Tiramisu Tart

crostata tiramisu

Tiramisu tart is a beautiful combination of an egg-free tiramisu and a pie. It features a creamy mascarpone filling with coffee soaked Savoiardi cookies, all inside a buttery and flaky tart crust.

There are few other dishes more quintessentially Italian than tiramisu.

We find it on dessert menus all over the world. I actually thought it was one of those dishes that only exist in America, like chicken alfredo and pineapple pizza. I can tell you with confidence, it is a real dessert in Italy, and loved by real Italians.

There are many variations, including strawberry, lemon or pistachio tiramisu. One thing that can divide tiramisu eaters is the presence of raw egg in the mascarpone cream. This simple tiramisu tart recipe uses no egg and makes a deliciously smooth and silky filling from whipped cream mixed with mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar.

History of Tiramisu

Literally meaning pick me up, tiramisu has a more recent origin story than you’d expect for being such a culinary classic. Though some date the dessert’s creation to the 1800s, it wasn’t until the early 1970s when it first appeared on the menu at Le Beccherie in Treviso, just north of Venice. There is one story that claims the dessert was invented in the 19th century in an Italian brothel to act as an aphrodisiac. As for the owner of Le Beccherie, Ado Campeol, he’s said it was created by accident when mascarpone was dropped into a bowl of eggs and sugar. While other accounts say Campeol adapted the recipe from a dessert called coppa imperiale, made with similar ingredients as tiramisu, from another restaurant in Treviso.

Ingredients

Tart Crust

• Flour- type 00
• Sugar
• Salt
• Butter
• Water

Tart Filling

• Heavy cream
• Powdered sugar
• Mascarpone cheese
• Ladyfinger cookies – Savoiardi
• Strong black coffee
• Cocoa powder

Savoiardi are ladyfinger cookies that take their name from the region of Savoy. They are light and delicate and slightly spongy, lending themselves well to desserts where they can soften amongst cream and become soft and cakey, like in trifles or charlottes. They also soak up the flavors of the surrounding ingredients, like the coffee in tiramisu. Because of their long, thin shape, they have also adopted the name “ladyfingers”. Their history goes back to the 15th century, being served at the court of the Duke of Savoy.

Step by Step

Tart Crust Dough

Pie crusts can be made by-hand or in a food processor. It’s actually quite simple to do by hand and I’m here to take all the fear out of it!

The key is working quickly to not let your hands and fingers warm up the dough.

Start by putting the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl – type 00 flour, granulated sugar, and always a pinch of salt in baked goods.

Then add in the cubed cold butter and using just your fingertips, work the butter into the flour mixture, squeezing and crumbling and tossing everything together so it all becomes broken up. Work quickly to get the butter incorporated. The mixture should look sandy, and the butter should be pea or pebble sized.

Then add ice cold water, a tablespoon at a time and gently incorporate all the ingredients with your fingers until large clumps form. Even before it’s all combined, dumb the contents of the bowl onto a work surface. It’s OK if there’s still loose flour and small crumbs.

Gather the dough into a ball, getting all those small bits incorporated and doing just a light, gentle knead if necessary to smooth it out. Pat the ball down into a disk; this will help it chill faster and will be easier to roll out later.

Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours (the dough can be made the day before).

---

Baking the Tart Crust

When the tart dough is chilled and ready, preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease and line with parchment a 22cm cake pan or springform pan.

Unwrap the dough, leaving the plastic wrap underneath and place another layer of plastic wrap on top. Rolling out pie crust in between plastic wrap avoids it sticking to your work surface and allows for an easy transfer of the dough to the pan.

Roll the dough out to about 4mm thin. Take off the top layer of plastic, gently flip the dough into the prepared pan. Nestle the disk into the pan and peel off the other layer of plastic. Using a knife, trim the excess dough around the top edge of the pan. Prick all over the bottom of the dough in the pan with a fork.

Now, for the blind baking! Don’t be intimidated, it’s super simple!

Blind baking is just a fancy way of saying that we’re baking the pie crust on its own, partially or completely, before adding a filling. If we didn’t add the pie weights, the bottom of the crust would puff up and the sides would slide down into a saggy, slouchy mess.

First, take a piece of parchment paper and line the inside of the crust. For a better fit, crumple the parchment into a little ball, and then flatten it back out. Now the parchment is soft and will nestle into the curves of the crust without damaging the dough.

Pour in pie weights or dried beans. I always keep a bag or jar of dried beans that I use solely for blind baking pie crusts – you can reuse them! (But you can’t cook and eat them.)

Place the crust in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. The dough should be a pale golden brown. Now pull out the parchment with the weights and return the crust to the oven. It is baked enough so the shape of the crust will remain set and won’t sag. Continue baking for 10-15 minutes until golden brown and fully cooked. Let the crust cool completely.

---

Tart Filling and Assembly

While the crust is cooling, make the tart filling! Beat heavy whipping cream with an electric mixer until it reaches medium peaks.

Then in a separate bowl whisk together the mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar until light and smooth.

With a rubber spatula, start by folding ⅔ of the whipped cream into the mascarpone. Then gently fold in the remaining whipped cream until just combined, being careful not to deflate the mixture.

To assemble the tart, spread a thin layer of the mascarpone cream mixture into the bottom of the cooled tart. This will be the base layer.

In a shallow bowl, add the cold coffee. Quickly dip the cookies in the coffee on both sides and then nestle on top of the layer of cream. I cut the cookies in half for a better fit.

Then spoon in the remainder of the mascarpone cream on top and spread evenly over the cookies, making some decorative swooshes with the spatula in the cream.

Cover the tiramisu tart with plastic wrap and refrigerate 3-4 hours, or overnight. Right before serving, dust with cocoa powder.

Tips and FAQs

Variations

Add a thin layer of Nutella or chocolate ganache on top of the crust before adding the mascarpone cream!

Substitutions

All-purpose flour can be substituted in an equal amount for the type 00 flour.

Storage

Tiramisu tart is even better when made in advance! It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Tiramisu Tart Recipe

More Italian Dessert Recipes

Nutella Biscotti Bars

One Bowl Lemon Ricotta Cake

Lemon Rosemary Cornmeal Cookies

Apple and Pear Crumble Tart