This easy limoncello tiramisu sings with lemon flavor both from fresh lemons and delicious limoncello. Ladyfingers are soaked in a limoncello syrup and then layered with a pillowy lemon whipped mascarpone cream. The hardest thing about this dessert is letting it refrigerate overnight!
Ingredients Needed
There aren't too many ingredients in this limoncello tiramisu, but that means that the ingredients you do use need to be high quality.
- Limoncello- this is an Italian lemon liqueur typically made with vodka. Italians will serve this as a digestif after a meal, especially in southern Italy. Buy a good quality limoncello. I like ones that don't have fake yellow color added to them.
- Granulated Sugar
- Lemon Juice- Go for fresh lemon juice here as we really want that lemon flavor to shine and the bottled stuff just won't do it justice.
- Mascarpone Cheese- You'll find this at most grocery stores nowadays, sometimes in the specialty cheese area. It's a smooth, creamy cheese similar to cream cheese but less tangy and more creamy. It's usually in a short round tub. I've never seen low-fat versions of mascarpone at any of my grocery stores, but always make sure to go for the full-fat variety. You will want to start with cold mascarpone, unlike cream cheese which is usually softened before starting a recipe.
- Lemon Curd- As a time saver, I use a purchased jar of lemon curd for this recipe. However, if you want to make your own, you can definitely do that too!
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Ladyfinger cookies- Also known as Savoiardi cookies are crisp, long and narrow cookies named for resembling the shape of a lady's finger. Only use the crisp cookies in this dessert. The soft ones will result in a soggy tiramisu.
Tips for making tiramisu
- Dipping the ladyfingers- The key to the right consistency of this limoncello tiramisu is dipping the ladyfingers into the limoncello syrup for the right amount of time. I prefer a shallow dish for the syrup and then place one side of the ladyfinger in the syrup for about 2 seconds and then turn it over and do the same with the other side. There should still be slight crispness after taking it out of the syrup and it should not be soggy or completely saturated.
- Cold Mascarpone- Mascarpone can occasionally be finicky and separate or curdle due to its high-fat content. To make sure this doesn't happen, start with cold mascarpone cheese instead of room temperature. Over-beating can lead it to separate also, so just beat it until the lemon curd and juice is incorporated and not more. If it does curdle, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk it for 1-2 minutes until it smooths out again. Allow it to chill slightly and then whip it again.
- Refrigerate Overnight- We all like instant gratification, me included, but this dessert really shines when it is refrigerated overnight. It's definitely edible after 4-6 hours but it won't have as much flavor or brightness as it would with more refrigeration. Plus, this makes it a great option for a dinner party or get-together because it is completely finished when going into the fridge so all you need to do is slice it up and serve it when you are ready to eat it.
Different pan sizes
As the recipe is written, I used a 9 x 13 pan. If you have a different pan size than mine or want to make a different quantity of the dessert, see below for alternate-sized pans.
- 9 x 9 pan: about 26 ladyfingers. For the syrup, 1 cup of water, ¼ cup sugar, ¾ cup limoncello and 2 tablespoon lemon juice. For the cream, 16 oz mascarpone, 10 oz lemon curd, ¼ cup limoncello, 3 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream and ¼ cup sugar.
- 9 x 5 loaf pan: about 16 ladyfingers. For the syrup, ½ cup of water, 2 tablespoon sugar, ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon limoncello, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. For the cream, 8 oz mascarpone, 5 oz lemon curd, 2 tablespoon limoncello, 1.5 tablespoon lemon juice, ¾ cup heavy whipping cream and ¼ cup sugar. If you use a loaf pan, it works better to slice thin slices as you would bread vs slicing squares of tiramisu.
What if you don't like the taste of alcohol?
If the limoncello flavor is too strong for you, then add it with the water and sugar and simmer it for 4-5 minutes to cook off some of the alcohol. Feel free to omit it from the mascarpone cream if desired.
I would not completely substitute the limoncello in the cream for lemon juice as it would likely be too lemony however I have not tested it this way.
How to make it look like the pictures?
If you'd like to decorate the limoncello tiramisu like I did in the pictures, whip an additional 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.
I used a large round open tip to pipe dollops of cream in rows across the tiramisu. If you don't have a piping tip and bag, you can just use a zip top bag and cut the corner off and pipe that way.
I finished the tiramisu with freshly grated lemon zest sprinkled over the top. You can decorate ahead of time as the whipped cream holds up well overnight in the refrigerator.
How to store the tiramisu
Cover the dish with plastic wrap or foil and store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
How long will it last?
The limoncello tiramisu will be good up to 4 days in the refrigerator. It actually gets better with increased time in the fridge so it is a great make-ahead dessert!
For more citrus desserts, check out:
- Blood Orange Semifreddo with Salted Almond Crumble
- Meyer Lemon Tarts with White Chocolate
- Lemon Cream Pie with Golden Oreo Crust
- Blood Orange Tart
- Key Lime Tart
Tag me on Instagram @themarblekitchenblog if you make this and leave a star rating and comment below! Thank you and enjoy!
Limoncello Tiramisu
Ingredients
Limoncello Syrup
- 1 ¼ cups water
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup limoncello
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Tiramisu
- 48 crisp ladyfinger cookies about two 7 oz packages
- 24 oz mascarpone cheese chilled
- 15 oz prepared lemon curd
- ⅓ cup limoncello
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
Topping (Optional)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2-3 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 lemon zested
Instructions
Limoncello Syrup
- In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar and stir over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the limoncello and lemon juice. Pour the syrup into a shallow bowl and set aside to cool slightly.
Tiramisu
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the mascarpone cheese on medium-low speed until it's loosened up, about 30 seconds.
- Add the lemon curd and mix until combined. Add the limoncello and the lemon juice and mix until combined. Be careful not to overbeat the mascarpone. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat the heavy whipping cream and sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Take about ⅓ of the whipped cream and stir it into the mascarpone mixture. Carefully fold in the rest of the whipped cream until combined.
- With one ladyfinger at a time, dip into the syrup on one side for about 2 seconds and then the other side for about 2 seconds. You don't want to overly saturate the ladyfingers or the tiramisu will be too soggy. The cookie should still have a slight crispness to it after dipping.
- Arrange each ladyfinger in a 9x13 pan, all facing the same direction in a single layer. Cut ladyfingers to fit as needed.
- Spread half of the mascarpone cream over the first layer of ladyfingers and smooth the top. Dip the remaining ladyfingers, one at a time, and arrange them in the same way over the cream. Spread the remaining mascarpone cream over the top layer of ladyfingers and smooth the top.
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap or foil and let refrigerate overnight. Top with additional whipped cream (if desired) just before serving.
Optional Topping
- Beat the heavy cream and 2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar (depending on the level of sweetness you want) in a large bowl until stiff peaks form.
- Place the whipped cream into a ziplock with one corner snipped off or into a pastry bag fit with a round tip. Pipe dollops of whipped cream in rows over the tiramisu. Sprinkle with lemon zest.
Notes
- See the post for alternate pan sizes and quantities.
- The tiramisu will last covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Cristina says
Very tasty recipe. I made the 9x13 size and had over one cup of left over filling. I think 16 oz of mascarpone would suffice. Thank you for an interesting twist on tiamisu’. I gave 4 stars because amounts of ingredients could be revised.
Tara Kringlen says
So happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for the feedback:-)
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Cristina,
Just wanted to let you know that I made the tiramisu again today and using this 9 x 13 pan I didn't have any leftover cream. It filled the pan right to the top. So, you may have had leftover filling because your 9 x 13 didn't have as high of sides as mine did. The one linked has 2.25 inch sides 🙂
Linda says
Any suggestions for substitution of limoncello? I was wondering if lemon syrup (the kind added to cola, snowcones, or other beverages) perhaps diluted 50% with water, might work. What do you think?
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Linda,
I think that could work! I would just taste the syrup prior to dipping the ladyfingers to make sure it's not too sweet. Another option would be to make a lemon simple syrup. Combine a cup of fresh lemon juice with a cup of water in a saucepan and let it come to a boil until the sugar is dissolved fully. You can also add in some lemon zest for more lemon flavor and then strain it into a jar. I would store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it!