Vegan Tiramisu

Tiramisu is a truly classic dessert, especially for the holiday season. It’s super decadent with a flavor profile that differs from your standard dessert fare. (Eric also claims that every single person loves tiramisu, but I think he’s just biased because it’s his all-time favorite sweet treat.)

This Vegan Tiramisu has multiple components and could be considered a labor of love to make. But with that being said: it’s totally worth it.

If you’re bringing it to a function, everyone (vegans and non-vegans alike) will rave about it. If you’re making it for yourself, you’ll be sneaking to the fridge to grab secret bites right out of the baking dish!

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Decadent and balanced. The difference in flavors and textures in tiramisu is what makes it so incredible. Light, airy ladyfingers are dipped in bitter espresso and coffee liquor. The cream layers are sweet and a little tangy. When it all comes together, it’s perfectly harmonious!
• Restaurant quality. If you’re like us, you miss when you could just order tiramisu for dessert at a restaurant. With this recipe, you’ll be able to enjoy that same level of restaurant quality right at home.
• Rewarding. This is truly one of those recipes that will make you feel proud of yourself after you take that first bite. As you should! And when people compliment your hard work, you’ll know you earned it.

Ingredients for Vegan Tiramisu

For the Filling

• Vegan cream cheese. Traditional tiramisu calls for mascarpone, but for now the closest thing we have is vegan cream cheese. My favorites are either the kind from Simple Truth or Kite Hill, but feel free to use your favorite. You can even make your own if you want to get fancy.
• Silken tofu. This is standing in for the eggs used in traditional tiramisu. It will add extra body to the filling and blends up to a thick and creamy consistency.
• Vanilla extract.
• Sugar.
• Coconut cream. Our whipped cream substitute. I use the coconut cream from Sprouts. If you can’t find coconut cream, you can use full-fat coconut milk instead — but I recommend using 2 cans to get the right amount of cream.

For the Assembly

• Vegan ladyfingers. You can make your own using the recipe card, or check the Substitutions section below if you need a faster/simpler option.
• Coffee soak. Use espresso or strong coffee mixed with coffee liqueur. Skip the liqueur if you prefer, or add more if you like your tiramisu especially boozy.
• Cocoa powder and/or chocolate shavings. To finish.

Ingredients for Vegan Ladyfingers

Special Equipment & Tools You’ll Need

• Electric mixer. I’d consider this a must when whipping aquafaba to a meringue texture. (It can technically be done by hand but it’s a huge pain.) In my opinion a hand mixer is easiest, but a stand mixer can also be used. Just note that depending on your stand mixer, the volume of aquafaba at the bottom of the bowl might be hard for the whisk attachment to reach at the beginning. In that case, you might need to get it started by hand with a whisk until it is fluffy and the whisk can reach.
• Piping bag.
• Food processor.

How to Make Vegan Ladyfingers

Add the aquafaba, cream of tartar, and sugar to a spotlessly clean bowl. Whip for about a minute until foamy.

Keep beating, adding in sugar gradually until firm peaks form. Add in the yogurt and oil and beat to combine.

Whisk together dry ingredients. Sift into the mixture and gently fold to incorporate.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag and pipe out between 3-4″ long. Leave space between for them to expand.

Dust with powdered sugar and bake in preheated oven till crisp.

How to Make the Tiramisu Filling

1. Add tofu, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla to a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Scoop the hardened cream from the top of a chilled can of coconut cream and blend it with the tofu mixture.
3. Dip the ladyfingers in the coffee soak.
4. Alternate layers of soaked ladyfingers with the cream mixture.
5. Repeat 2x more, ending with a layer of cream.
6. Top with cocoa powder and allow to chill for 8+ hours for the best texture.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Vegan Dessert Recipes

• Cinnamon Rolls – Another holiday staple, these cinnamon rolls are out of this world fluffy. Perfect for Christmas morning (or literally whenever).
• Snowball Cookies – A light, nutty cookie dusted with powdered sugar.
• Homemade Croissants – If you want another project that takes a little elbow grease, croissants are a great choice! Crispy on the outside, airy on the inside, these vegan croissants are worth every second.

Vegan Tiramisu

This Vegan Tiramisu is just like the real thing: delicate ladyfingers dipped in espresso layered with a sweet and tangy cream. Restaurant quality made at home!

4.8 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

1x2x

Servings: 9

Author: Sarah Sullivan

Video

Equipment

• 2 cookie sheets
• baking parchment or silicone baking mats
• electric hand mixer
• piping bag
• 8×8" square pan
• mesh sieve(s)

Ingredients

Tiramisu

• ▢ 1 batch (about 24) vegan ladyfingers recipe follows, or see notes for substitutions
• ▢ 1/2 cup silken tofu
• ▢ 8 ounces vegan cream cheese room temperature, see notes for brand recommendations
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur optional
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 (15 oz) can coconut cream chilled in the can overnight
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cocoa powder to dust on top

Coffee Soak

• ▢ 6 ounces espresso or strong coffee cooled
• ▢ 3 tablespoons coffee liqueur optional; add more or less to preference

Vegan Ladyfingers

• ▢ 1/2 cup aquafaba room temperature
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar divided
• ▢ 3 tablespoons plain unsweetened vegan yogurt room temperature
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (180g)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Vegan Ladyfingers

• Note 1: These can be made a day or two ahead of time and stored in an airtight container until ready to use.
• Note 2: Make sure your mixing bowl and the whisk attachments for your mixer are spotlessly clean to start. Any residual grease can make it harder to whip up the aquafaba to the correct texture.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.
• Add the aquafaba, cream of tartar, and about 2 tablespoons granulated sugar to the mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat on high speed for a minute or two until the mixture is pale and very foamy.
  1/2 cup aquafaba, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• Continue beating on high speed, adding the remaining granulated sugar in gradually. Beat until the mixture reaches firm peaks. The mixture should feel very thick at this point and it should retain the ribbon patterns made by the electric mixer. If the patterns collapse or "melt" away after a few seconds, keep beating.

  This process usually takes about 5-8 full minutes on high speed with my hand mixer, but it can take longer depending on the aquafaba you are using.
• Add in the yogurt and oil. Beat for just a few seconds to incorporate.
  3 tablespoons plain unsweetened vegan yogurt, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Sift in the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the whipped aquafaba mixture until no streaks of dry flour are visible.
  1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• Allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes. Then transfer the mixture to a large piping bag with 1/2" piping tip. Pipe out the ladyfingers in lines, about 4" long. Leave about 2" of space between them to expand while baking. I divide the batter between 2 cookie sheets and usually get 24-28 ladyfingers.
• Give one tray of ladyfingers a generous dusting of powdered sugar, then bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until just slightly golden brown on the bottoms.

  Repeat with the second cookie sheet. (Wait to dust it with powdered sugar right before it goes in the oven, or the sugar will start to dissolve while it sits.) Bake for 15 minutes.
  powdered sugar
• Let the ladyfingers cool on the cookie sheets before removing them.

Make the Cream

• Add silken tofu, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and optional coffee liqueur to a food processor. Process until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed to make sure everything is evenly blended.
  1/2 cup silken tofu, 8 ounces vegan cream cheese, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur
• Open the chilled can of coconut cream. Scoop the hardened coconut cream into the food processor, leaving the coconut water in the can. (It can be saved and used in smoothies if you like.)

  Process until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, making sure to blend out any lumps from the coconut cream.
  1 (15 oz) can coconut cream

Assemble the Tiramisu

• Pour the espresso or strong coffee into a dish wide enough to dip a ladyfinger. If using, add in coffee liqueur. Feel free to add extra for a more boozy tiramisu.
  6 ounces espresso or strong coffee, 3 tablespoons coffee liqueur
• Dip each ladyfinger in the coffee soak. (Vegan ladyfingers are a little more dense than non-vegan ones, so dip them for a couple seconds longer than you think you need.) Then arrange in one layer at the bottom of an 8×8" or 9×9" square pan. Spread about 1/3 of the cream mixture over the ladyfingers. Repeat twice more.
  1 batch (about 24) vegan ladyfingers
• Dust the top of the tiramisu with cocoa powder, or cover with chocolate shavings.
  2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• Cover the tiramisu and refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving. (I know it's hard to resist, but the ladyfingers need that time to soften up fully.)

Notes

Ingredient Notes

• Coconut cream: I use the Sprouts brand coconut cream. If you can’t find coconut cream, you can instead use 2 cans of full-fat coconut milk — just the hardened cream portion that floats to the top of the can when chilled. Try to use a brand that doesn’t have a lot of thickeners/stabilizers, because this can sometimes prevent the coconut cream from separating and hardening in the way that we need.
• Vegan-friendly coffee liqueur: Tia Maria is vegan-friendly. Kahlua is not suitable for vegans according to their website. (Their sugar is not processed in a vegan-friendly manner.)
• Cream cheese: My go-tos for desserts are the ones from Simple Truth or Kite Hill. You can also make your own.

Substitutions

• Coffee liqueur alternatives: You can substitute dark rum, marsala wine, amaretto, or Frangelico.
• Coconut cream substitute: I’ve only personally tested this recipe with canned coconut cream, but I think it could work with a store-bought heavy cream substitute, such as the one from Country Crock/Trader Joe’s. Let me know if you try it out!
• Tofu substitute: You can substitute in 1/2 cup of plain plant-based yogurt if needed. The filling will be a little more tart but should still be tasty.
• Biscoff cookies instead of ladyfingers: You can also substitute Biscoff cookies! You’ll need about two 8.8oz containers (each contains 32 cookies). Dip the Biscoff cookies 2 at a time — subbing 2 cookies per 1 ladyfinger.

Vanilla Cake (instead of ladyfingers)

• 1 cup unsweetened plant milk
• 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I use sunflower oil)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8×8″ square pan. Mix all ingredients for the cake together, pour into the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool fully. Slice the top off the cake so it’s perfectly flat, then slice the cake into 2 thin layers to use for the tiramisu. When assembling, prick the cake layers with a fork and spoon the coffee soak over. Spread half the cream mixture over each layer of cake.

Did you make this recipe?We’d love for you to leave a review on the website! You can also share a photo on IG and tag @sarahsvegankitchen_ or #sarahsvegankitchen.