Tiramisu Without Mascarpone

When you think of tiramisu you may think of an upscale dessert, typically following an Italian meal, with layers of creamy, spongey, espresso flavor. Absolutely fabulous!

This recipe maintains the flavor and texture of traditional tiramisu in a streamlined approach with ingredients you likely have on hand. 

Easy Tiramisu Recipe Without Eggs or Mascarpone

For our easy tiramisu recipe, we chose to use cream cheese in place of mascarpone, an ingredient many keep in stock at home and if not, is readily available at any grocery store. 

Another unique part of this recipe is that we don’t use egg yolks. Typically, egg yolks are used to make a custard that is mixed with the mascarpone and spread on top of the ladyfingers.

This method opts out of the custard, replacing it with fresh whipped cream. This, and the fact we don’t need to cook or bake any part of it, makes this an absolutely easy and time-efficient dessert that will impress any guest. 

When preparing to make this tiramisu the items you may not have on hand are ladyfinger cookies and a coffee liqueur. 

How to Buy or Make Ladyfingers for Tiramisu

Ladyfingers can be found at some major grocery stores, at Italian markets, or very easily online. A great, classic brand we recommend is Balocco Savoiardi Lady Fingers. 

Another option for ladyfingers is to make them yourself. This adds time to the final product, but simple recipes can be found easily online.

Ladyfingers are made with eggs, sugar, flour, and vanilla. If you have extra time or can’t find ladyfingers to purchase, you can go the extra mile and make your dessert extra special by making your own ladyfinger cookies. 

Ladyfingers are great on their own, accompanied by a cup of coffee, or can be used in trifles, and other desserts.

When layered with cream, like in this tiramisu recipe, they take on a delicious cake texture with the flavors they are served with. 

How to Choose the Best Coffee for Tiramisu

For coffee liquor, we selected Kahlua but any you prefer can be used in its place. Some other common brands are Tia Maria, Firelit, and Fair Cafe. Or simply mix rum into your espresso. 

If you don’t have espresso at home, you can brew a very strong cup of black coffee to use in its place. 

Now let’s make this easy tiramisu without mascarpone! 

How to Make Tiramisu Without Mascarpone or Eggs

Before getting started, gather your ingredients.

To begin, pour the heavy whipping cream into the bowl of a stand mixer, or use a handheld mixer, and whip at medium-high speed while slowly adding the sugar and vanilla extract. 

Mix until stiff peaks form.

Gently mix in the cream cheese and whip until just combined. This is done easiest if your cream cheese is at room temperature. 

In a separate, shallow bowl combine the espresso and Kahlua. As I mentioned, strong black coffee can be used as well, just be sure it is completely cool!

Line up the ladyfingers, espresso mixture, and an 8×8 dish.

Dip both sides of the ladyfinger in the espresso mixture and place it on the bottom of the dish, completely covering the bottom in uniform lines. 

Next, spread half of the whip cream/cream cheese mixture on top of the soaked ladyfingers.

Return to your assembly line and add another layer of dipped ladyfingers on top, followed by the remaining cream cheese mixture spread all over the top.

Your dish should be completely full, with four visible layers, if using a glass dish. 

Give the entire dish a generous sprinkle of cocoa powder.

The easiest way to do this is with a fine mesh strainer but there are dusting tools you can purchase or just use your fingers. It should be completely covered in a layer of cocoa powder. 

Place dessert in the refrigerator to cool completely, at least 3 hours, up to 24 hours.

Once chilled all the way through, slice the dessert into nine square pieces and serve. Layered dessert can be tricky to serve in an attractive way but don’t be scared to get in there and slice it and start serving.

An effective method is to make even cuts with a sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between cuts, and using a small square serving spatula to scoop out pieces.

This will make digging out the first piece much easier!

And now your sweet, creamy, and very easy tiramisu is ready to serve. 

There’s no question this is the perfect no-bake dessert to make ahead of time and pull out after dinner with no additional prep! 

You can also freeze this tiramisu. Check out this article for step-by-step freezing instructions.

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