It feels a little self indulgent to prepare a big bowl of Tiramisu, when it’s just for the four of us… on a weeknight no less. But with weather temperatures starting to dip, I really don’t require too much coercing to unleash my indulgent side. Thankfully walks around the lake have recommenced with vigor now that school holidays are over, ensuring those oversized portions of tiramisu don’t rest on my hips any longer than necessary. 😉
Tiramisu | Gather and Graze
- 250mls (1 Cup) Strong Black/Espresso Coffee
- 60mls (¼ Cup) Baileys Irish Cream or liqueur of your choice* (optional)
- 3 Large Free-Range Eggs (separated)*
- 110g (½ Cup) Caster Sugar
- 250g (9oz) Mascarpone Cheese (at room temperature)
- 300mls (1 1/4 Cups) Pure/Heavy Cream (lightly whipped)
- 250g (9oz) Packet of Italian Savoiardi Biscuits
- 30g (1oz) Milk or Dark Chocolate (to shave over the top)
- 1 Teaspoon Good Quality Cocoa Powder (to sprinkle over the top)
Combine the coffee and Baileys in a shallow dish and set aside for the moment.
Using an electric mixer, whisk the the egg yolks and sugar until paled in colour and thickened (should fall in ribbons from the whisk). Fold in the mascarpone and the lightly whipped cream.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form and then fold these gently into the cream mixture using a large metal spoon.
Have your serving bowl at the ready (mine is about 22cm in diameter and 8cm deep, slightly tapered).
Dip enough savoiardi biscuits in the coffee/liqueur to cover the base of your serving bowl. Be sure to give them a good dunking, though not so much that they begin to disintegrate. Scoop a third of the cream mixture on top and spread over evenly. Repeat this process another 2 times, finishing with a layer of the cream. Top the dessert with some curls of chocolate (I used a vegetable peeler to do this), along with a dusting of cocoa powder.
Chill in the refrigerator for at least 5-6 hours (or overnight if possible) to develop the flavours, before serving.
* Other liqueur options you may wish to try are – marsala, amaretto, brandy, rum or even perhaps Grand Marnier (which will give a hint of orange to the dessert).
* Important Note: The cream filling in this Tiramisu contains raw eggs. Please ensure that your eggs are the absolute freshest that they can possibly be. You may wish to use pasteurised eggs as a precaution. It is also recommended that young children, pregnant women and the elderly should avoid eating any raw egg whatsoever, due to more serious consequences should they become ill with Salmonella poisoning.
Gather & Graze 
Your tiramisu is worth walking around the block for several times. 🙂
Thanks Karen! 🙂
Lovely post. I would have loved to see more pictures though
Thanks! Yes, a little series of dipping and layering photos would have been great… next time I make it I’ll try to take a few more of the process. Cheers, Margot
I agree with you Margot… As you can image I do love tiramisu a lot, but is not that kind of cake you can make everyday… but, it is so good! Your version looks amazing…
Thank you Margherita! So much to love about a big bowl of tiramisu… pure decadence, but yes, not to have in the fridge on a weekly basis unfortunately. 🙂 Hope all is well with you. M.xx
Beautiful Margot, tiramisu is just about my all time favorite dessert. I dare not make it because I will eat the whole thing. I have to master a tiramisu for one. Love the addition of Baileys I usually use kahlua but next time will try that. Beautiful photo’s as well.
Ah yes, that is the danger of having a big bowl of tiramisu sitting in the fridge! 😋 So much to love about this classic Italian dessert… I still have a tub of mascarpone to use up, so I’m rather tempted to make another one this week. M.xx
Pick me up, Tiramisu! A great presentation, Margot! I am taking the thought of tasting it to my dreams tonight. 🙂
Ahhh, thank you dear Fae! Sweet dreams to you, along with a big bowl of Tiramisu with your name on it. 😀
Margot, that is a stunning dish of tiramisu!! Love it! I haven’t made it in such a long time, need to get back to it soon 😀
Thank you so much Naina! I need to remember to make it more often too. 😋
The light in the lead-in is very beautiful. So too the presentation. Shame about the dip in temps. Although I’m glad that it’s getting slightly warmer here – at last! It’s been hovering near and on zero since Christmas.
I won’t mention the hips…
Thanks Johnny – very kind of you to say. 🙂
Not looking forward to winter at all… never have, never will. The only thing that makes me feel the slightest bit better about the months to come is knowing that my northern hemisphere friends will be getting the opportunity to feel warmth from the sun once again too! Just so you know, I’ll be living vicariously through you guys from June to August! ☀️⛱
Looks great, Margot! Tiramisu is one of my favorites. Another booze option is amaretto, but I prefer marsala. I make it without whipped cream, and thus a different cookie-to-mascarpone mixture ratio.
Thanks for your thoughts on this Stefan – so interesting to discover how people around the world prefer their tiramisu. I imagine it would be a slightly heavier cream without the whipped cream, so does this mean you use less of it? I’ll give this a try next time. 😋
The cream is very airy, but there is less of the cream mixture in relation to the savoiardi. You can see how I make it here: https://stefangourmet.com/2012/01/07/tiramisu/
Thanks very much Stefan… great to read your tiramisu post and recipe. Cheers, Margot
Looks delicious, Margot! I love good tiramisu, one of my favorite desserts.
So much to love about a good tiramisu! Great to know it’s one of your favourites too Anatoli. 🙂
What do you pair it with? I love it with PX 🙂
PX will be definitely good. Another option would be Moscato – Moscato works great with lots of dessert dishes. I can also see good Vin Santo play along (the one without oxidation).
Love a discussion that involves both booze and dessert! 😉
Absolutely beautiful and decadent Tiramisu, Margot. I should do it more often! 🙂 Have a wonderful week! xx
Thank you dear Linda, one of my favourite desserts and one that we ALL should make more often! 😋 Hope you have a lovely week too. M.xx
Oh yum! This sounds so delicious. I love adding kahlua as my ‘spirit of choice’ (haha) to amp up the gorgeous coffee flavour 🙂
Gorgeous photos Margot. Yay for classic desserts xx
Oh yes! Kahlua would be beautiful too Laura. Thanks so much for your sweet comment… always good to cook up some of the classics, as well as developing into thoughtful adaptations. 🙂 M.xx
What beautiful photos Margot, that light! The dessert looks amazing too. I am sure the walk places you in total balance once again. 😁
Sssssh… just might be in denial that they do indeed balance each other out! 😜
I’m a purist when it comes to tiramisu, I prefer it exactly as you’ve made it. Yum. I usually choose to add marsala
Yes, I think Marsala is the more traditional way to go, but for some reason I started using Baileys quite a few years ago and haven’t tried anything else. Perhaps it was the only thing I had on hand at the time… 🙄 it’s pretty yummy!
Very interesting. And I always thought that Amaretto is the one which is used in Tiramisu 🙂
Just tried to do a little googling on this Anatoli and Marsala seems to be mentioned on quite a few sites. I can imagine though that amaretto would bring a beautiful flavour profile to the tiramisu as well. Curious to know… is there anything else you’d change in my list of ingredients or method if you were making this?
Recipe sounds great, I wouldn’t change anything. While I love tiramisu, I don’t think I ever made one. For all I know, the most difficult part is soaking of the biscuits just enough, so they will not become a mush. But your recipe looks very encouraging, and considering that Mother’s day is coming in up in US, may be it is time to make some Tiramisu…
Oh I really hope you make one – love to hear how it goes, if you do!