Published on: August 28th/2025
Author: Recipe by Nonna Carmela; from Mediterranea by Anastasia Miari (Quadrille, £28), photography © Marco ArgÜello
Recipe origin: Italy
Note from Anastasia: The dessert to beat all desserts, tiramisu needs little introduction. It has always been my favourite sweet ending to a meal, but when I moved to Sicily a few years ago to learn Italian and realised that tiramisù quite literally means ‘pick me up’, I fell in love with this dolce all over again.
Carmela’s tiramisù is light and creamy. It’s less saccharine than others I’ve tasted across Italy and strikes just the right balance between creamy, sweet and kicky (from the coffee). It’s also damn easy to whip up. Don’t think about adding alcohol to this one. It isn’t traditional tiramisù etiquette and Nonna Carmela would be very upset. She also advises you make it the day before to ensure a tidier slice. She served hers right after her Pasta alla Norma.
5 cups water
4 large eggs, separated
150 g (51/2 oz/scant 2/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) mascarpone, at room temperature
800 ml (27 fl oz/ 31/3 cups) brewed espresso (Carmela used 4 coffee pods), cooled
400 g (14 oz) sponge fingers (savoiardi/ ladyfingers; ideally thin ones)
2 tablespoons cocoa (unsweetened) powder
Using a hand mixer, whisk the egg whites in a large, clean bowl until soft peaks form. Be careful not to overmix them.
Put the egg yolks into a large bowl, add the sugar and whisk until pale and thickened.
Gradually add the mascarpone to the yolk and sugar mixture, whisking until combined. Add the egg whites and whisk again briefly until combined.
Now make the first layer of sponge fingers. Pour the coffee into a large Tupperware box or small baking dish. Place the dish you will use for your tiramisu next to the dish of coffee – Carmela used a 39 x 17 cm (15 x 7 inch) glass dish, but use any medium-sized deep dish you have. One at a time, dip half the sponge fingers into the dish of cooled coffee very quickly. Make sure this action is in and out in a flash – just as long as it takes to submerge the finger. They should not be soggy at all. Once you’ve submerged one finger, place it into the tiramisu dish immediately and then repeat the process until half the sponge fingers have been dipped and arranged.
Next, spread half the mascarpone mixture onto the sponger fingers. Now repeat the process with the sponge fingers to create another layer of soaked sponge fingers on top of the mascarpone layer. Finally, add the remaining mascarpone mixture and smooth out the top.
Place the dish in the refrigerator and chill overnight.
Before serving add a thick dusting of sifted cocoa.
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