Tiramisu

tomas2351
Dec 28, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Oct 6, 2025

I have a love hate relationship with Tiramisu. Love it when they do it right, otherwise….

Makes me laugh when I see, “authentic” tiramisu. It’s not authentic unless you have the recipe from the originators in Venice, Italy. That said, delicious is delicious, and delicious is the only thing that matters.

The article pictured below is from Chocolatier Magazine October 1994. 1994 is before most YouTube millennials were born, so if they are claiming they have the authentic recipe, I doubt it. But then again, all of the history that I was taught in grammar and high school is apparently wrong, who’s to say.

I’ve been using this recipe for more than 30 years and it is still in my opinion, the best tiramisu I’ve ever had. The recipe is a bit heavy on alcohol, and I do like to sometimes reduce it. I’ll omit the rum from the espresso syrup and cut the rum in the mascarpone zabaione by 1 ounce sometimes, but today I followed the recipe exactly because I wanted to represent it as it is written.

Also, I have as of late been trying to not use equipment if it is not necessary, so I left my KitchenAid mixer in the basement and did everything by hand. Hey, I need the exercise.

I scanned the pages from the magazine and added them to the blog so you can read it all from the source.

Chocolatier magazine was one of my indulgences as this is pre-internet. It was my way of unlocking some puzzles about tempering and working with chocolate. But, even now, the internet is curated in a way that may not represent the best, but the most popular.

Tiramisu – the best I’ve ever had:

Savoiardi (lady fingers):

4 Large Egg separated

2/3 cup white granulated sugar divided

¾ cup all purpose flour (sifted)

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

Espresso Syrup:

1 cup freshly brewed good quality espresso

¼ cup white granulated sugar

2 tablespoons light rum

¼ cup coffee liquor like Kahlua

Mascarpone Zabaione:

4 Large Eggs

1 cup white granulated sugar

½ cup light rum divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

17 ounces of mascarpone

Make the Savoiardi:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and grease them with a little butter.

Beat the yolks with 1/3 of a cup of sugar and the vanilla until pale yellow. You can use a mixer or do it by hand.

Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form and then add the other 1/3 of a cup of sugar and whip until firm peaks form. Do not over beat them.

Mix a little whipped egg white into the yolk mixture just the loosen it up a bit. Gently fold the white into the yolks trying to not deflate them too much. Gently sift the flour into the mixture and gently fold until incorporated.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large tip and pipe 3 to 4 inch strips onto the parchment paper.

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and bake for about 15 minutes or until the savoiardi are golden and the edges just start to darken.

Let them cool on a wire rack.

Make the espresso syrup:

Dissolve the sugar into the hot espresso. Add the Kahlua and rum.

Make the Mascarpone Zabaione:

Combine the mascarpone with ¼ cup of rum and lightly whip to incorporate. Do not over whip this or you will quickly have butter.

In a separate bowl combine the 4 eggs, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and ¼ cup of rum.

Whip this over a double boiler until the mixture is pale and frothy and reached a temperature of 160°.

Place the zabaione over an ice bath and whip it until it cools to a temperature below 100°

Mix a tiny bit of the zabaione into the mascarpone to loosen it and then gently fold the zabaione into the mascarpone.

Assemble the Tiramisu:

Dip each lady finger into the espresso and then lay it into the casserole. Do not let them soak too much, they are pretty absorbent. You will see at the end that there is not much espresso left over.

After the bottom of the casserole is covered with lady fingers, spread a layer of the mascarpone zabaione. Repeat the process and then dust with cocoa powder.

Let it chill in the fridge for at least two hours.