Limoncello Tiramisu

Published: Mar 30, 2021 by Tara Kringlen. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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!

blue baking dish with layers of ladyfingers and lemon mascarpone with lemons to side of baking dish

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.

limoncello tiramisu slices on cream colored plates with blue baking dish and cups of limoncello

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.

plate of limoncello tiramisu with a gold fork of tiramisu and a stack of plates and another slice of tiramisu in the background

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!

blue baking dish of limoncello tiramisu with a spoon scooping out a serving and lemons and limoncello in the foreground and background

For more citrus desserts, check out:

Tag me on Instagram @themarblekitchenblog if you make this and leave a star rating and comment below! Thank you and enjoy!