Homemade Tiramisu
Italian Dessert made with Gluten Free Ladyfingers
While in Arizona I had tiramisu for the first time in many years, not only was it delicious the ladyfingers were gluten free. For Easter I decided to make it for my family. I searched for recipes but most of the recipes I found used gluten free flour blends that either had preservatives or gums and guars added. I found a couple recipes that only used gluten free flours but just not the ones I had in my pantry. In the past I’ve used almond, arrowroot and coconut flours for cakes and since ladyfingers are delicate and cake like on the inside I thought this combination would work. I had to make it a couple times, but found that this combination worked well to make gluten free ladyfingers. This dessert is gluten free, but the mascarpone has a lot of sugar and dairy and I would only have a dessert like this once or twice a year. For me it’s a treat food that I make for a holiday celebration such as Easter. Traditionally tiramisu does not use heavy whipping cream, but has even more raw eggs and if one does not tolerate large amounts of dairy this step would decrease dairy amount by at least one half. The next time I make tiramisu I will definitely make it without the whipping cream.
For this dessert I used a ladyfinger recipe but made it into 3 large cake like cookies to layer between the mascarpone filling. Ladyfingers are an Italian cookie and are traditionally baked in the shape of a finger hence why it’s called ladyfingers. For a delicious treat, after baking them sprinkle it with powdered sugar or dip it in some melted chocolate for some extra decadence & have it as an afternoon treat with your favorite tea.
Most tiramisu has a small amount of rum in it but myself and other family members are very sensitive to even small amounts of alcohol. Also if they are children that will be indulging in this dessert you certainly want to eliminate the rum. There are of course other options. You could add rum or vanilla extract, I always have vanilla on hand so I mixed it into the coffee right before dunking the ladyfingers into the coffee.
If you make this recipe let me know how you liked it. As always thanks for visiting my little corner of this town, Cheers to a happy & healthy day!
Homemade gluten free Tiramisu
Ingredients
LADYFINGER LAYERS
- 1/2 Cup Almond Flour
- 1/4 Cup Arrowroot Flour
- 1/4 Cup Coconut Flour
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 4 Medium Eggs Separated
- 1/3 Cup Sugar Divided Use Cane or Coconut Sugar
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
MASCARPONE FILLING
- 3 Egg Yolks
- 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar No substitutions
- 1/4 Cup Whole Milk
- 8 OZ Mascarpone Cheese
- 3/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 TBSP Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla
SOAKING LIQUID
- 3/4 Cup Strong Brewed decaf coffee You may use regular coffee if caffeine is tolerated
- 1.5 tsp Vanilla
- 1-2 TBSP Cacao Powder Use to sprinkle on top of the last mascarpone layer
Instructions
FOR THE LADYFINGERS:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Separate egg whites and egg yolks into 2 two medium size bowls. Use a hand or stand mixer to beat egg whites with 1 TBSP sugar until stiff peaks form, set aside. Beat egg yolks with vanilla and the rest of the sugar till mixture is thick and creamy.
- Fold in the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, do not use beater instead mix by hand with a rubber spatula. In a medium bowl sift together all flours, baking powder and salt. Last fold the flours with the egg mixture using the rubber spatula.
- Since I'm using ladyfingers for tiramisu the last step is much simpler. I made 3 large cookies to use as layers in the tiramisu. To do this line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, trace the bottom of a 6 inch diameter baking dish or 8 inch round baking dish onto the parchment paper. Pour about 3/4 cup batter into the center of the circle on the parchment paper, leave about 3/4 inch border.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, till ladyfingers are lightly browned. Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan & place parchment paper with the ladyfingers onto the counter. These cookies are very delicate, so I feel like they might fall apart if one cools them on a wire rack. Repeat the above instructions two more times. If your cookie sheet is a bigger size one could make two big ladyfingers at the same time.
- Ladyfingers alone are delicious. If one wishes to eat them as an afternoon treat with tea and make it as an actual ladyfinger. Place parchment paper onto a cookie sheet. Simply transfer the batter into a pastry bag or a plastic bag with the end snipped off. Pipe the batter onto the parchment paper in the form of ladyfingers. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes, cool for 10 minutes before transferring to counter, sprinkle with powdered sugar, allow ladyfingers to cool completely before storing in a container with an airtight lid.
FOR THE TIRAMISU:
- In a medium saucepan whisk together egg yolks milk and sugar until combined. Cook over medium heat whisking constantly until mixture boils. Turn heat down slightly and continue to boil for one minute while stirring with a whisk. Remove from the heat and transfer to a container with an airtight lid, but don't put the lid on it yet. Instead allow it too cool for about 15 minutes and whisk every couple minutes until it has cooled slightly. Then place the lid onto the container & refrigerate for an hour.
- Brew coffee. Let cool completely. Pour coffee 3/4 cup coffee into a pie pan or a medium sized baking pan and whisk the vanilla into the coffee.
- In a large bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream with the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form, remove into a smaller bowl. In the same large bowl beat the chilled custard, mascarpone and vanilla until combined. Lastly fold in the heavy whipping cream into the mascarpone/custard filling.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER:
- Very quickly dip one of the three lady fingers into the coffee mixture for about 5-10 seconds. Do not drop it in or allow it to soak for longer because it will soak up too much liquid and fall apart. Remember ladyfingers are very delicate and fall apart very easily.
- Place it in the bottom of the baking dish that you used to trace the shape of the ladyfinger. Spread 3/4 Cup of the custard filling evenly on top of the ladyfinger layer. Repeat two more times, alternating between soaked ladyfingers and custard, see above photo.
- Sprinkle cacao powder over the top custard layer.
- Chill for at least eight hours or overnight before serving.
Notes
- This dessert can take a lot of time, to make it easier you can make the ladyfingers and the egg custard two days before serving the tiramisu. Then finish making the tiramisu the day before serving it your family and friends