Vegan Tiramisu

Vegan tiramisu – this vegan version of the classic Italian dessert consists of vanilla cake fingers soaked with boozy spiked coffee which are layered with a smooth cashew cream and all topped off with a thick dusting of cocoa powder. It is rich, creamy and utterly irresistible!

Tiramisu is one of my all-time favourite desserts. It has been on my (long!) list of dishes to veganise for ages now and I finally got round to it.

It isn’t the easiest thing to make vegan as it traditionally uses ladyfinger biscuits as the base, which rely heavily on both whisked egg whites and yolks to create their structure.

The cream filling is made with mascarpone cheese and either whisked egg whites (and often yolks as well) or double cream. So basically traditional tiramisu consists almost entirely of eggs and dairy…

I decided against attempting to make vegan ladyfinger biscuits as I think that it would be impossible to create a version that was close enough to the original, and it would likely be a tempermental recipe that wouldn’t work for everyone.

Instead I went for the safer, easier option of baking a vanilla sheet cake, which I then sliced into fingers and baked again to dry them out a bit. Baking them twice means that they will be able to soak up the coffee mixture without becoming overly soggy.

For the cream I decided to go for a base of cashews and silken tofu as they are more neutral in flavour than coconut cream. I love coconut, but I really don’t want my tiramisu to taste like it!

This vegan tiramisu is rich, creamy and utterly delicious. It may not be exactly the same as the traditional version but it is pretty damn close and tastes so good that it really doesn’t matter.

How To Make Vegan Tiramisu:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

Start by baking the cake with which to make the sponge fingers. In a large bowl sift together plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

In a jug whisk together caster sugar, oil, vinegar, water, vanilla extract and an optional dash of almond extract. I like a teeny hint of almond in this cake but you can omit it if you prefer.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until they are just combined. Don’t over-beat the batter as that can make the cake tough.

Pour the batter into a greased and lined 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13 in rectangular cake tin and spread it level. Bake until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Let it cool in the tin for 20 minutes then lift it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.

Once the cake is cool, level the top if needed then use a sharp serrated knife to cut it into fingers. I sliced it in half lengthways then cut it into strips about 2 cm / 3/4 in wide.

Place the cake fingers slightly spaced apart on a couple of baking sheets and bake in a low oven for 30-40 minutes until they feel dry to the touch. They don’t need to be completely dried out but the outsides should feel dry. Let them cool on a wire rack then store in an airtight container.

To make the cream, soak some cashews in boiling water for at least half an hour to soften them. Drain them well and place in a blender or food processor with some lemon juice, melted refined coconut oil, non-dairy milk, caster sugar, silken tofu, vanilla extract and salt.

Blend until the mixture is extremely smooth. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times. Pour the cream into a bowl, cover and place in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up a bit. It should still be soft and spreadable but not runny.

To assemble the tiramisu, mix together cooled very strong black coffee or espresso, and rum, Tia Maria, brandy, amaretto or whisky (vegan Baileys would also work). Pour it into a shallow bowl that is wide enough to dunk the cake fingers into.

Dunk the cake fingers into the coffee mixture very briefly, no more than a second or they will become too soggy. I dunked mine for slightly too long.

Arrange them in an approx 25 x 18 x 7cm dish as you go, placing them close together to make one complete layer. You can cut some into smaller pieces as needed to fill in any gaps.

Spread half of the cream over the top of the cake layer, sprinkle with cocoa powder if you like.

Dip the remaining cake fingers into the coffee mixture one-by-one, arranging them on top of the cream layer as you go. Spread the rest of the cream over the top. (You may not need to use all of the coffee).

Dust the top with cocoa powder, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, dust the top of the tiramisu generously with more cocoa powder.

Top Tips For The Best Vegan Tiramisu:

For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.

This vegan tiramisu needs to be made the day before you intend to serve it as it needs to chill in the fridge overnight for the cream to set. You can also make it over the course of a couple of days – the cake can be baked, sliced into fingers and baked again a few days in advance. Store it in an airtight container at room temperature.

The coconut oil in the cream is what helps it to set, there is no subsitute I’m afraid. Make sure that you use refined coconut oil, not virgin, otherwise the cream will taste like coconut.

You need to use firm silken tofu, NOT regular tofu. It is most commonly the shelf-stable kind, not the fridge kind. In the UK it can usually be found either in the ‘Asian’ section of the supermarket (by the soy sauce), or next to the tinned beans. I use Mori-Nu or Clearspring. Make sure you drain off the excess liquid (no need to press it though).

For an extra boozy tiramisu you can swap a couple of tablespoons of the milk in the cream filling for your choice of alcohol.

For the alcohol you can use rum, whisky, Tia Maria, brandy, amaretto, Baileys Almande, marsala wine (check it’s a vegan one), sherry, cointreau, basically pretty much any kind of spirit you like really. Barnivore is a great site to check which drinks are vegan friendly.

The alcohol can be omitted if you want to make a virgin tiramisu.

This vegan tiramisu will keep (covered) in the fridge for about four days.

This recipe will serve 6 people generously, or 8 in small portions.

The cream may become a bit soft at warm room temperature so keep the tiramisu refrigerated until you are ready to serve it. (I stupidly decided to photograph it in the middle of a heatwave – dumb idea!).

Can I Freeze It?:

Yes. Prepare and assemble the tiramisu as per the recipe, then cover and freeze it for up to three months. Allow to defrost overnight in the fridge and dust with more cocoa powder before serving.

More Vegan Dessert Recipes:

Vegan chocolate mousse

Vegan lemon blueberry cheesecake

Vegan lemon tart

Vegan Bakewell tart

Vegan peanut butter chocolate tart

Vegan strawberry tart

Vegan steamed chocolate pudding

Vegan pumpkin pie

No-bake chocolate stem ginger tart

If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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5 from 3 votes

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Vegan Tiramisu

Vegan tiramisu – this vegan version of the classic Italian dessert consists of vanilla cake fingers soaked with boozy spiked coffee which are layered with a smooth cashew cream and all topped off with a thick dusting of cocoa powder. It is rich, creamy and utterly irresistible!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Keyword tiramisu

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Chilling and Soaking Time 14 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 16 hours 10 minutes

Servings 6 people

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Cake:

• 315 g (2+ ¾ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 250 ml (1 cup) water
• 150 ml (½ cup + 2 Tbsp) neutral oil (I use sunflower)
• 180 g (¾ cup + 2 Tbsp) caster or granulated sugar
• 5 tsp cider or white wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp almond extract (optional)

Cream:

• 275 g (9 ¾ oz/1 + ¾ cups) raw cashews
• 250 g (9oz/1 cup) firm silken tofu* excess liquid drained off
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 120 ml (½ cup) melted refined coconut oil**
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk
• ¼ tsp salt
• 100 g (½ cup) caster or granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Soaking Liquid:

• 300 ml (1 + ¼ cups) very strong cooled coffee/espresso (if using coffee granules use 2-3 Tbsp plus 300ml boiling water)
• 100 ml (6 Tbsp + 2 tsp) Tia Maria/rum/whisky*** (I like to use rum)
• sifted cocoa powder for dusting

Instructions

1. You need to make the tiramisu the day before you want to serve it. Start by making the cake. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease a 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13 in rectangular cake tin and line it with baking parchment.

2. In a large bowl sift together the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
3. In a jug whisk together the caster sugar, oil, vinegar, water, vanilla extract and almond extract (if using).
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until they are just combined. Don’t over-beat the batter as that can make the cake tough.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and spread it level. Bake for about 20 minutes until it is golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Let it cool in the tin for 20 minutes then lift it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.

7. Once the cake is cool, preheat the oven to 140°C/120°fan/275°F/gas mark 1. Level the top of the cake if needed then use a sharp serrated knife to cut it into fingers. I sliced it in half lengthways then cut it into strips about 2 cm / ¾ in wide.

8. Place the cake fingers slightly spaced apart on a couple of baking sheets and bake for 30-40 minutes until they feel dry to the touch. They don’t need to be completely dried out but the outsides should feel dry. Let them cool on a wire rack then store in an airtight container.
9. To make the cream, soak the cashews in boiling water for at least half an hour to soften them.
10. Drain them well and place in a blender or food processor with the silken tofu, lemon juice, melted refined coconut oil, non-dairy milk, caster sugar, vanilla extract and salt.
11. Blend until the mixture is extremely smooth. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times. Pour the cream into a bowl, cover and place in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up a bit. It should still be soft and spreadable but not runny.
12. To assemble the tiramisu, mix together the cooled very strong black coffee or espresso, and your choice of alcohol. Pour it into a shallow bowl that is wide enough to dunk the cake fingers into.

13. Dunk the cake fingers into the coffee mixture very briefly, no more than a second or they will become too soggy. Arrange them in an approx 25 x 18 x 7cm / 10 x 7 x 2 ¾ in dish as you go, placing them close together to make one complete layer. You can cut some into smaller pieces as needed to fill in any gaps.

14. Spread half of the cream over the top of the cake layer and sprinkle over some cocoa powder if you like.
15. Dip the remaining cake fingers into the coffee mixture one-by-one, arranging them on top of the cream layer as you go. Spread the rest of the cream over the top. Dust the top with cocoa powder, cover and refrigerate overnight.
16. Just before serving, dust the top of the tiramisu generously with more cocoa powder.

Recipe Notes

• For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
• This vegan tiramisu needs to be made the day before you intend to serve it as it needs to chill in the fridge overnight for the cream to set. You can also make it over the course of a couple of days – the cake can be baked, sliced into fingers and baked again a few days in advance. Store it in an airtight container at room temperature.
• *You need to use firm silken tofu, NOT regular tofu. It is most commonly the shelf-stable kind, not the fridge kind. In the UK it can usually be found either in the ‘Asian’ section of the supermarket (by the soy sauce), or next to the tinned beans. I use Mori-Nu or Clearspring. Make sure you drain off the excess liquid (no need to press it though).
• **The coconut oil in the cream is what helps it to set, there is no subsitute I’m afraid. Make sure that you use refined coconut oil, not virgin, otherwise the cream will taste like coconut.
• ***For the alcohol you can use rum, whisky, Tia Maria, brandy, amaretto, Baileys Almande, marsala wine (check it’s a vegan one), sherry, cointreau, basically pretty much any kind of spirit you like really.
• For an extra boozy tiramisu you can swap a couple of tablespoons of the milk in the cream filling for your choice of alcohol.
• The alcohol can be omitted if you want to make a virgin tiramisu.
• This recipe will serve 6 people generously, or make 8 small portions.