If you love tiramisu but don't want to deal with raw eggs or a custard base, this eggless version of the popular Italian dessert is for you. It's creamy, flavorful, and much easier to put together than the traditional recipe. The texture is soft and rich, and the flavor improves as it chills; it actually tastes even better the next day if you ask me.
Easy Italian dessert
For years, I ordered tiramisu for dessert when I went to a restaurant. If it was listed on the menu, this fantastic no-bake dessert would get eaten with an after-dinner ristretto coffee. Let's say I ate a lot and leave it at that.
Then I started making it at home and became acquainted with the small nuances of this and that ingredient (mascarpone cheese is non-negotiable), how long should I dip the savoiardi biscuits, should the coffee be mixed with a liquor or not, and many more details.
This simple tiramisu today is the one I make more often. The original recipe for traditional tiramisu has raw egg yolks, but it's sometimes hard to come by pasteurized ones, so I had to find an option without them.
Just like a million-dollar pie or a no-bake cheesecake, aside from the mandatory chilling time after assembling it, it's very easy to put together and uses ingredients that are readily found in stores or online.
This recipe is now part of our no-bake desserts category, and it goes from a sophisticated dinner party to a Christmas dessert table or a casual weekend barbecue, as long as you have a refrigerator where to keep it until serving.
Testing Notes
Use mascarpone cheese. It's unique and does make a difference. It's part of tiramisu's trademark and what makes it unique. Like using cream cheese for a cheesecake, it's worth looking for it. Link to buy it online is in the recipe card.
Dip ladyfingers quickly in the coffee soak. These biscuits are hard on the outside but extremely light and porous, so they soak up liquids fast. You want them to retain their shape, not disintegrate and turn into mush.
Use unsweetened cocoa powder. Yes, an Italian tiramisu dessert is strongly flavored, and the final dusting is part of the deal. Sweetened won't cut it.
Whipped cream: Start with cold heavy cream and beat until you have medium-firm peaks, where the tip falls slightly when you invert the beaters. Over-whipped cream (stiff peaks) can turn grainy, and under-whipped won't give the filling enough structure.
Serve it cold. Assemble it, cover the dish and refrigerate it until ready to serve. Dust with cocoa at the last moment. Just like my darling chocotorta cake, this dessert benefits immensely from chilling in the fridge overnight.
Coffee-flavor: Use your favorite coffee. I like it strong and regular, but you can use decaf. And with a touch of coffee liquor, Marsala or another liqueur such as brandy: though optional, it's a small amount, and it nicely cuts through the richness and sweetness that this coffee dessert with ladyfingers provides. For me, it's a must, unless serving it to kids, but they don't usually care for coffee desserts.
Ingredient Notes
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
- Ladyfingers or savoiardi biscuits: these Italian cookies are non-negotiable. You can't make an authentic-style tiramisu without them. You can buy ladyfingers online, in specialty stores, and some supermarkets also carry them.
- Mascarpone: I would debate that it's also non-negotiable and that you can easily buy soft mascarpone cheese online. And though true, I understand sometimes it's not available. Use creme fraiche or sour cream (you need an acidic cheese) mixed with cream cheese. Always regular, full-fat.
Ways to serve it
Decide beforehand how you're going to serve it, so you can prepare the pan or baking dish.
- Cut into squares: Use a lined pan and then remove the cold block of cake. The key here is doing this at the last moment, so the dessert is cold and can be handled more easily.
- Family-style: straight from the baking dish (my way), like you would dump cakes or crumbles. This is the easiest way.
- A mix of both: you make it in a baking dish, cut servings and serve them like you would an icebox cake.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
I like to refrigerate this eggless dessert for a day before eating. The components meld together, and the flavor is way better than if eaten with only a few hours of refrigeration. You should be able to spoon it out of the dish.
Steps to assemble tiramisu
Mascarpone cream
This egg-free tiramisu filling is as easy as mixing the ingredients together until smooth.
It's a must-ingredient, the perfect soft cheese from Italy with an acidic tone. It's not a tiramisu without it if you ask my Italian cousin. I tend to agree.
Ladyfingers
They're crunchy or hard on the outside but very airy. It's imperative to moisten them with coffee, but not too much, or they will turn mushy. We don't want that!
Even if they look too dry, that's what chilling the assembled dessert does: it moistens the ingredients together.
Layering
I find that two layers of each component is the perfect amount. This is a creamy dessert, so don't make it too tall.
I use an offset spatula to spread the cheese mixture on top of the ladyfingers.
Refrigeration
You need to refrigerate it before dusting it with cocoa.
After you spread the last part of the mascarpone mixture, cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until ready to serve, between 6 and 24 hours.
Cocoa dusting
This is a simple icebox dessert finished with a layer of cocoa powder.
Don't refrigerate it after sprinkling it, unless it's leftovers, of course.
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Easy Tiramisu Recipe (eggless, no-bake)
Ingredients
Cream layer:
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream, cold
- 1 ¼ cups mascarpone cheese, cold
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Coffee soak:
- 1 ¼ cups very strong brewed coffee or espresso, cooled
- 2 or 3 tablespoons coffee liqueur, optional, like Kahlúa or Tia Maria, or sweetened like Torani liqueur
- 2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
Assembly:
- 20-24 crisp ladyfinger cookies or biscuits, estimate depending on your dish
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, estimate, for dusting
- dark chocolate shavings or curls, optional
Instructions
Make the mascarpone mixture:
- In a large bowl, beat 1 ½ cups heavy cream, cold, until soft peaks form.
- Add 1 ¼ cups mascarpone cheese, ⅓ cup powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat on medium until smooth and fluffy. Don't overwhip; stop when it's creamy and holds medium-firm peaks.
Prepare the coffee soak:
- Combine 1 ¼ cups very strong brewed coffee or espresso, cooled, with 2 or 3 tablespoons coffee liqueur (if using) and 2 tablespoons sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Pour into a shallow bowl wide enough to dip the ladyfingers.
Assembly:
- Quickly dip each ladyfinger into the coffee mixture, just a second per side. Don't let them soak.
- Line the bottom of a 9x9-inch dish with a single layer.
- Spread half of the mascarpone cream mixture over the ladyfingers and smooth the top.
- Add another layer of dipped ladyfingers. Spread the remaining cream on top, covering completely.
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours (overnight is best) so the flavors meld and the texture sets.
- Dust generously with about 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder before serving. Add dark chocolate shavings or curls if you like to decorate. I usually don't.
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