You can enjoy this classic Italian dessert without the added alcohol with this tasty Tiramisu recipe. I will show you how to make this classic Italian dessert at home so you can impress your friends and family.
Everyone loves tiramisu (which means "Pick me up" in Italian"!) What is not to love about this classic Italian no-bake dessert made with lady fingers, a delicious sweet and fluffy cream mixture, and of course some cocoa powder.
Although classic Italian tiramisu uses marsala wine or coffee-flavored liquor, I like to leave those out. If you do want to try a tiramisu with liquor, my amaretto tiramisu is one of my favorites.
Should You Cook The Tiramisu Cream?
This recipe is prepared like a classic Italian tiramisu which means the eggs in the recipe are not cooked and the only thing we are changing is we are leaving out the alcohol.
Italians have many recipes where they do not cook the eggs. In fact, when you go to the Italian grocery stores, the eggs are on the shelves not in the refrigerators.
If you are concerned about this or have young kids or elderly people with whom you want to serve this, I have included a cooked custard version of the tiramisu so you are not serving raw eggs to those groups. This is totally up to you which one you choose.
Either way, this delicious alcohol-free Italian tiramisu will be a hit!
What You Will Need
- Ladyfingers: These are also called savoiardi biscuits or lady's fingers (depending on where you are).
- Mascarpone cheese: If you cannot find this, you could use full-fat cream cheese.
- Espresso: Try to make a fresh brew of this if you can and avoid the instant espresso which lacks flavor.
- Eggs: I use large eggs for this recipe.
- Vanilla extract
- Granulated sugar
- Kosher salt.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
How To Make Tiramisu (Without Alcohol)
Equipment needed: You will need 3 large bowls and an 8x8 pan or 8-inch round shallow bowl. A whisk or an electric hand mixer.
- Whip the mascarpone: In a large bowl, whip the mascarpone cheese until fluffy.
- Beat the egg yolks: In a large bowl beat the egg yolk on medium speed until thick and creamy and they turn a pale yellow color.
- Combine # 1 : Combine the fluffy mascarpone with the creamy whipped egg yolks.
- Beat the egg whites: In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and the salt together until they form soft peaks.
- Combine #2: Now fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture and your tiramisu cream is ready.
- Dip ladyfingers: Dip the sponge cookies into the espresso.
- Layer: Place lady fingers side by side in your dish covering as much of the area in the dish as possible. You may need to break some ladyfingers in half. Top with ½ of the cream mixture.
- Repeat: repeat with one more layer of ladyfingers and finish with a layer of cream.
- Dust with cocoa powder: Dust liberally with cocoa powder.
- Refrigerate: The longer the tiramisu sits, the better. I like to let mine setup for 24 hours but 12 hours will work too.
Tiramisu Faqs
Yes. Tiramisu is best when made at least 12-24 hours ahead of time.
Tiramisu can be stored in the fridge for up to one week.
Yes. Just make sure to use a freezer-safe pan to make the tiramisu in and to cover it well.
No. Although alcohol is traditional in tiramisu, you can make it without it.
Yes. There is caffeine in tiramisu, however, so if you are concerned about that, it may be best to avoid giving tiramisu to them.
Tips, Variations, Leftovers And Storing
- Variations: Feel free to switch up some things in the tiramisu recipe to suit your taste. If you want to use a decaf espresso to make this more kid-friendly, use that instead of regular espresso. You can also make the quick no-cook version of this tiramisu or the one that cooks the cream over the stovetop.
- Soft vs crunchy ladyfingers: Depending on where you live, ladyfingers may be sold as soft sponge cakes or crunchy. I like working with crunchy ladyfingers when making tiramisu. Either will work but if you want to dry out the soft ladyfingers, just place them on a baking sheet in a preheated 175-degree oven for 20 minutes. They are ready when the outside is slightly hard and the inside is still spongy.
- To store the tiramisu: Tiramisu is best made 24 hours in advance. Trust me on this. I have made this one often and it gets better with age 🙂 The tiramisu can be stored for up to one week in the fridge, and covered.
- To freeze the tiramisu: I like to let the tiramisu first set up in the fridge for 24 hours then cover it with plastic wrap and freeze it for up to 2 months. If you plan to freeze the tiramisu, I suggest making the tiramisu in a disposable aluminum square baking pan which will store in the freezer well.
- Leftover cream or ladyfingers: If you end up with too much cream mixture or ladyfingers, grab a small glass and layer in the extra ingredients like a parfait. Store it the same way you would a full-size tiramisu.
More Italian Desserts For You!
Tiramisu Recipe (No Alcohol)
Equipment
- An 8x8 pan
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs separated
- 8 ounces mascarpone at room temperature
- 14 ounces Italian Ladyfingers
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
- ½ cup Espresso cooled
- ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
- unsweetened cocoa for dusting
Instructions
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer, whip the mascarpone on medium speed until fluffy.8 ounces mascarpone
- In a separate large bowl, whip the egg yolks and sugar until creamy and pale yellow.5 large eggs, ½ cup Granulated sugar
- Combine the whipped mascarpone and the whipped egg yolks then set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, using an electric mixer whip your egg whites and salt until it starts to form stiff peaks.⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
- Now fold the egg whites into the mascarpone egg mixture and then set aside.
- Add your espresso to a shallow small bowl.½ cup Espresso
- Grab your 8x8 dish or 8 inch shallow bowl.
- Dip your ladyfingers into the espresso quickly making sure to turn them over while dipping.14 ounces Italian Ladyfingers
- Add the ladyfingers to the baking dish laying them flat and side by side with each other. Continue doing this until your lady fingers are nicely arranged in one tight layer in your pan making sure not to overlap them.
- Now, add ½ of your cream mixture over the top of the first layer of ladyfingers.
- After this layer, you're going to add another layer of ladyfingers dipped in your espresso mixture like above.
- Add the remaining cream mixture over the ladyfingers.
- Dust the entire top with cocoa powder.unsweetened cocoa for dusting
- Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours but preferably over night.
Notes
If you want to cook the tiramisu cream mixture
-
Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler, over boiling water. Reduce heat to low, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly the entire time.
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After 10 minutes over the double boiler, remove from the heat and whip yolks until thick and yellow, about 2 minutes.
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Allow to cool and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Meg
We love this!