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.
Okay Lauren-I am a seamstress/baker/caregiver. I love tiramisu and the 94 year old that I take care of also loves tiramisu. I spend Wednesdays with her all day doing puzzles and I always stop at Olive Garden and buy her a slice of their Tiramisu ($9 per slice). Well, I was looking for a tiramisu recipe and found yours and honey I was in heaven the first I made it. I think I have made this about 12 times already. My husband loves it, she loves it and I love it. The only thing I change is the so I use the RX Allulose sugar. Other than that this recipe is a keeper. Thank you Lauren
Tiramisu is one of my favorites, and I just had to give this recipe a shot! My only question is whether using Espresso Mascarpone in place of Plain Mascarpone will affect the outcome.
Espresso mascarpone will definitely give it a stronger coffee flavor, but it should still work just fine! If you love coffee, it might even make it better.
-Stacy
My husband doesn’t like coffee, but I had been given a pack of Lady Fingers and wanted to use them. I decided to substitute Chai Tea Latte concentrate for the espresso and cinnamon on top. Delicious!! Great base recipe and love the no eggs. Thank you.
This was such an easy recipe!! I made this yesterday morning and we had it for dessert last night. Since I do not have an espresso machine I bought a can of mocha espresso to use
I did not have any coffee liqueur so I put a little rum in it
Overall, this turned out great
As I soaked Lady fingers, I counted four so they had four turns and were not mushy at all
One has to remember when making stiff cream out of whipping cream you have to turn off your mixer because if you mix it, it turns back into water
This turned out perfect for us
My husband said it was light and delicious
The only feedback I have is I will pick up some coffee liqueur so that I can enhance the coffee next time
Recipe says one package of ladyfingers but she uses two in the video for the 8×8 pan. 1 package is not enough for the rest of the recipe
Super easy to make. Everyone loved it! Thank you!
Brilliant recipe, deserves the 5 * rating. Simple to make and delicious. I’ve used it a few times and used cream cheese instead of mascarpone and tastes great. I’ve also put a bit of brandy and coffee liqueur in the cream cheese mix as well. Have no idea of it lasts 3 days in the fridge, it’s been finished off well before then !!
This is the exact same way I make it ! I am not a fan of raw eggs in any application. This is absolutely 💯 the way to make this classic Italian dessert without making it more complicated than necessary and definitely does not sacrifice the taste or texture by any means!
looking forward to trying this and only have 1/2 and 1/2 in the fridge versus heavy cream. can i use this?
Half and half won’t whip up like heavy cream, so the texture won’t be as thick or fluffy. You can still make it, but the filling will be much softer—more like a pudding layer. If you’re okay with that, it’ll still taste great!
-Stacy
Delish! I really didnt want to add egg yolk to mine which is the traditional recipe, so I found this one. I used a french vanilla expresso and made the lady fingers from scratch. This was for a “mommys night in” treat for myself! Thanks for sharing the recipe.