No-Bake Tiramisu Cake
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy for details.
No-Bake Tiramisu Cake calls for light and subtly sweet tiramisu with rich mascarpone filling and layered with soft boozy coffee-soaked ladyfingers.
I am not actually a huge fan of coffee, but there is always something irresistible with tiramisu. The Italian word tiramisu can be translated in several ways to “pick me up” or “cheer me up” or “lift me up” and they all work for me. Tiramisu is a recipe for happiness for me whenever I am feeling down. Thankfully, making homemade tiramisu is so easy and you do not even need to bake it with this No-Bake Tiramisu Cake recipe.
Tips on Making No-Bake Tiramisu Cake
This recipe calls for light and subtly sweet tiramisu with rich mascarpone filling and layered with soft boozy coffee-soaked ladyfingers. It literally melts in your mouth.
1. Use your favorite liquor
Traditional recipes use Marsala wine in tiramisu. If you are looking for a substitution, then dark rum is my favorite. You can also use brandy, coffee liqueur like Kahlua, or almond liqueur like Amaretto. If you want to make a non-alcoholic tiramisu, just leave the liquor out or try to experiment with fruit purees to give your tiramisu an extra summery flavor.
2. Use decaf coffee for caffeine-free tiramisu
Coffee flavor plays a huge part in the unique taste of tiramisu. If you want to limit your caffeine intake or probably get worried about over-caffeinating your kids, you could consider using decaffeinated coffee instead. It is coffee from coffee beans that have had at least 97% of their caffeine removed.
3. Do not scramble the egg yolks
Traditional tiramisu is often prepared using raw egg yolks. Raw eggs may contain bacteria called Salmonella, which can cause food poisoning. Unless you can find pasteurized eggs at the grocery store, those are safe to consume raw. Just to be safe, I cook the mixture of beaten egg yolks and sugar on a double-boiler (bain-marie technique) just to heat the egg yolks without curdling them. The method does not require a special pot but can be created by setting a heat-proof bowl on top of a simmering pot of water. There should be space between the water and the bottom of the bowl. Instead, the bowl is only heated by the rising steam. Mix vigorously until the custard thickens and triple in volume. Then, it’s time to pull from the heat and let cool.
4. Soften the mascarpone
Do not substitute mascarpone with cream cheese here when making tiramisu. While cream cheese is tangy, mascarpone is very smooth and buttery tasting. Mascarpone has a very high-fat content and so will split more easily than double/whipping cream or cream cheese. Mascarpone does not need to be at room temperature, you can just leave it out of the fridge for a couple of minutes to soften slightly as it softens very quickly. If the mascarpone is warm then it is actually easier to over whisk it.
5. Soak ladyfingers quickly
Ladyfingers are just tender-crisp bites of dry sponge cake. Due to their porous nature, the ladyfingers quickly absorb liquid. It is important to dip and roll the ladyfingers briefly in the spiked espresso mixture so that it does not get too mushy, crumble, and fall apart.
6. Chill the tiramisu
Once built, the tiramisu needs to chill for at least 6 hours before serving. The sponge cake will absorb more flavor and the cream will set to a sliceable consistency. Just before serving, dust the top with cocoa powder.
More Tiramisu Recipes
If you love tiramisu, don’t forget to check out these tiramisu recipes!
- Poured Tiramisu
- Tiramisu Layer Cake
- Individual Matcha Tiramisu Cups
- Eggless Matcha Tiramisu Cake
- Tiramisu Ice Cream Layer Cake
- Eggless Hojicha Tiramisu Cake
Ingredients
- 2 packages ladyfinger cookies, 48 ladyfingers
Coffee Simple Syrup
- 2 cups (480 ml) strong brewed coffee
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp dark rum
Mascarpone Cream
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup (100 gr) castor sugar
- 16 oz (450 gr) mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) heavy whipping cream, whipped until stiff peak
Topping
- Whipped cream
- Cocoa powder, for dusting
Instructions
Coffee Simple Syrup
- Stir strong coffee, sugar, and rum until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
Mascarpone Cream
- In a heatproof bowl that rests easily in your saucepan without touching the surface of the water (bain-marie), whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is pale, thick, and hot to the touch for about 5 minutes. Make sure the sugar is fully dissolved. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.
- Once egg yolk mixture has cooled, add the mascarpone and vanilla extract. Whisk the mixture until well combined. Then gently fold in the whipped cream in until smooth.
Assemble
- Line the side of a 9-inch/22cm round springform pan with baking paper or transparent cake side membrane.
- One at a time, gently dip both sides of ladyfinger into the coffee syrup, then place in the bottom of the springform pan. Trim any ladyfingers as needed so that it fits in the pan. Top with about half the mascarpone filling, spread into an even layer. Repeat the process for the second layer.
- Pipe whipped cream on top if desired.
- Chill for at least 6 hours or overnight to set.
- Dust the top with cocoa powder generously just before serving.
