The original tiramisù from Treviso: ladyfingers dipped in coffee, a cream of mascarpone, egg yolks and sugar, bitter cocoa. 30 minutes of work and 4 hours in the fridge.
Introduction
Tiramisù is the best-known Italian dessert in the world, and it was born in Treviso. The Treviso recipe is simpler than the ones you find around: ladyfingers dipped in unsweetened coffee, a cream of mascarpone, egg yolks and sugar, and a dusting of bitter cocoa. No cream, no liqueur, no whipped egg whites. There are six ingredients, and that is exactly why each one counts: the coffee must be a real espresso, the eggs very fresh, the mascarpone thick and of good quality.
Nothing is cooked, apart from the coffee. The real work is whisking the yolks with the sugar properly, until they become a pale, airy foam, and dipping the ladyfingers quickly, without soaking them. Then the tiramisù has to sit in the fridge for at least four hours: it is the rest that lets the biscuits absorb the moisture of the cream and makes it firm enough to cut into squares. Made the evening before, it is even better.
Next to the tiramisù we pour a wine from its own home: the OROCHIARO Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Extra Dry by Col dei Franchi, a sparkling wine from the province of Treviso with a touch of sugar that lets it sit beside the cream without seeming sharp. For those who prefer a sweet wine, the Torcolato by Firmino Miotti, the Vespaiola passito from Breganze.
History of Tiramisù
The most widely accepted account places the birth of tiramisù in Treviso, in the kitchen of the restaurant Le Beccherie, between the late Sixties and the early Seventies. The owner, Alba Campeol, and the pastry chef Roberto Linguanotto brought together ladyfingers, coffee and a cream of mascarpone and yolks whisked with sugar. That cream had an ancestor in Veneto homes: sbatudin, egg yolk beaten with sugar, given to children and to anyone who needed to get their strength back. From there, so the story goes, came the name too: «tirami su», «pick me up».
The dessert was a very rapid success, first in the restaurants of Treviso and then throughout Italy and abroad, and along the way it picked up variations: cream, whipped egg whites, marsala or coffee liqueur. In 2010 the Accademia Italiana della Cucina registered the Beccherie recipe as the original one. Friuli, however, claims an older birth, in Tolmezzo, in the Fifties, and in 2017 tiramisù was listed among the traditional products of Friuli Venezia Giulia: a dispute between neighbouring regions that has never really been settled, and that above all tells how much this dessert is loved.
Ingredients
For the cream
- very fresh egg yolks6
- sugar100 g
- mascarpone500 g
For the layers
- ladyfingers (savoiardi)300 g
- unsweetened espresso coffee, cold300 ml
- unsweetened cocoa powder20 g
Nutritional Values per Serving
Values calculated from the recipe's ingredients using the CREA food composition tables, and from the labels of our products where available. They are an estimate per serving, not a laboratory analysis.
Equipment Needed
- Large moka pot or espresso machine
- Large bowl
- Electric whisk or stand mixer
- Silicone spatula
- Shallow bowl for dipping the ladyfingers
- Rectangular dish of about 20 x 30 cm
- Fine-mesh sieve for the cocoa
Tip: An electric whisk is not a luxury: the yolks need whisking with the sugar for a good ten minutes, until the foam is pale, airy and leaves a ribbon when it falls from the whisk. By hand it is possible, but it is easy to stop too soon, and an under-whisked cream stays yellow and heavy and sags between the layers. The sieve is for the cocoa: added by the spoonful it forms lumps and mixes into the cream.
How to Make Tiramisù — Original Treviso Recipe
The coffee
Make the coffee with the moka pot or the espresso machine, without sugar. Pour it into a shallow bowl and let it cool completely: hot, it would soften the ladyfingers too much and warm the cream.
Chef's tip: Leave the coffee unsweetened: it is the counterweight to the cream, and with sugar the tiramisù becomes cloying. Make it first, so it has time to cool while you whisk the cream.
The cream
Put the yolks in a bowl with the sugar and whisk them for about ten minutes, until the foam is pale, airy and thick. Add the mascarpone one spoonful at a time, folding it in with the spatula from the bottom upwards, until the cream is smooth, glossy and free of lumps.
Chef's tip: Use the mascarpone straight from the fridge and add it a little at a time. If you beat it for long with the whisk, or if it is at room temperature, the fat separates and the cream turns grainy and runny: once it has split, there is no going back.
The layers
Dip the ladyfingers in the coffee one at a time, a moment on each side, and lay them side by side in the dish to cover the whole bottom. Spread half the cream on top and level it. Make a second layer of dipped ladyfingers and cover it with the rest of the cream, smoothing the surface well.
Chef's tip: The ladyfinger should be dipped, not soaked: one second per side is enough, because it finishes absorbing moisture from the cream during the rest. Soaked, it falls apart, leaves a pool of coffee in the dish and the tiramisù can no longer be cut.
Resting and cocoa
Cover the dish with cling film and put it in the fridge for at least four hours, better overnight. Shortly before serving, dust the surface with the bitter cocoa through the sieve, in an even layer. Cut into squares and serve cold.
Chef's tip: Add the cocoa only at the very end: if it sits on the cream for hours it absorbs the moisture and turns into a dark, damp film. For clean squares, use a knife run under hot water and dried after every cut.
Wine to Pair with Tiramisù
Tiramisù is one of the hardest desserts to pair with a wine, and it is best to say so straight away. Three things reach the palate and pull in different directions: the fat and sweetness of the mascarpone, yolk and sugar cream; the bitterness of the coffee the ladyfingers are dipped in; and the dry bitterness of the cocoa on top. A dry wine beside the cream turns sharp, and the bitterness of coffee and cocoa makes any red seem more tannic. What you need is a sparkling wine that cleans away the mascarpone, with a touch of sugar so that it does not seem sour, or else a wine at least as sweet as the dessert. In Treviso, where tiramisù was born, the local answer is the first: a Prosecco Superiore Extra Dry. For those who want to stay on the dessert side, we suggest a Vespaiola passito.
The Sparkling Wine We Recommend
OROCHIARO Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Extra Dry — Col dei Franchi — The **OROCHIARO by Col dei Franchi** is a Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG made only from Glera, picked by hand on the hills of Valdobbiadene, in the same province of Treviso where the dessert was born. It is an Extra Dry: despite the name, it is a little sweeter than a Brut, with about 14 grams of sugar per litre. And it is precisely that residual sugar that makes it the right Prosecco for tiramisù: beside the cream a Brut would seem sharp, while the Extra Dry stays soft. The mechanism is contrast: the acidity and the fine bubbles cut through the fat of the mascarpone and the yolks, and the notes of apple and white flowers lighten a mouthful that would otherwise, by the third spoonful, become tiring. The limit has to be said: it remains much less sweet than the dessert, and with a sugary tiramisù or one with a lot of cocoa on top the wine turns thin and the bitterness of the coffee comes out harsher. It works best with a lightly sweetened cream and small portions, and it is the natural choice when tiramisù ends a dinner where the bottle is already on the table. Serve it at 6-8 °C, in a tulip glass.
Want to explore the grape variety? Guide to Venetian Proseccos
A Veneto Passito as an Alternative
Torcolato Breganze DOC — Firmino Miotti — The second route is the classic one for desserts: a wine at least as sweet as the dessert. The **Torcolato by Firmino Miotti** is made only from Vespaiola grapes from the volcanic hills of Breganze, in the Vicenza area, whose bunches are hung on strings to dry until after Christmas and then slowly fermented, until the yeasts stop by themselves, leaving the wine sweet. It has honey, dried apricot, raisins and dried fruit, and underneath a freshness that Vespaiola brings with it and that keeps the wine from becoming cloying. On tiramisù it works by similarity: the sweetness of the wine stands up to that of the cream, and the dried fruit meets the toasted notes of the coffee and cocoa. The limit is the opposite of the Prosecco's: Torcolato is a rich, aromatic wine, and on a cream as delicate as mascarpone it risks stealing the show. Half a glass is enough, at the end of the meal. Serve it at 10-12 °C, in a small glass.
Craft Beer as an Alternative
Reckless Bock Beer — Norah's Farm — Where wine struggles, that is, with the bitterness of coffee and cocoa, a dark malt beer is right at home. The **Reckless Bock by Norah's Farm** is a bottom-fermented strong beer in the Dunkel Bock style, with notes of caramel and dried fruit, a bitterness that supports the malt and a slightly sweet finish. The roasted malt speaks the same language as the coffee and cocoa, the caramel goes along with the sugar of the cream, and the carbonation with its creamy head carries away the fat of the mascarpone. The limit: the 7 degrees and the full body weigh on a dessert that is already rich, so it is a pairing for a small portion, more for the afternoon than for the end of a long dinner. Serve it at 8-10 °C.
Want to know more about the style? dark beers and doppelbocks
Variations
- With whipped egg whites: many home recipes add two or three egg whites whisked to stiff peaks to the cream, gently folded in at the end. The cream becomes lighter and foamier, less firm, and the tiramisù cuts less cleanly.
- With liqueur: outside Treviso a dash of marsala, rum or coffee liqueur is often added to the coffee. The aroma changes and the dessert becomes more grown-up; the Treviso recipe does not include it, and anyone making it for children does well to leave it out.
- In cups: the same dessert can be assembled in glasses or single-serving cups, breaking the ladyfingers in half. It needs less resting time, two hours are enough, and it is easy to serve when there are many guests.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are raw eggs in tiramisù safe?
With very fresh eggs, from a reliable source and kept in the fridge, the traditional recipe uses them raw. Anyone who wants peace of mind, or is making the dessert for small children, pregnant women or the elderly, can whisk the yolks with the sugar over a bain-marie, stirring constantly, until the thermometer reads 82 °C, then keep whisking them off the heat until cold. Alternatively, pasteurised egg yolks are available in shops.
Is there cream in the original tiramisù?
No. The Treviso recipe has only ladyfingers, coffee, mascarpone, egg yolks, sugar and cocoa. Whipped cream is a later addition, which lightens the cream but changes its flavour: the mascarpone comes through less and the dessert is closer to a semifreddo.
How many hours should tiramisù rest?
At least four hours in the fridge, and better still a whole night. The rest lets the ladyfingers absorb the moisture of the cream and soften evenly, and lets the cream set: just after assembly the tiramisù is soft and cannot be cut.
How long does tiramisù keep?
In the fridge, covered with cling film, it keeps for a day or two. Since it contains raw eggs, it should not be left out of the fridge longer than it takes to serve it.
Can tiramisù be frozen?
Yes, without the cocoa. Freeze it in the dish, well covered, or in portions, and it keeps for up to a month. Thaw it in the fridge for a few hours and dust it with cocoa only when serving.
