No.24 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Tiramisu

Made famous by Le Beccherie, Treviso

Photo: Navneet Sharma, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From created at Le Beccherie in Treviso in the late 1960s and early 1970s (Ado Campeol, Alba Di Pillo and pastry chef Roberto Linguanotto).

The world's best-known Italian dessert, and one of the most searched dessert recipes anywhere. The original has no alcohol and no cream: just eggs, sugar, mascarpone, coffee and cocoa.

Ingredients

• 4 very fresh large eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
• 1 lb (450 g) mascarpone, cold
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) strong espresso or very strong coffee, cooled
• 2 tbsp marsala or dark rum (optional; not in the original)
• About 30 savoiardi (crisp Italian ladyfingers)
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Steps

1. Beat the yolks with the sugar on high speed 4 to 5 minutes, until pale, thick and the mixture falls in a ribbon that sits on the surface for a few seconds.
2. Add the mascarpone and beat on low just until smooth. Don't overbeat or it can turn grainy.
3. In a clean bowl with clean beaters, whip the whites to firm, glossy peaks that hold their shape.
4. Fold a third of the whites into the mascarpone to loosen it, then fold in the rest gently with a spatula until no white streaks remain.
5. Pour the coffee (and alcohol, if using) into a shallow dish. Dip each ladyfinger for about 1 second per side; they should be moist outside but still firm inside.
6. Lay a single layer in a 9 by 13-inch dish. Spread half the cream over them. Repeat with a second layer of dipped ladyfingers and the rest of the cream, smoothing the top.
7. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight, until set enough to cut.
8. Just before serving, dust generously with cocoa through a fine sieve.

Chef's tips

• Use pasteurized eggs if serving anyone pregnant, very young or elderly.
• Soaked ladyfingers make a watery tiramisu; a quick dip is enough.

← No. 23New York cheesecake→ No. 25Shakshuka