This week I turned 29. It’s hard to believe, and time is going by really fast. It seems like I just had my last birthday. And I was jetting off to Italy the week after to embark on a new journey. I was filled with panic and anxiety about the changes in my life. This year I was determined to have a more calm day. So, I made my favorite dessert of all time. Tiramisu. The authentic Venetian tiramisu recipe that I learned from a nonna in Italy. No twists, no creative flavor combos. Just pure, delicious tiramisu.

Real Venetian Tiramisu

I grew up eating a non Venetian tiramisu recipe with my grandmother at our favorite Italian restaurant. My dad and grandmother went there for the first time when my mom gave birth to me. Back in 1995. It was labor day, ironically. They celebrated my arrival over pasta and garlic knots and tiramisu. We are a food family, and we would go out to eat almost every Saturday. Both of my parents work very hard, and Saturday was always our time to celebrate surviving life for another week. My mom would order wine and my dad would have a beer waiting for him at the table. My grandmother drank Scotch.

Our restaurant was 40 minute drive from home. I watched the same buildings and traffic lights and sprawling fields pass through my window each Saturday as we listened to the radio and chatted about work drama. Reality TV. My dad would always park the car and my mom, grandmother and me would go inside to get a table. There were lemons painted on the wall and art made of wine corks. Gentle Italian music playing on the speakers. Gold plaques on wooden booths of regular family benefactors. The servers were affable and sarcastic. My dad would tease them and say “we didn’t order that” when they brought us the bill.

Garlic Knots + Pasta

We would eat garlic knots first and ask for an extra basket. I would devour my complimentary antipasto salad. My dad would scrape his dressing-soaked spinach onto my plate. My mom would give me her croutons. I’d give my grandmother my chickpeas. We would talk between bites and my family would gossip and commiserate and I would just observe.

When I went to college, I found myself studying only a 10 minute walk from that restaurant. So, the tradition continued, and my parents met me for dinner almost every weekend. I would vent about my classmates, my roommates, my friends, my teachers. Struggling to belong and shine at a school filled with golden children. I was finding myself and struggling for a while. But I always had the same garlic knots, sour cream sauce pasta, and tiramisu waiting to comfort me.

The matriarchs in my family all love coffee and chocolate. So, we would naturally order tiramisu for dessert every time. My parents would take one small bite each and my grandmother and I would duel over alternating pieces of cake. Glaring at each other and giggling as we battled. She would always let me have the last bite. It wasn’t authentic Venetian tiramisu from Italy, but it was deliciously soaked with coffee and alcohol. We still share tiramisu every time we go, and I treasure the memories we have of our favorite restaurant.

Birthday Tiramisu + Memories of Italy

So, when I was thinking about what to make for my birthday, I realized I hadn’t yet made the authentic tiramisu recipe I learned in Italy. We took a cooking class with an Italian nonna in Florence who was on the Italian Bake Off. A passionate cook and baker who spoke fluent English. She talked about astrology and traveling and her favorite restaurants. She taught us how to make the original Venetian, authentic Venetian tiramisu recipe. With yellow plastic bowls from the 80’s and an old planetary mixer. The whole process took a couple of hours, each of us completing a different task. I broke an egg yolk and dropped a shell into the bowl and my heart sank.

When we finished, we took our layered ladyfingers soaked in coffee with mascarpone mousse in small takeout containers (the tin ones that fold edges over a cardboard lid) and we walked around the city. She insisted that we not eat the dessert until it rested in the fridge for a few days so the flavors could develop.

But we found ourselves at a sandwich shop stuffed with schiacciata and deli meats, scooping sneaky spoonfuls of tiramisu. It was amazing even without chilling, but we saved most of it for the next few days. We took the train home and walked in the heat back to our house with the Venetian tiramisu sweating in our bags. But it survived. And it was indeed amazing after chilling for a few days.

Homemade Mascarpone

I started the recipe a few days before my birthday. I decided to go over the top with quality. So, I started by making homemade mascarpone. It was the first time I made homemade cream cheese, and it was fascinating. The recipe I used had me alternating stirring heavy cream until it heated and then cooled. Then, I added lemon juice and heated and cooled the mix again. Eventually placing it into a glass bowl to chill with a cloth cover. It sat in the fridge for a day, and thickened into a creamy, thick custardy cheese. I was so excited to use it in my authentic tiramisu recipe to make it even more authentic.

The next day, I made the rest of the components. Homemade savoiardi, (ladyfingers) from a whipped egg batter with flour and cornstarch for lightness. It was a careful balance of patiently whipping eggs into stiff peaks and folding in flour and egg yolks without deflating the batter. Then, I fumbled around for a tall, deep glass to rest my piping bag in.

I spilled it a little but managed to pipe dozens of delicate ladyfingers onto my baking sheets. The fascinating and fun part of the baking process involves cooking the ladyfingers in the oven with the door propped open by a wooden spoon. Unfortunately I forgot that my oven beeps to alert you when you leave the door open. So I listened to music and turned the volume up in my headphones for the 10 minutes that they cooked.

Zabaglione + Cheese Filling

Once they looked puffy and lightly golden I used an offset spatula to remove them from the parchment paper. One batch baked on a silicon mat, which was more non-stick. I arranged them in a Jenga tower of sorts on the counter and allowed them to rest while I made my mousse.

It was a simple recipe, but I was super tired after using all of my concentration and energy to nail the fluffy ladyfingers. I got out a big bowl and whipped egg yolks with sugar. I re-read the Italian recipe several times, trying to understand why it said to bring the temperature up to 85°C. After whisking for nearly 10 minutes, my thermometer read 25°C. So, discouraged, I ignored the step and continued the process, folding in my mascarpone. It turned into a luscious, creamy, and delicious mousse.

Next I found a perfect square baking dish to assemble my Venetian tiramisu in, which ended up fitting my ingredients perfectly. I started by smearing a small scoop of mascarpone filling in the bottom and layering on a shingling of coffee-soaked ladyfingers. I made espresso the day before and let it cool overnight. The goal is to make it as robust as possible to stand up to the sweetness of the cream.

Alcohol-Free and Authentic

The original, authentic tiramisu recipe has no alcohol. So the coffee really has to bring the flavor. I gleefully dunked my ladyfingers in coffee quickly and layered them in my pan, alternating with a layer of cream. Until the tiramisu was flush with the top of the pan. At the end I had one sole ladyfinger left and a teaspoon or so of cream. So I made a little deconstructed tiramisu bite. I dusted the tiramisu with a cocoa powder and espresso powder mixture and chilled it for 2 days. There were several moments when I snuck into the fridge at night with a spoon.

I was nervous after dinner on my birthday that I wouldn’t have room for dessert. But all our pasta dinners with garlic knots and salad prepared me for this moment. I ate a slice with my grandmother, and I was so happy with myself for putting in the work. I tasted the silky, smooth cream with a hint of sugar. The ladyfingers sand with espresso and held their texture. A subtle bitter cocoa and espresso dust punctuated the earthy flavors.

Slicing My Tiramisu

This authentic Venetian tiramisu recipe is so easy to slice after resting. It makes satisfying square shapes with a sharp-edged spatula. You could get lost in this dessert and eat your way to sickness pretty easily. I realized days after skipping the temperate step with the egg yolks that the recipe said to cook the egg mixture over a water bath. I laughed at the language barrier in my Italian-to English translation and ate the custard with no issues.

My actual birthday was an emotional day. As I’ve grown closer to my 30’s I’ve grown a lot as a person. But I’ve also battled loneliness, self-doubt, existential thoughts about aging and not amounting to my potential. Thinking about societal pressures to make a family or to have a 401K, a stable job, or to buy a house. I deal with anxiety often, and put a lot of pressure on myself, which I’ve gotten better about. But I found myself ruminating on the number 29. Unable to believe that my 14th birthday cake on the eve of high school was over half my life ago.

Goals for 29

I was 24 when the pandemic started, and I don’t feel any older now. It’s been 11 years somehow since I graduated high school, but I look nearly the same. I’m living in my childhood town and going to the same gas station. I’m getting used to missing friends who live all over the world and are doing busy, amazing things. Learning to accept that some people from your childhood change and grow in a different direction. I’m treasuring the people who I do have in my life, and feeling thankful for my family. But I’m putting so much pressure on myself to chase my dream life. To hunt it down in the woods and destroy any chance of not living up to my “potential” before I turn 30.

But I’m mostly learning how to accept life and take things as they come. To realize that everyone works on a different time schedule and there’s no pressure to do things quickly. Instead, do things thoroughly and passionately and joyously. Good things take time. I’m learning how to accept that I can’t see some of my favorite people every day. That some days are slow and boring and lonely and that’s part of life. That everyone else is stressed about their own lives and my problems aren’t big, in the grand scheme of things.

Patience + Eating Tiramisu

I’m learning still how to let go of perfectionism. To not take my anxieties out on myself or expect myself to accomplish 90 things each day. I’m learning how to relax and to enjoy relaxing without needing to be productive first. And I’m learning how to be kinder to myself. Patient. Optimistic, but realistic. Patient with others. Forgiving.

It’s hard to do all this and to remind myself every day of these mantras. But I’m also grateful for this creative outlet to use my energy in a productive and thoughtful way. I’m allowing myself to just have bad days sometimes. Even on hard days though, I’m still excited to bake cakes and paint and write. So, here’s to many more blog posts and recipes and self reflections. And sharing this authentic Venetian tiramisu recipe with my family. Thank you for reading!

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Print Pin

Authentic Italian Tiramisu

The original Venetian tiramisu recipe with homemade ladyfingers

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Keyword tiramisu

Prep Time 1 day day 2 hours hours

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 3 cups strong espresso chilled
• 125 g egg yolks
• 100 g sugar
• 190 g egg whites
• 85 g sugar
• 150 g flour
• 65 g corn starch
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 150 g white sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 500 g mascarpone
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp espresso powder

Instructions

• Start by brewing 3 cups of strong espresso in an espresso machine or mocha pot. Chill for 1-2 days.
• Preheat oven to 475°F. To make savoiardi, start by whisking your 125 g egg yolks with 100 g sugar. Beat mixture in a stand mixer until quadrupled in size and pale yellow, stiff, and glossy.
• In a separate bowl, whisk 190 g egg whites until airy, about 3-4 minutes. Add your 85 g sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form and mixture triples in size. It should be stiff, glossy, and opaque white.
• Sift your flour and corn starch into the middle of a large sheet of parchment paper (or a bowl). Sift again, twice in total, to ensure the ladyfingers are airy.
• Fold a spoonful of your stiff egg whites into your glossy egg yolk mixture until combined.
• Add a couple spoonfuls of your flour mixture and repeat folding until no streaks are left. Repeat steps by adding egg whites and flour, folding gently until no streaks remain.
• Fill a large pastry bag with half of your ladyfinger batter. Use a #13 star tip and pipe 4-5" long, thin strips of batter onto parchment or silicon-lined baking sheets. When you run out of batter, refill your bag with the other half.
• Dust your ladyfingers with a light coating of powdered sugar. Then, place in oven to bake for 9-10 minutes. Keep the oven door slightly ajar with the help of a wooden spoon.
• Remove ladyfingers from oven when they are lightly golden and slightly puffed. Cool completely.
• To make mascarpone filling, start by separating 6 eggs. Place yolks into a glass or metal heat-proof bowl.
• Heat a double boiler of water over medium-high heat until bubbling and steaming.
• Add 75 g of the sugar to your egg yolks and whisk to combine. Immediately place over your double boiler and whisk constantly, until temperature reaches 85°C.
• Remove egg yolk and sugar mixture from heat and add the other 75g of sugar and salt. Whisk to combine and let cool slightly.
• Add mascarpone to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until cohesive and silky smooth.
• To assemble tiramisu, spread a small layer of mascarpone cream in the bottom of a 10×10″ square baking pan.
• One at a time, dunk your ladyfingers in your chilled espresso (quickly) and place in a layer in your pan. Once you have a later with no gaps, place a couple spoonfuls of mascarpone cream on top and smooth into an even layer.
• Repeat layering coffee-soaked ladyfingers and mascarpone cream until you have none left. Smooth the top of your tiramisu, ending with cream.
• Dust a thin layer of cocoa powder and espresso powder mixture on top and cover pan with plastic wrap. Place in fridge to chill and develop flavors for 1-2 days. Dust with more cocoa and espresso powder before serving.

Notes

• Authentic tiramisu doesn’t use alcohol and omits egg whites in the mascarpone custard.
• If making homemade mascarpone, make sure to use a heavy whipping cream with at least a 30% fat content. 
• You can use a moka pot to make espresso if you don’t have an espresso maker.