If you love tiramisu, just wait until you try this scrumptious dessert! Learn how to make The BEST Vegan Tiramisu with this in-depth step-by-step recipe tutorial. Made with easy, vegan homemade ladyfingers, dunked in coffee, with a simple dairy-free ‘mascarpone cream’ filling topped with a dusting of cocoa powder. This classic Italian dessert is a great make-ahead treat for any occasion!
One bite of this heavenly dessert, and you won’t be able to tell it’s vegan, egg-free, dairy-free and nut-free.
What is Tiramisu?
Before getting to the method and ingredient’s of this vegan tiramisu, I’m sure you want to know what tiramisu is. Tiramisu is a coffee flavoured, Italian dessert consisting of ladyfingers, dipped in coffee and rum, topped with a mascarpone cream cheese, dusted with cocoa powder. It’s usually no bake, but as we’re making our own homemade ladyfingers for this tiramisu, it’s baked!
Tiramisu actually translates to ‘pick me up’, which this dessert definitely does with the coffee.
It uses ‘ladyfingers’, which are basically a sponge / biscuit which is very absorbent, dipped in brewed coffee, layered with a cream filling, how tasty!
What are ladyfingers?
It’s such a strange name for a food item isn’t it- haha! It doesn’t really explain what they are / they do. Ladyfingers are a sweet, quite dry cookie / sponge. They are long in length and are pretty flat. They are used in many deserts like tiramisu and cream based trifles. When they are exposed to moisture like coffee, cream or even alcohol, they take on the moisture and become cake like, it’s pretty magical.
You can find non-vegan ladyfingers in supermarkets, but if you’re looking for the cruelty-free, vegan version (which is even tastier), you’ll have to make your own homemade version. Thankfully, they are pretty easy and straight forward. Plus, they’re super fun to make! Keep reading to learn how to make them.
Tiramisu layers
There are two layers which make up a classic tiramisu:
- Coffee dipped ladyfingers
- Mascarpone cream
The layering pattern goes- coffee dipped ladyfingers, a layer of mascarpone cream, repeat this 2 – 3 times then dust the whole thing off with a hefty sprinkle of cocoa powder. If you wanted to go all out, you could even decorate the tiramisu with some chocolate shavings, delicious!
From a girl who has 3 iced coffees daily, i’m shocked I haven’t shared my recipe for vegan tiramisu before now as I am the biggest coffee lover!
This classic dessert has had the ultimate vegan twist which is SUPER EASY to make, with simple vegan friendly ladyfingers (made from aquafaba and coconut cream), along side a vanilla mascarpone cream filling made from dairy-free butter, vanilla bean and yogurt. You won’t be able to tell it’s vegan! This dessert captures all that’s loved in a classic dessert!
Make sure to ‘PIN’ the photo below to your favourite Pinterest board.
Looking for more chocolate recipes? Look no further:
The easiest tiramisu!
I put off making tiramisu for the longest time as I thought it would a difficult dessert to make, with many components. Boy was I wrong! This tiramisu is super easy, from the ladyfingers (which literally take less than 15 minutes to make), to the mascarpone, which contains only 4 ingredients and again is super quick to make!
It’s one of those desserts where even if you make it and it doesn’t look neat, it’s still going to look and taste identical to tiramisu!
Why you’ll fall in love with this dessert
Light, whippy cream and yummy sponge is such a ‘happy’ food. I would definitely say this vegan tiramisu is comforting, with it’s light coffee kick and silky smooth cream filling. It just makes you feel warm and cosy. You simply won’t be able to tell it’s vegan. The creaminess from the filling, to the light and airy ladyfingers, it’s definitely a recipe to share with non-vegan friends to prove how delicious vegan food is – haha!
How to make Vegan Tiramisu (from scratch) – the full written recipe is below, along with a checklist and printable version.
- You’ll want to make a batch of ladyfingers
To start off the preparation for this tiramisu, you’ll want to bake a batch of ladyfingers. I like to make these the day in advance and store them in a sealed container at room temperature. This is why I love this dessert so much, its a great ‘make ahead’ recipe! The lady fingers don’t take long at all to make and only take 15 minutes to bake too!
- Next, make the mascpone cream cheese
This cream is super easy, only 4 ingredients and can be whipped up (literally) in under 15 minutes! It’s thick and holds the tiramisu beautifully.
- Time to layer!
For this recipe, I like to use a rectangular, ceramic dish. I know a lot of people use glass which goes look gorgeous as you can see the layers from the outside of the dish, but theres something about using a ceramic dish, cutting into the tiramisu and lifting up a slice and seeing the layers for the first time which is super satisfying.
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. It would mean so much, thank you & happy baking!
Print
The BEST Vegan Tiramisu
- Total Time: Overnight
- Yield: 8–10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The ULTIMATE coffee dessert for all to enjoy. This Vegan Tiramisu is light, creamy and absolutely delicious!
Perfect for a 10 x 8 dish.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the lady fingers
- 180ml of aquafaba (chickpea brine)*
- 12g of cream of tartar
- 180g of caster sugar
- 60ml of sunflower oil
- 20g of dairy-free vanilla yogurt
- 80g of coconut cream*
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 300g of plain flour
Ingredients for the mascarpone cream
- 250g of dairy-free block butter (softened)*
- 420g of icing sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste
- 50g of dairy-free vanilla yogurt
Coffee (for dipping)
- 4 tablespoons of coffee granules (caffeinated or decaffeinated)
- 8 tablespoons of hot water
+
- 1 pot of Elmlea Plant Based Double Cream (or any good quality whipping cream)
- 200g of dairy-free cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste
- Cocoa powder (for dusting)
Instructions
Method (ladyfingers)
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan, and line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper. This recipe will make around 3-4 trays, so you’ll want to bake 1 tray at a time.
- Pour the aquafaba (chickpea brine) into a medium / large mixing bowl and whisk on low, adding in the cream of tartar. You will want to use an electric hand whisk or stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment. Whip on high speed for 5-8 minutes until soft peaks form.
- While the aquafaba mixture is still whipping on high speed, sprinkle in 150g of the sugar, a little at a time until it’s all in the bowl. Allow this to whip for 5-8 minutes until stiff peaks form. If you can hold the bowl upside down and the meringue doesn’t move or slide out of the bowl, it’s ready.
- In a separate bowl, combine the oil, yogurt, coconut cream, vanilla bean paste and remaining sugar. Whisk this together to combine.
- Use a spatula to carefully fold the meringue mixture into the yogurt mixture, do this in 2-3 stages as you don’t want to and deflate the air we made in the meringue.
- Sift in the baking powder and flour, carefully fold this in to combine. Fold until there is not dry ingredients visible, be-careful not to over mix.
- Transfer the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip nozzle.
- Pipe lines of the mixture (around 4 inches / 10cm long) onto the lined trays, making sure to space them out as they will spread in the oven.
- Place 1 tray at a time into the middle of the oven and bake the ladyfingers for 15 minutes, making sure not to burn them. You will know they’re ready when the edges of the ladyfingers turn golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray before peeling them off the paper and placing onto a wire rack to cool down fully.. Repeat until you’ve used up all the mixture.
- Once cool, keep all the ladyfingers fresh before using in the tiramisu, but placing them in a sealed container at room temperature. You will want to use them on the day of making, or the next day. Don’t leave them too long in the container or they could soften.
Method (mascarpone cream)
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free softened butter. Using a hand whisk or stand mixer with balloon whisk attachment, whip the butter for 5-8 minutes until pale.
- Sift in the icing sugar and add in the vanilla bean paste. Whip on high speed, adding in the yogurt. Keep whipping for around 5 minutes. The mixture will turn very thick and creamy. If your mixture looks like it is splitting, keep whipping it! It will come together.
Assemble
- Add the coffee granules into a bowl and pour over the hot water. Allow the water to melt the coffee until smooth. Give it a little stir.
- Dip the ladyfingers into the coffee (making sure not to over dip them, or they will become soggy), place into your desired dish to make the first layer.
- Spread half of the mascarpone cream evenly over the first layer of ladyfingers. Use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer.
- Repeat the ladyfinger layer and mascarpone layer 2 / 3 more times until you’ve used up all of your mixture.
- Whip up the Elmlea cream (or any good quality dairy-free double cream) with the cream cheese and vanilla bean paste, until thick, add into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip nozzle and pipe blobs all over the top of the dessert.
- Dust the entire dessert with cocoa powder, wipe the rim of the dish with kitchen paper, then place into the fridge for 6-8 hour or overnight to chill (my preferred method is overnight as it makes sure everything is set).
- Using a sharp knife, carefully slice chilled tiramisu into squares / servings. TIP: Wipe the knife clean between each cut with kitchen paper, this makes for neat slices.
- To lift the tiramisu out of the dish, use a flat spatula, it really helps to get underneath the tiramisu and lift it up without damaging the dessert too much. The first slice is always the trickiest to get out of the dish.
- Serve the tiramisu with a swirl of dairy-free cream, or a scoop of ice-cream.
Notes
What is aquafaba? Aquafaba is the water from a can/tin of chickpeas. The chickpea water or brine as it’s called, acts as an amazing egg substitute for cakes, cupcakes and delicious meringue buttercream. You can also get aquafaba in a carton for easy use.
What coconut cream to use? To get thick white coconut cream, you’ll want a tin of coconut milk. Pop it in the fridge overnight, pour out the liquid and just use the thick cream.
What vegan block butter to use? My two favourites are Naturli Vegan Block and flora Plant Based Block.
To store: Store this tiramisu in a sealed container in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature before enjoying.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Would this work with gluten free flour. Looks so good 😋
Author
Hello, Ive already had some people make this with gluten-free flour and really enjoyed it, so if you try it, let me know what you think! Happy Baking x
This is soooo tasty. The best tiramisu ive ever had.
Author
Hello, Aw im so glad you enjoyed! Thank you x
Ahhh! I thought only on pana-organic.com I can taste this kind of food that is Vegan, which proves that I’m wrong! This is one of the best vegan Tiramisu I’ve ever tasted! Thank you so much for sharing this!
Author
Hello, OMG thank you so much!I am so happy you enjoyed lovely, its definitely one of the best coffee desserts i’ve tried myself too- haha! xx
Yay, tiramisu is my favourite all time desserts. I have really miss it since I went from vegetarian to vegan. Thanks for sharing this recipe.I certainly will be making this tiramisu very soon.
Is this recipe in your book?
Andy
Author
Hello, oh tiramisu is such a classic and i love the creamy flavours along side the coffee! It’s simply divine! I cant wait to hear what you think! The book contains 80 BRAND NEW recipes, which can only be found inside the book!!!! You’ll love them! xx
the mascarpone srayed so liquid. i don’t know how you made yours look like this 🥲
Author
Hello, oh no! I dont know why yours would have turned out liquid, as this recipe has worked for so many people, me included! The only thing i could think is that your butter might not have been cold enough, or you added more yogurt than stated. Other than that, it should be perfect xxx
when you say one pot of the non dairy cream, is there another measurement mL or g of that? here in the US i have a 16 oz (pint) of the cream i’ve used for whipped cream before but not sure if that’s the right amount for this. thanks!
any answer to this because I am also wondering
Also wondering
i made this as a very minimally experienced baker/pastry maker and the results looked and tasted great, including rave reviews from non vegans and non-tiramisu lovers alike. i highly recommend!
Author
Hello James, Aww thank you SO much! I’m really pleased you all enjoyed!! xxx
How much whipping cream is needed for the last step. Tried finding how many ounces or grams the elelma one is but had no luck. Thanks
The ONLY tiramisu (vegan or not) I will ever use again. WOW ITS AMAZING!