From-scratch tiramisu takes a bit of work, but I promise you it is totally worth it. In this post, you'll learn my method of how to make vegan tiramisu without cashews, tofu, or coconut milk.
This means making all the layers including the vegan ladyfinger biscuits, the vegan custard "sabayon", and the non-dairy mascarpone.
I recently updated the recipe to be even more delicious, simpler to follow, minimize ingredients, and create a bigger batch!
Jump to:
🔪 What To Expect
This vegan tiramisu goes down as an absolute treat with everyone who tries it, with many saying it was closest to the "real deal" they had tasted.
- TASTE: Tangy rich mascarpone flavor followed by sweet sponge, espresso, and delicate touch of amaretto.
- TEXTURE: Rich and creamy mascarpone filling and soft sponge fingers.
- LEVEL OF EASE: Since there are a few elements to this recipe, I would rate it at medium difficulty. Although slightly tedious, it is easy to follow.
- BEST SERVED: For special occasions like Christmas, Thanksgiving, or dinner parties. It's a big batch enough to feed a crowd of up to 15 people.
- ALLERGENS: This tiramisu has no nuts, no tofu, no eggs, and no dairy.
For a really easy take on tiramisu, why not try this vegan Biscoff tiramisu that requires just a handful of ingredients, or a fruity tiramisu, try this strawberry tiramisu.
📝 What Is Classic Tiramisu?
Traditional tiramisu recipes are heavy on eggs and dairy and definitely not suitable for vegans!
The layers in tiramisu usually consist of:
- Espresso-soaked ladyfingers (Savoiardi): Usually made from egg whites, these biscuits are dipped in a coffee and alcohol soak.
- Sabayon: Or zabaglione, is a custard-like dessert that forms the base of tiramisu. Sabayon is made by whisking egg yolks and sugar with dry white wine over a bain-marie (water bath) as shown in this article on Food52.com.
- Mascarpone: This is whipped and folded into the sabayon to form a mascarpone custard.
With all the above elements in mind, this post will take you through in detail how to make a non-dairy and eggless tiramisu.
🧾 Ingredients Needed
Here's everything you need to make this delicious vegan tiramisu from scratch:
Ingredient Notes
- Soy milk. The base of the mascarpone custard - could also be replaced with another non-dairy milk of your choice like almond milk or oat milk.
- Caster sugar (superfine). This sweetens the custard base. brown or coconut sugar cannot be used.
- Amaretto or dark rum. For a taste closest to classic tiramisu I recommend either of these. You can also use Marsala, brandy, tia maria, or whiskey depending on what you have to hand.
- Vegan cream cheese. I use violife, but you can use any thick full-fat non-dairy cream cheese that’s available to you.
- Vegan block butter. Provides stabilization to the custard and helps it to set once chilled. It's how we get nice clean cuts of tiramisu!
- Vegan Greek-style yogurt. Thick Greek-style or Skyr work best, but you can substitute this with regular soy yogurt or coconut yogurt.
- Lemon juice. This helps to give that tangy flavor that's usually found in mascarpone cheese.
- Vanilla extract. An absolute must for desserts if you ask me.
- Espresso or coffee. I highly recommend using a good quality espresso coffee bean for this recipe as the flavor will definitely shine through. If you don't have a good coffee machine, you can grab a double espresso from your favorite barista!
- You'll also need a batch of my homemade vegan ladyfingers.
Contrary to popular belief, whipped or heavy cream is generally not a component of traditional Italian tiramisu.
I had originally included a layer of whipped coconut cream when I created this recipe. However, after some much-appreciated feedback from Italian followers, learned that this wasn't a necessary addition!
🥣 How To Make A Vegan Tiramisu
Find the full list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Vegan "Sabayon"
The mascarpone layer is loosely based on my vegan lemon mascarpone tart recipe.
- Whisk together the soy milk, sugar, cornstarch, and amaretto in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until smooth and there are no visible lumps.
- Simmer over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes whilst stirring, until it forms a thick custard consistency. Chill for an hour.
Vegan "Mascarpone"
- Add the vegan butter to a large mixing bowl or to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and whip on high speed for a minute until light and fluffy.
- Whisk in the vegan cream cheese, vanilla, and lemon juice until combined. Turn down the speed to low, and whisk in the vegan yogurt.
- Carefully fold the cooled custard into the vegan mascarpone mixture using a spatula until just combined.
- Refrigerate the bowl until ready to use.
How To Assemble Tiramisu
- Line the base of a 10.5"x8" rectangular baking pan with ladyfingers. In a bowl mix together the espresso and remaining amaretto, and drizzle half of the mixture over the ladyfingers. (You can also dip the ladyfingers in the soak before assembling - either works)
- Pipe half of the vegan mascarpone mixture on top of the ladyfingers in an even layer.
- Smooth out the surface of the mascarpone with an offset spatula.
- Repeat the next layer with the remaining ladyfingers and espresso soak.
- Pipe the remaining mascarpone mixture on top.
- Dust with cocoa powder.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
- Use a piping bag fitted with a medium round nozzle tip to pipe the beautiful topping for the tiramisu. The pan I use isn't that deep, but with a deeper pan you will get away without using a nozzle and adding the mascarpone in a layer with a spatula.
- If you can't find vegan butter, replace it with more vegan cream cheese. The cuts of tiramisu likely won't look as clean, but it's totally doable without butter.
- Make a small batch vegan tiramisu by reducing the recipe. For an 8"x8" pan reduce the recipe to ¾ (this will feed around 10 people), or for a loaf pan version (feeds 5-6), cut the recipe in half.
💬 FAQs
Tiramisu, in my opinion, is one of those desserts that tastes even better when it's rested in the fridge for a day.
By the end of the second day it will still be delicious however after that it's possible that the ladyfingers will start to go a little mushy. So I recommend making it the day before your event, or at least 5 hours in advance.
As homemade ladyfingers are a little more delicate than storebought, so I recommend adding pouring the espresso soak over them instead of dipping them.
Yes, of course, this recipe has quite a bit of caffeine but you can swap the regular coffee out for decaf, no problem.
You can omit the alcohol altogether or opt for a rum essence if preferred.
If you're leaving it out, compensate for the liquid amount for extra soy milk in the mascarpone custard base and additional coffee in the soak.
☕️ More Vegan Italian-Inspired Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ★★★★★ rating in the recipe card below and consider leaving a comment as well, thanks!
Stay in touch with me through social media @ Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook. And subscribe via email to get all our new recipes!
Description
Ingredients
- 1 batch vegan ladyfingers, *see notes
Vegan Sabayon
- 480 ml (2 cups) soy milk, or oat milk or almond milk
- 150 g (¾ cup) caster sugar (superfine), or cane sugar
- 70 g (½ cup) cornstarch, (cornflour)
- 60 ml (¼ cup) Amaretto, or dark rum/marsala/brandy
Vegan Mascarpone
- 150 g (5.3 oz) vegan butter, room temperature
- 400 g (14.11 oz) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste, or vanilla powder
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 200 g (7 oz) vegan Greek-style yogurt, sub with 150g regular soy or coconut yogurt
Espresso Soak
- 118 ml (½ cup) espresso, freshly brewed
- 2-3 tablespoons sugar, optional
- 45 ml (3 tbsp) Amaretto, or dark rum/marsala/brandy/tia maria
- 10 g (2 tbsp) cocoa powder, unsweetened, for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the vegan ladyfingers.
- Make the vegan sabayon: Add the soy milk, sugar, cornstarch, and Amaretto to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and whisk well until smooth without any visible lumps.Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat while whisking. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to cook for 6-8 minutes, while constantly stirring with a spatula or whisk, until you have a thick custard.Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes before transferring to the fridge to chill completely for 1 hour.
- Make the vegan mascarpone: Add the vegan butter to a large bowl or stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk for a minute until smooth and fluffy.Add the vegan cream cheese, vanilla, and lemon juice and whisk again for a couple of minutes until combined.Turn down the whisk to low speed and add in the vegan yogurt until combined.
- Carefully fold the cooled custard (sabayon) into the vegan mascarpone mixture using a spatula until just combined.Cover and place the bowl in the fridge until ready to use.
- Make the espresso soak: In a bowl mix together the espresso and sugar if using. Stir in the Amaretto and set it aside.
- Assemble the tiramisu: Cover the base of the dish with ladyfingers. Pour half of the espresso soak over the ladyfingers - they will soak up all the moisture. Transfer the chilled mascarpone custard mixture into a piping bag (you may need 2 bags or to fill the one bag twice with each half of the mixture). Pipe a layer of the mascarpone custard on top of the soaked cookies.Use an offset spatula to smooth out the mascarpone cream.
- Repeat the layers: Add a layer of the remaining ladyfingers and espresso soak. Pipe the remaining mascarpone on top of the soaked cookies.
- Dust with cocoa: Sift a thin layer of cocoa powder on top of the tiramisu.
- Chill: Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours to allow the layers to set and the flavors to intensify. You can still eat it sooner if preferred however, it won't be as easy to cut it into servings.
- Storage: Place in an airtight container and refrigerate. The quality is best if eaten in the first 2-3 days.
Notes
- For uniform ladyfingers, as shown in the images, it's best to make them with a silicone mold.
- Alcohol-free version: Use a teaspoon of rum essence or omit it completely if preferred. If you're leaving out the alcohol, compensate for the liquid amount for extra soy milk in the mascarpone custard base, and extra espresso in the soak.
- Use a piping bag fitted with a medium round nozzle tip to pipe the beautiful topping for the tiramisu. The pan I use isn't that deep, but with a deeper pan, you will get away without using a nozzle and adding the mascarpone in a layer with a spatula.
- If you can't find vegan butter, replace it with more vegan cream cheese. The cuts of tiramisu likely won't look as clean, but it's totally doable without butter.
- Make a small batch of tiramisu by reducing the recipe. For an 8"x8" pan reduce the recipe to ¾ (this will feed around 10 people), or for a loaf pan version (feeds 5-6), cut the recipe in half.
Nutrition
© addictedtodates.com. All content and images are protected by copyright. If you want to share this recipe, please do so using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or republish the recipe or content in full. instead, include a link to this post for the recipe.
*This recipe was originally published in September, 2021. The recipe has since been improved and updated to minimize the ingredients used and to simplify the instructions.
