Tiramisù without raw eggs: our cooking-class recipe
Tiramisù with mascarpone custard
Tiramisù (“pick me up”) feels like it’s been around forever, but it was only invented in the 1970s. Our cooking-class version swaps the raw eggs for a silky vanilla custard: just as creamy, and kinder to anyone wary of raw eggs.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cooling and chilling: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 300–400 g (10–14 oz) savoiardi (ladyfingers), depending on the size of your dish
- 12 espresso cups of espresso (about 360 ml / 1½ cups), cooled
- 100 ml (3½ fl oz) Marsala or another sweet dessert wine or liqueur
- 125 g (½ cup plus 2 tablespoons) sugar
- 500 ml (2 cups) milk
- 3 large or 4 medium egg yolks
- 30 g (¼ cup) cornstarch
- 1 vanilla bean
- 250 g (9 oz) mascarpone
- 250 ml (1 cup) whipping cream, whipped (optional)
- Good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
Instructions
- Make the coffee, pour it into a shallow bowl and let it cool. Stir in the Marsala or liqueur.
- Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape the seeds into a saucepan with the milk, and add the bean too. Slowly bring the milk just to a boil, then remove the bean.
- In a large bowl, vigorously whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and frothy.
- Add the cornstarch and whisk well.
- Gradually pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
- Pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring continuously in the same direction, until the custard is quite thick. It will thicken further as it cools.
- Let the custard cool, with a light sprinkling of sugar on the surface to stop a skin from forming.
- Stir the mascarpone into the cooled custard, then gently fold in the whipped cream, if using.
- Spread a thin layer of the custard in the bottom of your serving dish.
- Dip the ladyfingers briefly in the coffee mixture (nice and wet, but not soggy!).
- Arrange them in a single layer on top.
- Spread half the remaining custard over the ladyfingers, then add another layer of dipped ladyfingers.
- Finish with the rest of the custard and dust with cocoa powder.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
At home in Italy, many people make tiramisù with raw eggs: the yolks are beaten with the sugar and mascarpone, and the whipped whites are folded in very gently. Tiramisù is even better made the day before, so it’s perfect for entertaining.
Can anyone tell me approximately what size pan would work with this recipe?
Thanks
Of course the size of biscuits, how much liquid they absorb etc means that the pan size is orientative. We use a rectangular 28 cm x 18 cm dish (11 by 7 inches). Enjoy!
I want to make this but can someone please clarify for me what does 12 expresso cups equal in normal cup measurements?? I know sounds like a silly question but I have no clue what an expresso cup measures 🙂
1 cup is about 4 espresso cups. So make 3 large cups of coffee. It is always better to have some liquid left over. Hope this helps!
This helped me a lot in my high school cooking class were aking a cook book and im doing mine italian food. Tanks love ya, Tessie
Can anyone tell me plz, coffee sould be milky or without milk.and one more m still confused about 1cup is abt 4 espresso cups.fatima
You need a little more than half a litre (1 pint) of strong, black coffee (this is around ten/twelve 50ml espresso cups- but this is irrelevant if you are not making espresso in espresso cups…).
I took Manuela’s cooking class in Italy a few years ago. It was one of the best things I ever did. This is my go-to dessert whenever I want to make something several hours or a day ahead of time, and still impress my guests. I only ever receive the highest praise for Manuela’s recipes… Including the pasta and sauces! Thank you Manuela! Xx
I loved this dessert when we made it in class so it’s going to be my star dessert on Christmas Day! Merry Christmas to you all!