Name: Limoncello Tiramisu
Prep time: PT-932949H58M50S
Total time: 6 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 32 ladyfinger biscuits; 4 fresh eggs; 1 + 1/3 cups mascarpone cheese; 5 oz limoncello; 7 fl oz milk; 1 lemon; 1 cup sugar; 

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So, my sister recently made limoncello for the whole family. And I know I might sound one-sided, but it WAS WICKED GOOD.

So good, that we might have enjoyed it a little too fast.

I spent the last weeks making drinks for anyone who visited our house. But all good things eventually end – and here I was, a couple of days ago, looking sadly at the remnants of my last bottle of limoncello. I wanted to use it for something special, so I decided to try this limoncello tiramisu recipe.

I think it’s the perfect summer dessert.

It has the simplicity of a classic tiramisu and the brightness of fresh lemons. Plus, you don’t have to bake or cook anything – no need to heat your kitchen more than it already is.

I’m sure you’ll make this a lot in the next months!

What is limoncello?

For those who don’t know it, limoncello is a typical lemon liqueur from Southern Italy. It’s a sweet, refreshing drink that is usually consumed as a digestive (or ammazzacaffè) in little shots after lunch or dinner. Many bars also use it to make some amazing cocktails.

And today we’re going to use it to make a dessert.

To be fair, it isn’t the first thing Italians would think of when making tiramisu. As you probably know, the original tiramisu is made with coffee and no alcohol, and if you want to add some spirit you’d typically go for a whiskey cream.

But if you switch the coffee with some milk, you will almost hear it scream for some hints of fresh lemon.

Here’s what you need to do.

Ingredients

Before writing this limoncello tiramisu recipe, I’ve looked up on the web for some inspiration. I was mostly dissatisfied with the recipes I found online, so I decided to make some changes to them. This is what I came up with.

Savoiardi: aka ladyfingers, or ladyfinger cookies. It’s not tiramisu if it doesn’t have at least one layer of ’em.

Raw eggs: Get the freshest eggs you can find. If you’re not sure if they’re good, put them into a bowl with cold tap water. If they sink to the bottom, they are good. Otherwise, you should throw them away. After you check them, leave them out of the fridge for a few minutes so that they get to room temperature.

Mascarpone cheese: as I wrote in my tiramisu cup recipe, classic tiramisu is made with mascarpone. However, you can use heavy cream as well. They will both taste great.

Milk: you will use it as a substitute for coffee. Any kind of milk will do.

Limoncello: quite obviously. Limoncello is one of those liqueurs that will always taste better when homemade. I don’t know what kind of magic is involved in that, but nobody has ever proved me wrong. You can easily make a good one at home with Meyer lemons. However, if you don’t know how to do it, or you don’t have time, I hear that there are some very good producers in California.

A lemon: we want this dessert to scream “LEMON FLAVOR”! Limoncello alone will not be enough. You’ll need another lemon, of which you’ll use both the peel and the juice.

Granulated sugar: not much to say about that.

How to make a limoncello tiramisu

Let’s start by making the mascarpone cream that we’ll use to layer our tiramisu. The first thing to do is to separate the egg yolks from the whites.

Put them into two separate bowls, then focus on the yolks first. Add the mascarpone cheese, half a cup of sugar, 2 or 3 tablespoons of limoncello, and 3 oz of lemon juice, then mix everything well.

You can use both a hand whisk or an electric mixer. If you choose the latter, wash it well afterward. You’re going to need clean beaters for the next step.

Now, turn to the egg whites and start whipping at medium speed until they double in volume. Then, add another half a cup of sugar and turn the beaters on high speed. Keep mixing until they become firm.

If you don’t know when to stop, check the peaks that will form on the beaters. With soft peaks, your cream could remain too much liquid, so you should keep mixing for a few more minutes. Ideally, you should get stiff peaks, but you can stop at firm peaks if you like your tiramisu to be a little smoother.

Add the whipped egg whites to the mascarpone cream, stirring from bottom to top, then set everything aside.

Assembling the tiramisu

Now, it’s time to assemble your tiramisu. The process is very easy. You’ll just need to layer the cream you just made with moistened ladyfingers in a baking dish.

First of all, pour the milk into a clean bowl or a soup plate, and add the remaining limoncello.

Then, soak the lady fingers into the limoncello mixture one by one, and create a single layer on the bottom of the dish. Add one layer of mascarpone cream, then repeat until the dish is full.

Top with some grated lemon zest, then cover with a plastic wrap and set aside in the fridge for 5-6 hours. After that, cut with a large rubber spatula and serve!

Limoncello Tiramisu FAQs

Q: How long can I store tiramisu? Can I make it in advance?
A: Yes, but not too much. If you’re keeping it in the fridge, you should consume it within 2 days. It could last a little longer in a freezer, but I wouldn’t wait too much. It’s a recipe with raw eggs, after all, and I think it’s better to make it just a few hours in advance or the day before serving. I doubt you will have any leftovers 😉

Q: Can I use cream cheese instead of mascarpone?
A: I’ve never tried it, but it should be ok. I usually stick to traditions and go with mascarpone, but since this whole recipe is a variant, why not make experiments?

Q: Can I make this limoncello tiramisu without eggs?
A: This might piss off some purists, but you could substitute the eggs with whipping cream. Let’s say 1 cup for every 4 eggs. Whip it in a large bowl just like you would do with the egg whites, then add it to the mascarpone cream.

Q: Can I make this recipe without limoncello?
A: Well, this limoncello tiramisu recipe is inherently alcoholic, but you could make a lemon tiramisu by changing the liqueur with half a cup of fresh lemon juice. It will taste great with the milk and the cheese cream. Another great alternative could be lemon syrup.

Recipe card

At first, I didn’t really know what to expect. But the cream was delicious and everybody liked this limoncello tiramisu, so I’m definitely going to make it more often.

I hope you like this recipe too. As usual, here’s a virtual card that you can print or use to adjust the ratio of the ingredients. If you’re on your phone, you can also use it as a shopping list.

Let me know what you think of it!

Limoncello Tiramisu

Author: Mortadella Head
Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 8 1x

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Description

A zesty variant of a classic Italian dessert.

Ingredients

Scale

32 ladyfinger biscuits

4 fresh eggs

1 + 1/3 cups mascarpone cheese

5 oz limoncello

7 fl oz milk

1 lemon

1 cup sugar

Instructions

Separate the egg yolks from the whites.
In a large mixing bowl combine the egg yolks with the mascarpone cheese, half the amount of sugar, 2 or 3 tablespoons of limoncello, and 3 oz of lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites firm until you get stiff peaks on your beaters. When you’re halfway through the process, add the rest of the sugar.
Mix the whipped egg whites with the mascarpone cream you made before, and set aside.
Pour the milk and the rest of the limoncello liqueur in a soup plate.
Soak each lady finger cookie in the mixture and put it into a baking dish, creating a first layer.
Add one half of the cream.
Create a second layer of lady fingers, and add the remaining cream.
Top with a couple tablespoons of zest from the lemon peel.
Let cool in the fridge at 39.2 °F for 6 hours.