This easy tiramisu recipe is a quick, egg free, alcohol free tiramisu recipe that I guaurantee you’ll love. You won’t miss any of the omitted ingredients. It’s creamy and light, with the perfect texture.
One thing that commonly happens on my Instagram page is that I get requests to develop certain recipes.
Once I had a few people request a great tiramisu recipe, I started thinking about how I would go about it. There are a lot of tiramisu recipes out there, so what could I bring to the table?
I realized exactly what I wanted. Which brings us to this, my perfect tiramisu recipe that I’ll make over and over again.
What makes this easy tiramisu recipe so good?
It’s easy: First of all, the fact that it’s so easy! There’s no custard making, no egg whipping, no technical business.
All that really happens is the cream ingredients get mixed together until fluffy. Ladyfingers get soaked in espresso or coffee, and then you assemble.
It’s eggless tiramisu! I don’t know about you, but the idea of eating raw eggs in desserts doesn’t appeal to me. I also don’t want to mess around with heating eggs juuust enough that they are cooked. Let’s just leave them out!
Can you just leave eggs out of a tiramisu? Trust me, this recipe is so fluffy and light and creamy, you really won’t miss them.
It’s alcohol free! Don’t consume alcohol? Want to serve this to people who don’t consume alcohol? This is the recipe for you.
It gets better with time: if you think this is good the same day, wait till you have it after it’s chilled overnight. The ladyfingers become fluffier and more sponge like and all the flavors just soak in.
It’s fluffy and creamy and light: It doesn’t taste too heavy at all, and isn’t stiff like some tiramisu made with gelatin can be. I like serving this in scoops rather than slices!
What is in egg- free, alcohol-free tiramisu?
Ingredients in tiramisu and substitutions:
Ladyfingers (or savoiardi biscuits): the traditional Italian biscuits that get soaked in the espress/coffee mix. These are wonderful because they become sponge like and fluffy after soaking, and are mild sweet.
Heavy Cream (whipping cream): This is what gives us that lovely creaminess without making an egg based custard.
Sweetened Condensed Milk: Just a little bit to sweeten the heavy cream and add a little richness. I loved the way it turned out with this. You can add 2 or 3 tablespoons depending on how sweet you like it- I suggest you taste the cream after adding 2 tbsp. You can also use icing sugar to sweeten instead.
Vanilla extract: Added to the cream for flavor
Secret ingredient- Creme Caramel Pack: Just trust me. It gives this lovely flavour to the heavy cream when you whip it in, a little sweetness, a little richness. An after flavour you can’t quite put your finger on. I loved this!
You can absolutely just leave it out, and perhaps add a little more sweetened condensed milk or icing sugar to the cream, but I do recommend trying it.
Mascarpone cheese: Mascarpone cheese is an Italian cheese that’s like a double or triple cream cheese. It’s made with whole cows milk and is richer and silkier than regular cream cheese. It’s whipped in with the heavy cream and gives so much body to it.
However, if you can’t find or don’t want to purchase it, you can substitute cream cheese in this recipe. I do prefer mascarpone, but cream cheese will still be very tasty, as some people who tried that will attest! (when I first posted the recipe on Instagram)
Cocoa powder: for dusting the top and giving that strong barely bitter taste at the end. So. Good. Both the natural (Hershey’s) and dutch processed cocoa (the darker European stuff) will work just fine.
Soaking liquid:
Espresso or Coffee for soaking: Tiramisu is traditionally made with espresso. I will have you know I made this with regular Nescafe insant coffee powder and it was fantastic. So if you don’t want to get espresso just for this, sub some strong instant coffee.
If that thought makes you cringe, go for espresso for a more authentic taste.
Easy Tiramisu Recipe Steps:
Make the cream: Whip together the heavy cream, creme caramel powder, vanilla extract, and sweetened condensed milk until stiff peaks form.
Then, add the mascarpone cheese and whip until thick and fluffy and peaks hold their shape, but not so much the the mascarpone churns and turns into butter.
Dip the ladyfingers: Dip the ladyfingers into a cooled strong espresso/coffee mixture.
Layer: You’ll need one layer of dipped ladyfingers followed by half the cream mixture, another layer of dipped ladyfingers, then the remainder of the cream.
Dust: The final step is to give tiramisu its signature cocoa dusted top. I recommend using a mini sieve to get a nice even coating all over without any lumps.
How to store leftover tiramisu:
Cover leftover tiramisu and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. It’ll stay delicious throughout!
FAQ’s and tips for success:
Whip enough but not too much: You want to whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks, but once the mascarpone goes in, whip until firm and thick and a nice creamy texture. Don’t over whip when the mascarpone goes in so it doesn’t turn into butter, it shouldn’t take long at all.
Don’t over dip the ladyfingers: You want to get the ladyfingers wet, but just wet. No need to soak them or they’ll fall apart in the tiramisu. Just a quick dip to get the cookies wet, then into a baking dish.
What size pan should I use?: I used a 9x 13 pyrex pan, but you can do a 1/2 recipe in an 8×8 inch pan, or make two 8×8 inch pans and give one away to someone. Trust me, even the larger pan will finish so fast.
Substitutions: Check the ingredient section of the post above for any help on substitutions, or feel free to shoot me a question in the comments below!
Easy Tiramisu
Ingredients
- 250 ml heavy cream (whipping cream) 1 cup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 creme caramel powder packet, optional (or caramel flan mix, about 1 oz)
- 2-3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
- 250 g mascarpone cheese 1 cup, about 8 oz
- 1 pack of ladyfingers 7 oz, 200g
- 3 tbsp instant coffee or espresso powder
- 2 cups water
- cocoa powder for dusting
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, creme caramel powder, and condensed milk. Use the whisk attachment and beat on medium high until stiff peaks form.
- Add the mascarpone cheese and mix on medium speed until well combined, thick, and fluffy.
- Dissolve the instant coffee or espresso powder in the water. It doesn't need to be that hot, but if you used hot water, cool the prepared coffee before using.
- Dip the ladyfinger biscuits one at a time into the coffee mix briefly until the ladyfinger has just gotten wet. Layer one layer of dipped biscuits on the base of your serving dish.
- Spread half of the mascarpone cream on the ladyfingers until even. Dip the remaining half of the ladyfingers in the coffee like above, then layer a second layer of ladyfingers on top of the cream.
- Top the second layer of ladyfingers with the remainder of the cream. Spread out evenly with a rubber spatula. Dust with cocoa powder evenly, then chill for at least 3-4 hours or preferably overnight.
Notes
If you liked this recipe, you might like:
Did you make this? Tag @everylittlecrumb or hashtag #everylittlecrumb and I’ll share your images! Don’t forget to pin for later!
Hi
Can I use cream cheese instead of mascarpone?
You probably answered that question many times, sorry?
No problem! You absolutely can, many people have done it with great results!