Tiramisu Ice Cream combines all the familiar flavours of the classic Italian dessert into a silky gelato — a delicate hint of coffee, a splash of Marsala and crunchy savoiardi (ladyfinger) biscuits.
If you love tiramisu and you love ice cream, this is the dessert for you. It’s a smooth, creamy gelato that captures those classic tiramisu notes without being overly boozy or heavy. This has quickly become one of my favourite ice creams and I hope it will be one of yours too.
I first tasted tiramisu ice cream in San Gimignano, a beautiful hilltop town near Siena. There’s an award-winning gelateria in the main piazza that’s always busy — the queue can look long, but service is quick and you’ll have time to decide which flavours to try. I chose a small cone with two flavours: tiramisu and a classic custard. It was genuinely the best gelato I’ve had — perfect on a hot day.
I couldn’t stop thinking about that ice cream and decided to recreate it at home. After several rounds of testing and refining the recipe, I landed on a version that’s balanced and true to the tiramisu spirit: creamy mascarpone custard, a touch of Marsala, coffee and little cubes of crunchy savoiardi.
The key is restraint. Don’t over-soak the biscuits in espresso — a quick one- or two-second dip is enough. If the ladyfingers absorb too much liquid they’ll freeze hard in the ice cream instead of staying pleasantly chewy.
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment to let me know how it turned out — I love hearing from readers. You can also follow me on social media to see more recipes and updates.
More delicious desserts
- White chocolate cantucci biscuits
- White chocolate panna cotta
- Stracciatella Gelato (No Churn)
- Italian Affogato — Ice Cream and Coffee
- Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream
Step By Step Photos Above
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Tiramisu Ice Cream
By Emily
Ingredients
- 8.8 oz (250g) mascarpone
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) full fat milk
- 2.8 oz (80g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder
- 2 1/2 tbsp (40ml) Marsala
- 3 large egg yolks
- 3 savoiardi biscuits (ladyfingers)
- 1 strong brewed espresso
Instructions
- Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until pale and thick. In a saucepan, combine the mascarpone and milk and heat gently until it just reaches a boil. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla extract and let sit for 1 minute.
- Very gradually whisk a little of the hot milk into the egg mixture to temper it, continuing until fully combined. Return the custard mixture to the saucepan over low heat and add the espresso powder, stirring until dissolved.
- Stir the custard for 5–10 minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, stir in the Marsala and set aside to cool.
- Pour the cooled custard into your ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Quickly dip each side of the savoiardi biscuits into the espresso for one to two seconds, then cut into small cubes and set aside.
- When the ice cream is thickened and nearly finished (about 10 minutes into churning), fold in the savoiardi cubes a little at a time so they distribute evenly. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-proof container and freeze until firm.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I use extra virgin olive oil in recipes unless stated otherwise.
- When I use canned tomatoes, I choose trusted brands for consistent flavour.
- Vegetable sizes are assumed to be medium unless noted.
- All recipes are tested using a fan (convection) oven when relevant.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
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