This Gluten-Free Vegan Tiramisu is aromatic, creamy and tangy. It's an elegant yet low-maintenance dessert that also tastes incredible: think buttery ladyfingers soaked in coffee and liqueur, layered with silky, tangy mascarpone and finished with a dusting of cocoa powder. Plus it's the best crowd-pleasing make-ahead dessert for easy entertaining as it's effortless to make in large quantities. Not only is this recipe egg-free and dairy-free, but it's also refined sugar free.
You should make sure the coffee you use is strong so that the flavour is distinguishable.
When making coffee-based desserts, the quality of the coffee can be a deal-breaker. If you use an overly acidic, watery coffee, no amount of sugar can make it taste better.
The coffee should be warm, so that it soaks into the sponge better.
Yes, you can use decaffeinated coffee.
Yes, you can make the "coffee" mixture using chicory powder instead. Chicory powder is made from ground chicory root and has a bitter, coffee-like flavour, so much so that it used to be known as 'poor man's coffee'. It also boasts numerous health benefits. You can buy it in local health stores or online, and maybe at your local supermarket.
You can use any alcohol you like, but tiramisu is usually made with: marsala wine (or any other dessert wine), rum, amaretto or coffee liqueur.
If you need this recipe to be gluten-free, make sure to check that the alcohol you use is gluten-free.
If you need it to be vegan, you can use the website barnivore.com to make sure that your alcohol is vegan.
Yes, if you want to make it alcohol-free or if you are making it for kids, you can omit the alcohol completely.
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Mix together all the ingredients for the sponge batter in a glass mixing bowl.
- Transfer into a square baking tin.
Tip: Line the tin with greased baking paper to make it easier to remove the sponge after.
- Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Leave the sponge in the tin to cool completely before cutting.
- Cut the sponge in half both ways, then cut each square into three, so that you end up with 12 rectangular-shaped sponges.
- Use a chopping board to carefully slice each rectangular sponge in half horizontally.
- Lay out half of the sponge rectangles along the bottom of a large baking dish.
- Measure out the coffee in a measuring jug and mix in alcohol of choice.
- Carefully spoon half of the coffee mixture over the sponges until absorbed completely - you will get more precision using a spoon to do this.
- Make the vegan mascarpone using an electric whisk.
- Spread half of the mascarpone over the sponges.
- Lay the rest of the sponges on top of the mascarpone and carefully spoon over the remaining coffee mixture.
- Top with the remaining mascarpone and finish with a fine dusting of cocoa powder.
Substitutions you can make
- You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
- You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
- You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
- You can replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground walnuts.
- For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds (almond meal) with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds.
- You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you're not gluten-free.
- You can replace the coconut milk with coconut yogurt (or any other plant-based yogurt) if you're feeling lazy.
How long does this keep for?
This Tiramisu can be devoured immediately, but also keeps well covered in the fridge for up to a day. It doesn't keep for longer than one day as the sponge becomes too soggy otherwise. The quantities can easily be doubled or tripled if you're feeding a large crowd.
Can you freeze this?
No, unfortunately this Tiramisu cannot be frozen.
More delicious coffee desserts
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Watch how to make this recipe
Gluten-Free Vegan Tiramisu
Ingredients
For the sponge:
- 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 200 ml (⅘ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar * (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) **
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
For the coffee mixture:
- 400 ml (1 ⅔ cup) coffee , strong and warm
- 2 tablespoons liqueur of choice to taste (ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary)
For the mascarpone:
- 800 g (28 oz) tins of full-fat coconut milk ***
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To assemble:
- Cocoa powder , for dusting
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the vinegar, maple syrup and ground almonds.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it's looking too dry.
- Transfer mixture into a square baking tin lined with baking paper (I used a 23cm/9inch square baking tin).
- Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Leave the sponge in the tin to cool completely before cutting.
For the coffee mixture:
- Measure out the coffee in a jug and mix in the liqueur.
For the mascarpone:
- You'll need to keep your tins of coconut milk in the fridge overnight for the rich creamy bit to separate from the watery bit at the bottom. Make sure it is full fat coconut milk, otherwise this separation won't happen and you won't be able to make this cream!
- Open the tins upside down - the coconut cream will be at the bottom and you can just pour off the watery liquid (save this for adding to soups or smoothies).
- Place the thick, creamy part into a bowl.
- Add the lemon juice, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
- Use an electric whisk (or a manual one and a lot of elbow grease) to whip up the coconut cream until light and fluffy.
To assemble:
- Cut the sponge in half both ways, then cut each square into three, so that you end up with 12 rectangular-shaped sponges.
- Use a chopping board to carefully slice each rectangular sponge in half horizontally.
- Lay half of the sponge rectangles along the bottom of a large baking dish (I used a 25cm/10inch by 22cm/8.5inch dish).
- Carefully spoon half of the coffee mixture over the sponges until absorbed completely - you will get more precision using a spoon to do this.
- Spread half of the mascarpone over the sponges.
- Lay the rest of the sponges on top of the mascarpone and carefully spoon over the remaining coffee mixture.
- Top with the remaining mascarpone and finish with a fine dusting of cocoa powder.
- Keeps well covered in the fridge for up to a day.
Video
Notes
- You should make sure the coffee you use is strong so that the flavour is distinguishable.
- The coffee should be warm, so that it soaks into the sponge better.
- You can use decaffeinated coffee if you want to make it caffeine-free.
- You can make the "coffee" mixture using chicory powder if you want to make it coffee-free.
- You can use any alcohol you like.
- If you want to make it alcohol-free or if you are making it for kids, you can omit the alcohol completely.
- The quantities can easily be doubled or tripled if you're feeding a large crowd.
- This tiramisu doesn't keep for longer than one day as the sponge becomes too soggy otherwise.
- This tiramisu cannot be frozen.
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allison cooper
Looks good. Is it 28 oz. Or 2 cans of 8 oz for the coconut milk?
Rhian Williams
Two 14oz cans of coconut milk!
Grace
I made this tonight, and it turned out pretty good! It kindof felt like something was missing, but i couldn't put my finger on it - probly that I'm just used to having the dairy version (and regretting it later when my face breaks out). Or it coulda been the liquor. I left it out since I'm pregnant. Yeah, rum woulda been great. I did have to make a couple other changes: The flour blend i had was more of a biscuit/pancake mix with baking soda/powder already in it. I lessened the amounts of those 2 things and used the coconut flour sun for almond meal, then hoped for the best. I was really pleased with the sponge! I used strong brewed decaf coffee that was kinda bitter, so I know it would have been better with regular or espresso. The bottom layer was a little too soaked. It disintegrated a bit. The top wasnt quite soaked through, which I actually liked as far as consistency. (I had some coffee left over after doing the top layer, so I guess I should have spooned a bit more). I didn't have lemon juice so I used a splash of lemon extract for the creamy filling instead. I used an electric hand mixer and was nervous about it being too thin so i subbed some powdered sugar for some of the syrup. If i was more patient i would have chilled it further before putting on, but i couldn't wait. My husband doesnt care for tiramisu so I get to eat it all 😉 I'm thrilled I made tiramisu for the first time ever (not to mention gf, dairy free, and, bonus egg free) and it wasn't a disaster! I've always wanted to maker it but didn't haves the guts. Thanks!
Rhian Williams
Yay thank you so much, so glad you liked it!! Thank you so much for sharing your substitutions, that's so helpful to know.
Wren
Can I use coconut flour to replace the almond flour?
Rhian Williams
Yes - but only use a fifth of the amount as you need a lot less coconut flour compared to almond flour!
Janae
I’m making this for my child’s birthday, What can I sub for the liquor? Or can I boil out the alcohol?
Rhian Williams
You can leave it out!
Reese
I’m so excited about this recipe. Sadly I’ve tried twice and my cake comes out so dense. 😫 What am I doing wrong? I have a nut allergy so I used the coconut flour (replaced with just a fifth as per your recommendation.) also what texture should the batter have? Should it be like brownie batter? (That’s how mine has been. Actually almost like dough more so than batter). I really want this to work out. This is my favorite dessert and you’ve provided one of the simplest recipes. Any suggestions? Can I use flax instead of almond? Thanks in advance 🤗
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much for your feedback! I’m sorry to hear that. The batter should be like normal cake batter, but a bit more watery. If making again I would add more plant-based milk and maybe a little extra baking powder too. What gluten-free flour are you using?