Vegan Tiramisu
Tiramisu is a classic Italian dessert: in this Vegan Tiramisu recipe I swap the dairy and eggs for vegan alternatives. Despite the changes to the recipe, it’s still the perfect “pick me up” after a meal. Get the recipe below.
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A classic Italian dessert
Did you know that tiramisu means “pick me up” or “lift me up” in English? It’s a nod to the coffee in the dessert that’s sure to give you a boost! A tiramisu is made with layers of coffee-soaked ladyfingers (also known as savoiardi biscuits) which are alternated with a rich and creamy mixture of mascarpone cheese, eggs and sugar.
It’s chilled before serving, allowing the flavours to meld together and creating a deliciously creamy dessert with a hint of coffee flavour. Sometimes you’ll find it dusted with cocoa powder or garnished with chocolate shavings too.
Now, it doesn’t sound very vegan friendly does it? The ladyfingers are usually made with eggs and the mascarpone cheese and eggs definitely aren’t suitable for anyone following a plant based diet. But, with a number of swaps we can make a delicious vegan tiramisu!
How to make vegan ladyfingers
Savoiardi biscuits or ladyfingers are a type of sweet, sponge biscuit originating from Italy and they are an essential component for a tiramisu. They are made from flour, sugar and eggs which is piped into long finger shaped cookies and then baked until light, airy and crisp on the outside whilst soft in the middle. Unfortunately they’re not very vegan!
Making vegan ladyfinger biscuits involves substituting traditional animal-based ingredients like eggs and dairy with plant-based alternatives. In this recipe the main substitute is aquafaba – also known as chickpea or bean water. The economical thing would be to save the chickpea water every time you use a tin of chickpeas but you can also buy aquafaba in cartons at the supermarket now.
If you’ve made biscuits before you might be thinking the method below is a little strange. Essentially, you make a meringue with the aquafaba and cream of tartar. You then fold in the other ingredients to make a light, pipable mixture.
You pipe this into longer finger shapes then bake in the oven until they are golden brown.
It might be a little odd but it is what gives them their signature texture and makes them so good for soaking up the coffee.
How to make vegan tiramisu
Once you’ve made the ladyfingers its essentially an assembly job.
The only “cooking” involved is whipping the cream cheese with the vanilla and maple syrup, whipping the cream and then folding them together.
After that you simply dip the ladyfingers in coffee and layer them with the cream.
The dessert will need chilling for at least 2 hours so the cream mix can firm up and the flavours can meld. Before serving dust it with some cocoa powder.
The recipe
Vegan tiramisu
Ingredients
For the vegan ladyfinger biscuits:
- 125 g aquafaba
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 125 g caster sugar plus extra for dusting
- 200 g plain flour
- 50 g fine semolina
- 25 g cornflour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
For the vegan tiramisu filling:
- 225 grams vegan cream cheese
- 200 ml vegan double cream e.g. Elmlea or Oatly
- 60 ml maple syrup or agave syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons strong brewed coffee cooled
- 1 tbsp Cocoa powder for dusting
Instructions
To make the ladyfinger biscuits:
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C / 350F / gas mark 4.
- Line two baking sheets with baking paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the aquafaba and cream of tartar until it forms soft peaks.
- Add the caster sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking well after each addition. Continue to whisk until the meringue is thick and glossy and forms stiff peaks.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, semolina, cornflour and baking powder).
- Add the dry ingredients and fold through very gently.
- Finally fold in the oil and vanilla paste.
- Spoon the batter into a piping bag with a large round nozzle.
- Pipe lines of the batter on the baking sheets, about 2.5 cm (1 in) wide and 8-10 cm (3-4 in) long. Make sure to leave room for them to spread.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
- Once baked, turn them out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
To assemble the tiramisu:
- In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese, vanilla extract and maple syrup until smooth.
- In a separate mixing bowl beat the vegan cream until stiff then fold into the vegan cream cheese.
- Dip each ladyfinger biscuit into the cooled coffee and arrange a layer of dipped biscuits on the bottom of your serving dish.
- Spread some of the vegan cream cheese mixture evenly over the layer of biscuits.
- Repeat the process with until you've used up all of the biscuits and cream cheese mix.
- Cover the tiramisu and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
- Before serving, dust the top of the tiramisu with cocoa powder for garnish.
Nutrition
More vegan desserts
For the full range of dessert recipes on the blog check out the dessert collection. You may also like some of these other dessert recipes:
Enjoy!
yum! tiramisu is the best
Aw how cute! Looks great 🙂 I hope the interviews went well and you get a law contract – we can be City food bloggers together!
This looks yummy!I've had bad tiramisu experiences but I'm very tempted to give it a go…xo
Hi girls! Glad you're all enjoying tge recipe! More to come soon I promise! Jess if you like this recipe and you're not already, I suggest you follow me for more ideas! I usually post once or twice a week 🙂 as for the tiramisu, I find its best to only dip the sponge fingers into the coffee for a short period of time. They really are like sponges and if they are oversaturated they soon disintergrate and you're left with a watery, mushy mess! Also thanks for the well wishes Xinmie, I have a whole month of assesment centres and interviews to go! Then city food blogging it is 😀