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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 made this for my daughter’s 18th birthday and we all LOVED it ! So easy and so good!
If you don’t want to use alcohol or espresso to dip the ladyfingers, can you dip them in regular coffee?
yes. make sure the coffee is cooled to room temp, and i would use a stronger flavor brew so you get enough flavor.
Really beautiful ingredients recipe information thanks
Should I be whipping the heavy whipping cream prior to starting the recipe?
It’s the very first step of the recipe directions.
A Simple Tiramisu That’s Simply Perfect!
This Tiramisu recipe is a keeper! It’s straightforward, quick to prepare, and delivers an authentic flavor. The balance of flavors is spot on—the coffee-soaked layers provide a perfect base for the creamy mascarpone filling, and the hint of cocoa on top ties everything together beautifully.
I didn’t have ladyfingers on hand, due to this being a last minute decision so I substituted Milano cookies, and they worked like a dream! Their light texture and slight sweetness complemented the coffee and mascarpone perfectly, adding a unique twist that everyone absolutely loved.
The instructions were easy to follow making it accessible and I also appreciated that it didn’t require any fancy equipment. Just a few bowls, a whisk, and some love!
We made this for Christmas dinner, and it was a hit! The recipe is versatile, too—I swapped in decaf coffee so the kids could enjoy it, and it was still phenomenal.
If you’re looking for an impressive dessert that doesn’t take all day, this is it. Thank you for sharing such a delightful and approachable recipe!
The Milano substitution is now a regular ingredient for ours and this will be the dessert tradition!!
Can this recipe be doubled and made in a 9×13 pan?
Yes, that would work great!
I never considered myself a tiramisu fan because I really don’t like coffee but an old boss of mine would bring in slices for special occasions from a local patisserie which were very good. I wanted to make a tiramisu for Christmas dessert and knowing that family would not be willing to consume raw eggs, this recipe was perfect! I liked it well enough and the family members that ate it raved about it and asked to take some home.
If you’re having trouble sourcing mascarpone cheese, look in the deli section of your grocery store. It’s usually by the fancy cheese display and not in the dairy section with the sliced cheese and creams. I let mine sit out for 20 minutes or so which I think may have made the folding in much easier.
As for ladyfingers – I was looking for ‘savoiardi brand’ when I realized that is the Italian name for ladyfingers. So look for whatever brand 7-ounce package your store has. It’s just about enough without buying a second package but I’ll admit I still needed one or two ladyfingers from a second package. I rolled the ladyfingers in the coffeed/Kahlua mixture a few times, more than a dip but less than a soak. They held up perfectly and weren’t mushy or too firm when I served it the next day.
I used the Stok brand cold brewed, unsweetened ready to drink espresso blend.
This recipe is really simple for beginners and tastes OK but I won’t be making it again. I’ve made tiramisu without whipping cream and only Marscapone and find that it tastes a lot better that way!
This recipe received rave reviews and it was the first time I had ever made tiramisu – I made it the night before and everyone absolutely loved it! I didn’t change anything at all in the recipe 👍🏽
The recipe was straight forward however my biscuits were still hard! Will make recipe again but definitely cannot just dip the biscuits, they need to absorb the coffee/kahlua to really get that depth of flavour! Disappointed but keen to try it again and make it work 🙂
Your ladyfingers might be old, dried out, or not a great brand. I say that because normally they soak super fast and disintegrate and soften if you do more than a dip. They’ve done that in my hand after 2 seconds lol. So, be careful doing it longer. I use a shallow dish or big bowl so I do have enough room to work when dipping because it’s easy to get intimidated and not get them completely wet. I’ve done that too. I’d try again because this definitely works just might have made a mistake somewhere in the fingers or method.