We Made Giada De Laurentiis’ Tiramisu, and We Can’t Believe How Easy It Really Is

NANCY MOCK FOR TASTE OF HOME, GETTY IMAGES

We love turning to Giada De Laurentiis for authentic and approachable Italian dishes. The author and host of Everyday Italian grew up cooking alongside her grandparents, and tiramisu is one of the dishes they loved to make. Her take on this classic Italian dessert is simple, yet rich, and it’s really delicious.

The no-bake dessert has a filling made with egg yolks, creamy mascarpone cheese and sugar. It’s layered with ladyfinger cookies that are soaked in espresso and rum. Giada shares that tiramisu is a favorite to serve during the holidays, but it can really be enjoyed any time of the year. We like to pair it with her viral sheet pan lasagna.

A Note On The Pan Size

Giada calls for a 13×9-inch baking dish in her Tiramisu recipe, however, several people commented that this size was too large. Most had to double the filling just to fill up all the space.

Instead, we found that an 8-inch square dish with a 2-inch depth (which has an 8-cup/2-quart capacity) is a better choice for this tiramisu; an 11×7-inch baking dish will work too. You can also try a gratin dish; in Giada’s Instagram post, she uses a 10×6-inch Made In oval dish to hold her tiramisu. Whether you’re making Giada’s version or other tiramisu variations, feel free to experiment with different-sized dishes to see what works best for you.

How to Make Giada De Laurentiis’ Tiramisu

Giada’s tiramisu recipe comes together super fast and then needs to set up in the fridge for at least two hours. It serves four to six people.

Ingredients

Nancy Mock for Taste of Home

• 6 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 16 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 1-1/2 cups strong, cooled espresso, divided
• 2 teaspoons dark rum
• 24 store-bought ladyfinger cookies
• 2 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate

Directions

Step 1: Mix the mascarpone filling

Beat together the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl using a hand mixer or whisk for about five minutes until they’re thick and pale yellow. Add in the mascarpone cheese and one tablespoon of the espresso; continue mixing until the filling is smooth.

Step 2: Assemble the dessert

Have an 8-inch square pan ready. Pour the remaining espresso into a shallow bowl, and stir in the rum. Take a ladyfinger cookie and dip it into the espresso mixture, coating all sides. This should be very quick—about five seconds so that the cookie stays intact. Place the soaked cookie in the pan; repeat the process until the bottom of the pan is covered with a layer of 12 soaked ladyfingers. (Break cookies as needed to make them fit.)

Spoon half of the mascarpone filling over the ladyfingers and spread into an even layer. Soak the remaining ladyfingers in the espresso, one at a time, and make a second layer of the cookies over the filling. Finally, spoon the rest of the filling into the pan and smooth the top.

Step 3: Chill

Wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap and chill the tiramisu in the fridge for at least two hours or for as long as eight hours.

Step 4: Serve

Unwrap the pan. Use a vegetable peeler to grate chocolate shavings over the top of the Tiramisu. (Room-temperature chocolate will make short shavings, slightly warm chocolate will make larger curls.) Slice the tiramisu and serve immediately.

Editor’s Note: You can also skip the grated chocolate and coat the top of the Tiramisu with a layer of cocoa powder.

Here’s What We Thought

Nancy Mock for Taste of Home

Giada’s dessert is absolutely sublime. The soaked ladyfingers and mascarpone filling set into a sliceable dessert that’s wonderfully creamy. And it has just enough dark coffee flavor to balance the sweetness of the filling and the rum. We had the first servings after dinner—and finished the rest for breakfast!

This recipe definitely belongs in any collection of easy and make-ahead desserts, not to mention no-bake desserts for hot summer days. Want to make a whole Italian dinner to pair with her tiramisu? Here’s Giada’s line of ingredients to get your meals started.