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Author:
Franco Salzillo
The tiramisu is the most famous layered dessert on the planet. Coffee, cocoa powder, biscuits and cream come together for one delicious bite after another; there’s so much pleasure in making and sharing this Italian specialty!
The question is, can you make a vegan tiramisu? Yes, but it’s not as simple (it isn’t that hard either!) There are two non-vegan ingredients in a regular tiramisu — the mascarpone cheese and interestingly, the ladyfinger biscuits, which are made with eggs.
We’re substituting the creamy mascarpone with spreadable, silken tofu. Make sure you get the right kind because firm tofu won’t work.
For the ladyfinger biscuits, we must make our own, and although it represents a bit more work, it’s super fun! We’re crafting our biscuits from scratch, leaving out the eggs and substituting the butter for margarine. The other ingredients are vanilla extract (which you must buy vegan, too), all-purpose flour and baking powder.
It will take you about half an hour to make your dough and bake your biscuits, but you’ll make up for the time when assembling your tiramisu, which is quite straightforward.
Don’t soak your ladyfingers in the coffee; merely dip them. Otherwise, they’ll be too soggy.
The coffee matters; don’t just use regular supermarket drip coffee; brew a nice espresso. Your tiramisu will only be as tasty as the quality of the ingredients used. A city roast, Arabica will work beautifully; it’s caramelly and nutty!
For the egg-free ladyfingers:
For the tiramisu:
For the ladyfingers, preheat the oven at 350°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar and margarine until creamy and light.
Combine the flour and baking powder and add them to the creamy mixture.
Transfer the dough into a piping bag and pipe your ladyfinger biscuits on your baking tray, 3 inches long each. Separate them nicely.
Bake for 10 minutes and let them rest on a cooling rack.
For the tiramisu, drain the tofu and combine with the coconut cream in a blender or food processor until creamy. Add the sugar and blend again until incorporated.
In a square tray, lay down a layer of ladyfinger biscuits while soaking each in the coffee.
Cover the first layer of biscuits with a spread of the creamy mixture and repeat until you end with a final creamy layer. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Dust with cocoa powder before serving.
