This delicious and unbelievably easy Tiramisu recipe is made with coffee soaked lady fingers, sweet and creamy mascarpone (no raw eggs!), and cocoa powder dusted on top. It requires no baking and can be made in advance!
Who doesn’t love an easy no-bake dessert? That’s one of the best things about this tiramisu recipe. If you are looking quick no-bake dessert I also love No Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars and Butterscotch Cereal Bars.
This recipe has been a long time coming, and I'm embarrassed to admit how much tiramisu has been made in the trial of this recipe (I literally bought out every package of Savoiardi lady fingers at two different stores!) but I wanted to nail down the right approach.
By “right approach”, I mean how traditional of a tiramisu recipe I wanted to share. (In case you're not familiar with it, Tiramisu is a popular Italian dessert made with lady fingers (or spongecake), coffee, liqueur, and mascarpone cheese topped with chocolate powder). Should I make the lady fingers from scratch? Does it matter? And more importantly, do I make it with raw eggs?
What makes my recipe different:
My tiramisu does not use raw eggs. It's the easiest tiramisu recipe to make, and there's no sacrifice in flavor.
Traditional tiramisu uses raw egg yolks and sugar beaten and then combined with raw whipped egg whites and mascarpone. I've tried that method, but thought people would most likely be turned off by the raw eggs.
Then I tried using a double boiler to gently cook the eggs and sugar before adding them to the mascarpone, which is a really common method used in lots of modern recipes (the Pioneer Woman has a great recipe!). I found it tricky to get the thick and creamy mascarpone layer I wanted.
So, I ultimately decided to swap out the egg whites in favor of fresh whipped cream, because I like the flavor and texture more. The result is delicious and EASY! You're going to love it!
Ingredients you'll need:
- Ladyfingers: I buy them, but you could make them from scratch.
- Mascarpone: it wouldn't be true tiramisu without mascarpone, but if you absolutely must, you could substitute cream cheese.
- Coffee: I use espresso
- Heavy Whipped cream
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla extract: or substitute imitation vanilla
- Cocoa powder: for dusting on top
How to make Tiramisu:
- Mix creamy filling. Beat the mascarpone, cream, sugar, and vanilla together until stiff peaks.
- Dip lady fingers. Add the espresso and liqueur (if using) to a shallow bowl and dip the lady fingers on both sides (don't let them soak–just a quick dip!)
- Layer mascarpone. Smooth a layer of the mascarpone/whipped cream mixture on top of the lady fingers.
- Repeat. Add another layer of lady fingers (dipped in coffee and liqueur) and another layer of cheese mixture. Dust with cocoa powder.
What kind of alcohol is used in tiramisu?
Tiramisu can be made with or without alcohol. This recipe calls for coffee flavored liqueur because I like that it enhances the coffee flavor.
Alcohol free: Leave it out completely.
Alcohol variations: use dark rum, brandy, marsala wine.
Espresso substitutions: coffee, decaf
MAKE AHEAD AND FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS:
Tiramisu is even better when made in advance, allowing the flavors to blend! It will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
To freeze, make completely, but don’t dust with cocoa powder. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and then tinfoil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and dust with cocoa powder a few hours before serving.
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Recipe

Tiramisu
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (360 ml)
- 8 ounce container mascarpone cheese ,room temperature (225 g)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (67 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
- 1 1/2 cups cold espresso , prepared (360 ml)
- 3 Tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur ,optional (Kahlua or DaVinci brands) (45 ml)
- 1 package Lady Fingers ,Savoiardi brand can be found in the cookie aisle at your local grocery store, or online
- Cocoa powder for dusting the top
Instructions
- Add whipping cream to a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed with electric mixers (or use a stand mixer). Slowly add sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until stiff peaks. Add mascarpone cheese and fold in until combined. Set aside.
- Add coffee and liqueur to a shallow bowl. Dip the lady fingers in the coffee (Don't soak them--just quickly dip them on both sides to get them wet) and lay them in a single layer on the bottom of an 8x8'' or similar size pan.
- Smooth half of the mascarpone mixture over the top. Add another layer of dipped lady fingers. Smooth remaining mascarpone cream over the top.
- Dust cocoa powder generously over the top (I use a fine mesh strainer to do this). Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours or up to overnight before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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Check out my webstory! I originally shared this recipe April 2017. Updated January 2020 with process photos and instructions.
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
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Made this for my daughter-in-laws for her birthday. Wow!! She loved it. It is so easy. Love that there are NO EGGS. Thank you
This was so delicious, tiramisu is my husbands favorite dessert and he said this was one of the best he’s tasted! So easy and I love that it has no raw egg!
I had never tried tiramisu because I don’t like coffee. But my daughters convinced me to try this recipe. OMG!!! It is soooo delicious! And it was really easy to make. I had read the comments and whipped up the mascarpone cheese so that it blended well with the whipped cream. This recipe is definitely one I will make again and again.
I had never tried tiramisu because I don’t like coffee. But my daughters convinced me to try this recipe. OMG!!! It is soooo delicious! And it was really easy to make. I had read the comments and whipped up the mascarpone cheese so that it blended well with the whipped cream. This recipe is definitely one I will make again and again.
Look no further. Great recipe, perfectly explained, tastes great, exceeded expectations.
Thewhipped cream marscapone takes deliious. I will assume the finished product will also.
Thanks for the easy recipe, don’t like making Sabayon.
This is such an easy recipe and it is now my go-to recipe when entertaining. It freezes so well, which means I can make it well before any event.
super easy ! delicious !
Hi Lauren – I’m really looking forward to making your Tiramisu. Sounds delicious and I love the fact that it’s easy to put together. Two questions though: (1) does the Marscapone get beaten into the whipping cream with the whisk attachment used to beat cream? and (2) should doubling the recipe make enough for a 9×13 pan? Thanks for your input.
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe. It is so good. To answer Anne’s first question, I did beat the marscapone with the whipped cream. It worked perfectly.
I am planning on making this for Christmas and decided to give it a test run before serving it to guests. I followed the recipe pretty much exactly. The only change was that I found I needed more than one package of ladyfingers for my 8×8 dish (companies make different size ladyfingers, so it’s safe to buy more than what you think you might need). Also, I used room temperature decaf coffee and Frangelico hazelnut liquor instead of coffee flavored liquor.
It turned out pretty good! Smooth, light, not too sweet, you can taste the coffee but it’s not overwhelming. It setted well too. I don’t think I will make any changes. It was surprisingly easy and fun to make. In the future, I will try to make a gluten and dairy free version using Schar ladyfingers and coconut whipping cream! Thanks for the recipe!
Planning on making this for an Italian dinner party tomorrow. Any recommendations on what store-bought cold espresso to use? Thanks!
Thank you so much for putting this recipe out there for people to enjoy!!! So easy, not many ingredients and the taste is phenomenal!! Don’t be afraid to put lots of cocoa on top! Had Italian for thanksgiving and everyone loved the dessert ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Just made this a second time and it’s the fridge settling as we speak. So good, and so easy, better than store bought! I added a little extra sugar this time and another tsp of vanilla, since I had no kaluha or amaretto. Tasted amazing on the spoon!
Made this easy recipe for tiramisu last nite and served it today! It was a huge hit with my husband who doesn’t normally like anything ‘coffee’. The texture is creamy and smooth and the taste and flavor of everything melded together is simply delicious without being too overly sweet. For those that might be hesitant to try this — you have to make it — I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Thank you for sharing this great recipe. I am glad I made it!