Tiramisù

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Layers of coffee and Marsala soaked savoiardi biscuits, sandwiched with a smooth, silky, yet light, creamy Mascarpone; this world famous dessert, is surprisingly easy to make, and incredibly enjoyable to eat. It rates as one of my top, all time favourite desserts EVER! I absolutely cannot resist it!

History of Tiramisù

Stories of a dessert called Tiramisù can be traced back to around 1800 in Treviso, northern Italy. Allegedly, it was served to customers of brothels at the end of the evening, as a pick me up, before going home to their wives. Indeed, ‘pick me up’ in Treviso dialect is ‘Tireme su’ and this has morphed into ‘Tiramisù’.

Possibly due to its racy origins, there are no records of recipes for the dessert until the latter end of the 20th century. The first restaurant to include it in their menu, was Le Beccherie, also in Treviso, in 1972.

The Tiramisù we all now eat and love, is based on the recipe developed by the restaurant owner Ado Campeol, his wife Alba and Chef Roberto Linguanotto. Apparently, the recipe came about after an accident making vanilla ice cream, to which they added ladyfinger biscuits soaked in coffee and a cocoa topping. The first written recipe for this Tiramisù appeared in a food and wine magazine called ‘Veneto’ in 1981.

Although most Tiramisù include alcohol with the coffee, the original recipe was designed to be child-friendly and did not. The correct alcohol to use is therefore much debated. Rum and Kahlua are frequently used, but my favourite is Marsala, a fortified wine from Sicily. The brown sugar, vanilla and apricot flavours in the Marsala wine work beautifully in this glorious dessert.

I am posting my Tiramisù recipe this week in remembrance of Ado Campeol, who died on 30th October 2021, aged 93.

How to make Tiramisù 

Collect all your ingredients together:

• espresso coffee – or you could use strong filter or instant coffee.
• eggs, separated
• caster sugar
• mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• Marsala wine (or you could use extra coffee)
• savoiardi biscuits
• cocoa, sieved

Now make this incredible dessert:

This dessert takes only around 15 minutes to make. However, please remember that it needs to be refrigerated for a minimum of 4 hours, but preferably over night, before serving.

1. Make the coffee and set aside to cool.
2. Whisk the egg whites with half of the sugar until the soft peaks stage.
3. Transfer to another bowl.
4. Tip egg yolks and the remaining sugar into the bowl you whipped the egg whites in. There is no need to wash the bowl or whisks! Whip until pale and creamy.
5. Add the mascarpone to the egg yolks and whisk to mix thoroughly.
6. Fold ⅓ of the egg whites into the egg yolks and then gently fold in the remainder.
7. Add the Marsala to the coffee. Pour half into a shallow dish.
8. Dip both sides of half the savoiardi biscuits in the coffee in the shallow dish for around 3 seconds each. Lay out in the base of a serving dish – they should fit quite snugly.
9. Top with half the mascarpone mix and spread evenly.
10. Repeat with the remaining savoiardi, coffee and mascarpone mixture.
11. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours but preferably overnight.
12. To serve, sieve over the cocoa to give you a thick layer. Serve in squares from the serving dish.

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Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.