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Years ago, I always made Vegan Tiramisu for my family and for special occasions until I got sick and tired of making it. Recently, I decided to make one on the final day of my cooking classes as a treat for the students. My students requested that I shared my recipe and I promised them that I would share it on here.
How To Make Vegan Tiramisu
What Is Tiramisu?
Traditional Tiramisu is an Italian dessert with layers of sponge cake that are soaked in coffee and brandy or liqueur with powdered chocolate and mascarpone cheese. I decided to go the unconventional route because of my lifestyle choices. I don’t drink alcohol nor eat dairy, nor caffeinated drinks. So I made a dairy-free, gluten-free, alcohol-free and caffeine-free version that will knock your socks off your feet.
To make Vegan Tiramisu, first I made a fluffy vegan and gluten-free cake. I used my tried and true Vegan Gluten-Free Cake Recipe in a sheet pan. While the cake was baking, I prepared a thick and creamy vegan mascarpone made with almond milk, coconut milk, cornstarch, sugar, and vanilla. I also prepared a ‘chocolate’ style syrup made with carob powder.
You can add about a tablespoon of your favorite coffee substitute as well. I also prepared a coconut whipped cream for the topping, So Delicious Dairy free CocoWhip is a great substitute for homemade coconut whipped cream.
I allowed the cake, vegan mascarpone, and syrup to cool completely before I layered them. I used a 10×15 glass casserole dish for layering the tiramisu cake.
- Layer 1- Carob Syrup
- Layer 2 – Sponge Cake brushed with syrup
- Layer 3 – Vegan Mascarpone
- Layer 4 – Sponge Cake brushed with syrup
- Layer 5 – Vegan Whipped Cream topped with Carob powder
Other Cakes For You To Try:
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Nutrition
- Energy:
- 417 kcal / 1743 kJ
- Fat:
- 22 g
- Protein:
- 3 g
- Carbs:
- 47 g
Cooking Time
- Preparation:
- 20 min
- Cooking:
- 30 min
- Ready in:
- 55 min
Ingredients
Sheet Cake
- 2 cups brown rice flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons golden flaxseeds, ground
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Vegan Mascarpone
- 1 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 6 tablespoons cane sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon almond flavor
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For The Carob Syrup
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup carob powder
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon almond flavor
For The Whipped Cream
- 2 cans coconut milk, chilled for 8 hours or overnight
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
For The Sheet Cake
- Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Line and lightly grease a large sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. I used a 12x18 pan.
- In a large bowl, combine brown rice flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, stir together, almond milk, ground flaxseeds, coconut oil, vanilla, and almond flavor.
- Pour liquid mixture into dry and mix to combine until batter is smooth and creamy. Scoop batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove cake from oven to a cooling rack, keep in the pan until completely cool.
To Prepare The Vegan Mascarpone
- Place almond milk, coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, almond flavor and salt in a blender and process until smooth. Pour mascarpone into a saucepan. Heat sauce on medium-high and stir constantly until thickened, smooth and creamy. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Carob Syrup
- Place cold water, carob powder, sugar in a medium saucepan. Whisk until smooth and there are no lumps. Transfer saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil whisking constantly. Reduce to simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla, almond flavor and salt. Allow syrup to cool.
Vegan Whipped Cream
- Remove chilled coconut milk from the refrigerator, open can and carefully drain clear liquid from the top of the can. You can reserve this clear liquid to add to your curries or smoothies. Scoop out the thick coconut cream into the bowl of a chilled electric mixer.
- Beat coconut cream until fluffy on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Add sugar, vanilla and whip to combine.
To Assemble Vegan Tiramisu
- Using a 10x15 glass pan, brush the bottom with carob syrup to coat. Cut cool cake into strips and lay in a single layer over carob syrup. Then brush cake strips with carob syrup.
- Scoop a vegan mascarpone over cake layer and spread to cover. Top with remaining cake strips, then brush with remaining carob syrup.
- Spread with coconut whipped cream to cover and sprinkle with carob powder. Keep refrigerated.
Notes
Could you replace the coconut milk with anything else please? Maybe yoghurt or perhaps I could make cashew cream and thicken it with cornstarch? I welcome any of your creative ideas & tips. Gorgeous recipe :)
Jacqueline, I love the idea of using cashew cream and thickening it over the stovetop with cornstarch. I hope you enjoy!
How you are making systematic recipe !
I don’t understand your question Pranita.
Excited to try your recipe! How long will it keep in the fridge?
Misti, the taste is amazing, I would keep it for about 3 days refrigerated.
Wow! This recipe looks absolutely amazing, and I look forward to making it! I was wondering if I should try omitting the coconut milk from the blender mixture, but then later fold whipped coconut cream into the reduced blender mixture? I want the cream to be extra fluffy and airy. Do you think it could work?
Thank you Anne, sounds like a great idea. Please let us know how it turns out. As written you will be surprised how creamy and fluffy this recipe is.
Okay so I tried this and thought I would update anyone who might be curious. So the filling did come out very smooth and creamy, but it did not become more airy. I did the same steps except I used 3/4 cup more almond milk instead of the coconut cream. I heated it to thicken it and it resulted in a very custard-y consistency. After placing this custard in the fridge for a little, I whipped the coconut cream from 1 can and folded it into the custard (which I whipped after it chilled). I poured this mixture on the base and chilled it. I think one of the things was that the almond milk wasn’t as thick as the coconut milk in Michelle’s recipe, so I think everyone should stick to her’s for a successful tiramisu. However, the result from this experiment might be able to make a good vegan frozen custard.
Is there anything I can sub for the almond milk in the mascarpone? I want to make this for a friend, but she has a nut allergy. So unfortunately, I cannot use any other nut substitutes.
Alina, blend 1 carton silken tofu with about 1/4 cup maple syrup or sugar, 1/4 cup soy milk, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla, pinch salt until smooth. Hope this helps, you can also substitute tofu with sunflower seeds.
I’ll have to do the sunflower seeds because she has a soy allergy too 😩 about how much sunflower seeds should I use? Thank you so much for your reply!!
Soak 1/2 cup sunflower seeds in water for about 8 hours. Strain and rinse the seeds. Add soaked sunflower seeds to a blender with 1 1/2 cups water and blend until smooth. Strain sunflower milk using a fine mesh strainer, nut milk bag or cheesecloth. Substitute 1 1/2 cups sunflower milk for the almond milk in the recipe.
Thank you soooo very much!! <3
You are welcome.
My coconut milk didn’t form the fat on top 😒 what can I do I don’t want to waste my dessert and we have people coming tonight 🤔
Michelle, I’m very sorry I missed your comment but if you used the coconut cream that formed on top, your recipe would have still turned out perfect. I hope you and your guests had a wonderful time.
Could you make the Marscapone and carob syrup but not use it till the day after or would it be better to make and use on the day. Thanks
You can actually make them and store them in the refrigerator until the day after, that will be fine. I have made the tiramisu the day before an event and it tastes amazing.
Thank you so much for the recipe. I am following a paleo diet. Is there anything I can substitute the brown rice flour with? Perhaps buckwheat flour?
Pavla, I have only tried it with brown rice flour so I’m not sure if buckwheat will work, I just purchased cassava flour so this could be another option.
Could I substitute cocoa powder in place of the carob powder?
Absolutely the only thing is I didn’t test it with cocoa powder
Regarding the 1 cup coconut milk in the Vegan Mascarpone – is this canned or carton (diluted) coconut milk?
I used canned coconut milk
This cake is the bomb.. tastes amazing. Love the textures… this is a treat.
Philly I’m so happy you love it. It is so amazing! Thank you for your feedback.
This looks like a lot of work but for Tiramisu, it’ll be worth it. What can be substituted for corn starch? I have a mild allergy to grains, especially corn. Would tapioca starch work?
Annie, you can make it the day before you plan to serve or make parts of it ahead of time. It is most definitely worth it. You can substitute the cornstarch with tapioca starch or arrowroot. Hope you enjoy.
SO THANKFUL FOR A RECIPE WITH H NO ALCOHOL, NO CHOCOLATE AND NO COFFEE. I will make it for our church potluck. Thank you
You are welcome, I hope you and the members enjoy it and have a sweet fellowship.
I made this cake yesterday, using a regular vegan vanilla cake as a base (we are not gf). Also I made a very strong coffee instead of the carob syrup, everything else was the same. Delicious dessert/cake, I will make it again. New dessert recipe for my family. Thank you for this wonderful cake!
Lariza, wow I’m so happy you enjoyed it and make it your own. Thank you for your feedback.
This tiramisu looks delicious! I thought I had to give up one of my favorite desserts when I stopped eating dairy… thank you for this recipe! Pinning to try soon!
Oh goodness, I love tiramisu and to find one that is dairy free is HUGE! Thank you, this will be added to our meal plan for an upcoming party.
This looks fluffy and wonderful. It’s been too long since I’ve had a good tiramisu!
Hi, this looks so wonderful. Our family is from Italy and I honestly have never had Vegan Tiramisu but it looks fabulous in your pictures! I love that you have made a wonderful traditional dessert into a more healthy Vegan choice.
I might just have to try this out on my Mother and Grandmother to see what they think of the Vegan version. I’m just going to let them try it and not tell them any different. That way I get a more honest reaction.
I really enjoyed this recipe though and definitely will let you know what everyone thinks.
Have a great day!
This looks divvvvine! I’m not vegan, but I love making secretly healthy recipes that are absent of all animal products…and undetectable! This gorgeous number looks like it fits the bill. Just pinned! Thanks for the recipe :)
I love this recipe, I love the fact that it is alcohol-free!
this tiramisu looks fantastic I love that it is healthy and I could eat the whole PAN! lol I never thought to use carob powder great choice!