Easy Vegan Tiramisu

Creamy, delicious and just a little addictive. This incredibly easy vegan tiramisu can be made in just 10 minutes!

I never thought that making this classic Italian dessert vegan would be so simple. It’s so quick, effortless and tasty that you will want to make it again and again. All you need is 7 simple ingredients, cocoa powder and chocolate for decoration included.

And it’s quick! We actually timed ourselves, and yes, you can really whip this up in ten minutes. This recipe gives you everything you are looking for in a good vegan tiramisu.

A lot of vegan recipes for tiramisu seem to be a bit over-complicated. Making your own ladyfingers, soaking cashews, tons of ingredients… You might do that once, and then say, Okay, I’ve had my vegan tiramisu now, and move on. Making it again? Too much of a hassle.

So, we set out to find an easier way to get that MMMMHH!! that only tiramisu gives you. And we’ve found it in three simple ingredients: Silken tofu, coconut milk and plain biscuits.

Our vegan tiramisu is nut-free, and can easily be made gluten-free by using biscuits that are free from gluten. 

Table of Contents

• The creamy layer
• The biscuit layer
• Assembly tips and FAQ
• 📖 Recipe

The creamy layer

We love how simple this is. Traditional tiramisu uses mascarpone cheese and eggs. Our vegan version is similarly simple - with the added timesaver of not separating and beating the egg.

Silken tofu serves as the cream base, essentially replacing the mascarpone. The two are actually very similar in the way they are made. Both are curds. Mascarpone cheese is made from heated dairy milk that is curdled with lemon juice. Tofu uses soy milk, and is typically curdled with nigari salt (magnesium chloride) but you can actually also make it using (guess what) lemon juice. You see? Not much difference.

Don’t use non silken/block types of tofu, as they will always retain a grainy texture and a strong taste of its own. If you can’t get your hands on any silken tofu, we have a really easy, straightforward way to replace it with soy milk and lemon juice. Find it in the recipe notes!

We also blend in the creamy, fatty part of a can of coconut milk. The fat in it gives the tiramisu that smooth feeling on your tongue. 

And finally, we add some sugar when we blend the silken tofu with the coconut cream. The reason for this has to do with the other main part of the tiramisu, the biscuits.

The biscuit layer

If you’ve ever tried to find vegan ladyfingers, you might know it seems impossible. Ladyfingers, aka sponge fingers or Savoiardi, are a very specific type of biscuits, and their main use is in the making of desserts. They get their light and spongy texture from eggs, and they are covered in very fine sugar crystals.

The good news is, there’s no reason to make life difficult when making vegan tiramisu. In place of ladyfingers, for our vegan tiramisu we use plain vegan biscuits which are so easy to find.

In the UK look for rich tea biscuits, digestives, in Europe you can use Marie biscuits and in America look for Graham Crackers. They are a great alternative, because they are so common, sweet and neutral, and most often vegan.

You can really use any type of plain biscuit. Just make sure they are vegan. You might even find ‘finger’ shaped biscuits, for an even more authentic experience. Because this kind of biscuits are typically not sugar-coated like ladyfingers, we add some sugar to the creamy layer for extra sweetness in our tiramisu.

Typical for any tiramisu, the biscuits are dipped in very, very strong coffee. We make this about three to four times as strong as Paul’s regular cup of coffee. Add a splash of alcohol if you like - marsala wine, rum, amaretto or coffee liquor - but it is not necessary.

Assembly tips and FAQ

Layering the tiramisu is the best part of making it, and it can be a social and fun activity! Here are some more thoughts and tips for making our vegan tiramisu, as well as some answers to commonly asked questions.

What size dish?

Our basic vegan tiramisu recipe makes about four (very generous) portions. If you want to make it in one dish, a size of about 20 x 20 cm (8” x 8”) should suffice. If it helps, you can use a dish about the size to make lasagne for four. Alternatively, you can simply use ramekins or glass dessert bowls for separate portions like we have here.

Soaking biscuits

There is a sweet spot to this, where the biscuit is not too dry and has soaked up a good amount of coffee flavour but is not soggy. When the biscuits are soaked right through, they fall apart very easily. Turn them over a couple of times, make sure they still have a solid core under a wet outside. As long as the coffee is strong enough, that will do.

How to layer? How many layers?

We start with a layer of coffee-soaked biscuit, and spread the creamy layers fairly thick. How many layers you make is up to you and the shape of your tiramisu dish! Top it off with some cocoa powder sprinkled through a fine sieve and grate some dark chocolate on top. Tastes great, looks great!

Will it taste like coconut? Or worse, like tofu? 

Don’t worry, it won’t. Silken tofu is very neutral. The coconut cream adds richness, but the flavours of coffee and cocoa, combined with the sweetness in the cream gently overpower any flavours that don’t belong in tiramisu. 

Can I eat it straight away? Do I have to make it in advance?

First of all, the coffee needs to cool down. Apart from that, this vegan tiramisu benefits from letting the flavours soak for a while in the fridge, and the cream layers to firm up bit. We recommend chilling for at least one hour, better eight hours or overnight for best consistency and flavour. 

How long will it keep?

This vegan tiramisu should keep about three to four days if stored appropriately in the fridge. 

Try these other delicious vegan desserts with an Italian twist!

Chocolate Salami

Vegan Dessert Calzone

Paul & Sophie

📖 Recipe