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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! Make sure to try my Pumpkin Tiramisu and Lemon Tiramisu too!
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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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 8×8'' 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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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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OMG I ate the entire desert myself in ONE day. it’s that good. Making another soon.
It was amazing, I loved it. I used vanilla extract to my hearts content so that did not going quite well but apart from that, IT WAS DELICIOUS
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
Did you check the sponge fingers did not have eggs?
You don’t use sponge fingers. The point of the recipe was no RAW eggs,but even so there are no eggs in the hard lady fingers .
“Sponge fingers” is the British name, same thing, and it IS a type of sponge cake biscuit. It is also an egg-based dessert, so most likely their lady fingers had eggs (not raw).
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.
I would like to increase the recipe for a 9×13 pan to feed 12. Should I just adjust by increasing half of the original recipe?
Thank you for your assistance!
Graciously,
Sara
Double the recipe, for a 9×13 pan.
If you look at the recipe there are 3 buttons (options) on the left side and it’ll give u the options to increase quantities
This recipe is literally so good i cannot even handle it. I shared this recipe with everyone I know and they had the same reaction as i did. This recipe deserves more than five stars.
Hello, I absolutely love your recipe. This is my new holiday dessert.
The 1st time I made it, I couldn’t find a deep dish 8×8 pan, therefore, the filling amount was too small because the pan was too large. Each delicious slice look like a brownie.
Also, the dessert wasn’t sweet enough. But it was still very delicious and only lasted for a few days.
The 2nd time I made it, I had too much filling but the sweetness was perfect.
I also added room temperature ganache on top of the cream mixture which was too much work for me but again, delicious.
Making again for Xmas. I hope 3 cups of heavy cream and 3 containers of mascapone will give me a nice tall filling like yours because I can’t find a 8×8 deep dish glass container.
I would prefer a container with a lid. I found a 9×11.
I also added cocoa powder to the coffee/liqueur mixture and sugar.
I also added more sugar to the cream mixture. I had my husband taste it for sweetness and he loved it.
I will make it simple again for xmas by adding chocolate shavings on top of each layer of the cream mixture and final topping before I dust with cocoa powder. I also like vanilla and cake batter extract.
I want a decadent dessert. Do you have any addtl tips on how to make it more decadent?
Love, love, love this simple and easy dessert.
If I tripled this recipe could I fill 2 9×13 pans?
This is so good. Just made it for Thanksgiving
can I make a 3 tiered Tiramisu without it collapsing? Also, I made a 2 tiered with one sponge cake and 1 layer of Ladyfingers. really good.
I was thinking of using a small springform and doubling the recipe. From your experience do you think that will work?
This was amazing. I never realized there were eggs in tiramisu. I’m glad I found this recipe. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I used the Kaluha. I am not sure it made much of a difference but it was fun having it in there.
Sounds exactly what I want to serve for a finish to my Christmas dinner, but I don’t like
the taste of either of the two alcohols in the recipe. Any suggestions for any substitute?
Thanks so much😊
Rosalee
I imagine that using Baileys would be really good in it.
I can’t seem to find the brand of ladyfingers you have used. What are the other brands that can be used? Also, please mention the quantity of ladyfingers to be instead. 1 package is vague. There can be different sizes of packages.
A standard package is 24 ladyfingers. Honestly, any brand you find should work.
Dear Lauren,
Can I use condensed milk instead of sugar?