cooked Yolk Cream

Name: Classic Tiramisu with Cooked Yolk Cream
Prep time: 41 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 53 min
Yield: 9 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 cup (240 ml) strong brewed espresso or very strong coffee, brewed, then cooled to room temperature; 1½ tablespoons (22 ml) dark rum, brandy, or coffee liqueur (optional); 4 yolks (75 g) large egg yolks, at room temperature; ⅓ cup (65 g) granulated sugar; 3 tablespoons (45 ml) sweet Marsala wine (or water); ⅛ teaspoon (0.7 g) fine salt; 16 ounces (about 2 cups) (454 g) mascarpone cheese, cold, straight from the fridge; 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream, cold; 1½ teaspoons (7 ml) pure vanilla extract; 7 ounces (28 cookies) (200 g) crisp Italian ladyfingers (savoiardi), about 3½–4 inches (9–10 cm) long; 2 tablespoons (10 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting; 1 ounce (30 g) dark chocolate, shaved with a vegetable peeler (optional)

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Espresso-dipped ladyfingers layered with a silky mascarpone cream and dusted with cocoa. The yolks are cooked to a safe 160°F (71°C), so there are no raw eggs. The dessert sets in the fridge and slices cleanly.

Prep: 41 min
Cook: 12 min
Wait: 6 hr 50 min
Total: 7 hr 43 min
Makes: 1 square dessert in a 9×9-inch dish (9 squares)

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Ingredients

9 servings

For the soak
1 cup (240 ml) strong brewed espresso or very strong coffee, brewed, then cooled to room temperature
1½ tablespoons (22 ml) dark rum, brandy, or coffee liqueur (optional)
For the cream
4 yolks (75 g) large egg yolks, at room temperature
⅓ cup (65 g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons (45 ml) sweet Marsala wine (or water)
⅛ teaspoon (0.7 g) fine salt
16 ounces (about 2 cups) (454 g) mascarpone cheese, cold, straight from the fridge
1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream, cold
1½ teaspoons (7 ml) pure vanilla extract
To assemble
7 ounces (28 cookies) (200 g) crisp Italian ladyfingers (savoiardi), about 3½–4 inches (9–10 cm) long
2 tablespoons (10 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
1 ounce (30 g) dark chocolate, shaved with a vegetable peeler (optional)

Equipment (9)

9×9-inch (23×23 cm) baking dish, at least 3 inches (7.5 cm) deep
Medium heatproof bowl and a saucepan it can sit over
Instant-read thermometer
Electric hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk
Large bowl for ice bath (or a sink with ice water)
Shallow dish or pie plate for dipping ladyfingers
Rubber spatula
Offset spatula
Fine-mesh sieve for dusting cocoa

Steps

Before you start

Plan ahead: tiramisu needs at least 6 hours in the fridge to set and is best after 12 hours. Total time is about 7¾ hours, mostly chilling.
Brew the espresso first and cool it fully. Hot coffee melts the cream and turns the ladyfingers to mush.
Keep the mascarpone and heavy cream in the fridge until you use them. Warm mascarpone can turn grainy or split.
Use crisp, dry Italian-style ladyfingers (savoiardi), not soft sponge-style ones. You need 28 cookies, 14 per layer. Each should be about 3½–4 inches (9–10 cm) long and 1¼ inches (3 cm) wide.
Have a 9×9-inch dish that is at least 3 inches (7.5 cm) deep. The finished dessert is about 2½ inches (6 cm) tall.

1
Cool the coffee soak
- Stir the rum (if using) into the hot espresso in a shallow dish or pie plate wide enough to dip a ladyfinger flat.
- Set the dish in a larger bowl of ice water, or leave it to cool on the counter.
- Stir now and then until the coffee is completely cool.
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Ready when: Coffee feels cool, not warm, when you dip a finger in
Tip: If skipping alcohol, add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the coffee for rounder flavor.
2
Cook the yolk custard
- Bring about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water to a bare simmer in a saucepan, then keep it on low heat.
- In a heatproof bowl that sits above the water without touching it, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, Marsala, and salt.
- Set the bowl over the pan and whisk constantly, scraping the bottom and sides.
- The custard must reach 160°F (71°C) on an instant-read thermometer.
- This usually takes 8 to 12 minutes.
- If it is below 160°F at 8 minutes, keep whisking and check every minute.
- Remove the bowl from the heat as soon as it hits 160°F.
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Ready when: Custard is pale, thick, and foamy, leaves a ribbon trail for 3 seconds when the whisk is lifted, and reads 160°F (71°C)
Tip: Keep the water barely steaming. Boiling water scrambles the yolks at the edges of the bowl.
3
Chill the custard
- Set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water and whisk for 3 minutes.
- Let it stand in the ice bath, stirring every few minutes, until it is cool.
- While it cools, whip the cream in the next step.
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Ready when: Custard is at or below room temperature, about 70°F (21°C), and thick
Tip: Folding warm custard into mascarpone makes the cream loose and grainy.
4
Whip the cream
- In a clean, cold bowl, beat the cream with the vanilla on medium speed until it holds medium-stiff peaks, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- The peaks should curl slightly at the tip.
- Cover and refrigerate until the custard is cool.
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Ready when: Cream is smooth and billowy, and the peak holds but the tip folds over
Tip: Stop early. Cream whipped past this point turns grainy once folded into the mascarpone.
5
Loosen the mascarpone
- Put the cold mascarpone in a large bowl.
- Stir it with a spatula for about 20 seconds, only until smooth.
- Add the cooled custard and stir gently until fully blended.
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Ready when: Mixture is smooth, with no streaks or lumps of mascarpone
Tip: Do not overbeat mascarpone. It curdles quickly and turns grainy.
6
Fold in the cream
- Stir about one-third of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten it.
- Fold in the remaining cream in two additions, cutting down the middle and sweeping up the side, until no white streaks remain.
- You will have about 4¾ cups (1.1 liters) of filling.
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Ready when: Cream is fluffy, uniform in color, and holds a soft mound on the spatula
Tip: Fold gently to keep the air in. Stirring hard deflates the cream.
7
Dip first ladyfinger layer
- Dip each ladyfinger in the coffee for 1 second per side, then lay it in the 9×9-inch dish.
- Arrange 7 rows running side to side, each row made of 2 cookies laid end to end, for 14 cookies.
- The rows should touch each other along the long sides.
- Cookies this size span about 7 to 8 inches (18–20 cm) of the 9-inch width, so a gap of up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) at one end or in the middle is normal.
- The cream will fill it.
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Ready when: Cookies are dark tan outside but still firm when pressed, not falling apart, and cover the dish bottom except for small end gaps
Tip: Don't soak longer than 1 to 2 seconds. The cookies keep absorbing moisture as the dessert chills.
8
Spread first cream layer
- Spoon half of the filling (about 2⅓ cups) over the ladyfingers.
- Spread it to the edges in an even layer with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, pressing it gently into any gaps.
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Ready when: Layer is even, about ½ inch (1.2 cm) thick, and covers every cookie
9
Add second layers
- Dip the remaining 14 ladyfingers the same way and arrange them over the cream in 7 rows of 2, as in the first layer.
- Spread the remaining filling on top and smooth the surface.
- Discard any leftover coffee.
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Ready when: Top is level and smooth, about ½ inch (1.2 cm) below the rim of a 3-inch (7.5 cm) deep dish
10
Chill until set
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap, without pressing on the cream.
- Refrigerate at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
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Ready when: The surface is firm and doesn't jiggle when the dish is nudged
Tip: Chilling less than 6 hours gives a soft, messy slice.
11
Dust and serve
- Just before serving, dust the cocoa over the top through a fine-mesh sieve in an even layer.
- Scatter the chocolate shavings over, if using.
- Cut into 9 squares (3 rows of 3) with a sharp knife wiped clean between cuts.
- Lift the squares out with an offset spatula.
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Ready when: Top is evenly dark with clean-edged squares
Tip: Dust right before serving. Cocoa applied early absorbs moisture and looks blotchy.

Good to know

Tips

Use a thermometer for the custard. 160°F (71°C) makes the yolks safe while keeping them silky.
Dip ladyfingers briefly. They keep softening in the fridge, and over-soaking makes the dessert watery.
Cookie sizes vary by brand. If yours are shorter or longer, lay them in rows to cover the dish and snap or trim cookies to fit, using roughly 14 per layer.
For neat slices, chill well and wipe the knife between cuts.

Make ahead

Assemble up to 2 days ahead, covered and refrigerated, without the cocoa. Dust with cocoa just before serving.

Storage & reheating

Refrigerate covered for up to 3 days. The texture is best on days 1 to 2. Do not leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours. To freeze, wrap the undusted dish tightly and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge (no reheating), then dust with cocoa before serving.

Substitutions

sweet Marsala wine (or water) → Water, or additional espresso. Gives an alcohol-free custard with a slightly less complex flavor.
dark rum, brandy, or coffee liqueur → Coffee liqueur such as Kahlúa, or omit. Liqueur adds sweetness. Omitting leaves a pure coffee flavor.
crisp Italian ladyfingers (savoiardi), about 3½–4 inches (9–10 cm) long → Thin slices of dry pound cake or sponge cake. Dip for only a second and expect a softer, more cake-like texture. Cut slices to cover the dish bottom in one layer.
strong brewed espresso or very strong coffee → 1 cup hot water mixed with 1½ tablespoons instant espresso powder, cooled. Works when no espresso machine is available.