The BEST authentic Italian tiramisu recipe made even more fun with individual servings. Make it the night before for a great party recipe!
I have such a treat for you today! This recipe for an authentic tiramisu will absolutely knock your socks off. It’s probably even better than the tiramisu at your favorite Italian restaurant. It’s just a bit boozy, with a rich coffee flavor and the creaminess of mascarpone cheese.
One of the secrets of this recipe is high quality aromatic coffee. I maximize the flavor by mixing coffee with espresso. We are huge espresso fans and there’s no better homemade espresso than illy. We have the new illy Y3.2 machine, which makes both brewed coffee and espresso at the touch of a button.The Y3.2 machine is slim and doesn’t hog counter space, which is perfect for our city apartment.
For the tiramisu, I made both coffee and espresso and mixed them together for extra potency. It’s super easy and the coffee flavor of this tiramisu is amazing. illy’s innovative iperEspresso capsule system gives us authentic Italian espresso at home with a two-stage process that creates an aromatic, full-bodied espresso with a crema that is incredibly rich! The capsules make getting our caffeine fix before we rush out the door to work in the morning quick and easy.
illy coffee has a unique feel and aroma that is just a little bit sweet and almost chocolatey. We don’t even add sugar! The illy capsules contain nine different high quality Arabica coffees spanning four continents, purchased directly from the growers who nurtured them. Needless to say, illy is my favorite thing about waking up in the morning.
In addition to being particular about the coffee, it’s also important to choose the right ladyfinger cookies for your tiramisu. Skip the soft, spongy ones and look for thin firm ones. I haven’t been able to find the right kind in any of our local grocery stores, so I end up ordering them on Amazon. It’s 100% worth the trouble to get the right ones. I actually always have a package on hand for when the tiramisu mood strikes (which is more often than I care to admit!).
Another great thing about tiramisu is that it’s made ahead of time. I’m always looking for recipes that can be made in advance to cut down on day of prep when we’re entertaining. I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to have all the food ready and all the dishes done when guests arrive. It saves me from being stuck in the kitchen running around frantically while everyone else is mingling in the living room.
If you’re in need of a coffee fix in San Francisco, you should check out one of the several illy Caffès that are in the city! My favorite is their flagship location at 220 Montgomery Street. Not only does it have illy’s amazing coffee and espresso, but they also have everything you need for a quick lunch – sandwiches, pastries, salads and more.
The cafe decor is outstanding. It’s modern and polished, and features a stunning chandelier/art installation made from illy’s beautiful ceramic tea cups. The cafe also includes a retail store so you can restock on illy capsules and demo their machines.
I highly recommend trying some of their darling macarons, which come in every color of the rainbow.
If you need lunch or great coffee in downtown San Francisco, you have to check out illy Caffe for yourself!
illy Caffe Flagship Store San Francisco
220 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
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Authentic Italian Tiramisu Recipe
The BEST authentic Italian tiramisu recipe made even more fun with individual servings. Make it the night before for a great party recipe!
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 6 large egg yolks
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 9 tablespoons dark rum, like Mt. Gay, divided
- 1 ½ pounds mascarpone cheese
- ¾ cup heavy cream (cold)
- 2 cups high quality black coffee (2 Illy Coffee Capsules), at room temperature
- 1/4 cup fresh espresso (2 Illy Espresso Capsules), at room temperature
- 14 ounces ladyfingers (36–50 cookies)
- 4 tablespoons dutch processed cocoa powder
- Grated semisweet or bittersweet chocolate or chocolate curls, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Beat egg yolks, sugar and salt in a large bowl until pale yellow, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in 4 tablespoons of rum. Scrape bowl and add mascarpone cheese. Beat on medium until smooth, about a minute, scraping sides of bowl at least once. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
- In the same mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form. Using a spatula, fold ⅓ of the whipped cream into the egg mixture to lighten. Fold in the remaining cream until and stir gently until no white streaks remain. Set aside.
- Combine the room temperature Illy coffee and espresso and 4 tablespoons of rum in a large bowl.
- Break the ladyfingers into the appropriate size for your individual serving containers. Quickly dip the ladyfingers into the coffee rum mixture, without soaking completely. They should be damp but not mushy.
- Arrange a layer of cookies in the serving glasses of your choice. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers.* Dust with a layer of cocoa powder. Cover with another layer of dipped ladyfingers. Finish with the remaining mascarpone mixture and another dusting of cocoa powder. Top with shaved chocolate or chocolate curls, if using. Chill for 4 to 24 hours before serving.
Notes
*Depending on the size of your serving vessel, you may find it easier to use a piping bag with the tip cut off for the mascarpone mixture.
Thanks so much to illy for partnering with me to share this tiramisu recipe and a peek at the illy Caffe in downtown San Francisco. Wondering why I do sponsored posts? Read more here.
Totally agree ! 100 % Arabica is the key ingredient ! Grazie mille !
Sounds like you’re a coffee lover too! Thanks for stopping by!
Wow! I made this recipe twice already because it’s so amazing.I looked over at my friend as he took a bite of tiramasu and his eyes rolled up into his head and he asked if he was dreaming. Of course, we always end up having slightly different products to choose from depending on where we live. For the coffee, I used Starbuck’s Espresso Roast and paired that with Lavazza Perfetto (because I couldn’t find Illy at the grocery store). Then I used Havana Club dark rum and Belgioioso marscapone. Magical flavors – excellent recipe. I thank you for sharing this outstanding recipe and my guests do too. 😀
This is amazing! Thank you so, so much for letting me know! I’m glad you love this recipe as much as I do.
I love Tiramisu. I will definitely cook according to your recipe