Hello everybody! So fun fact, tiramisu is one of the only ways for me to enjoy coffee… I have several different recipes for plantbased versions of this famous Italian dessert, and this is my contribution. Some plantbased recipes use silken tofu creme as the mascarpone, which makes sense when it comes to texture, but I never got the flavour quite right, so I have gone in a different direction using soy milk curdles (sounds insane but stay with me on this one). This is a simple dish to make, but so decadent and delicious – and this recipe has already been approved by two different dinner parties, so that’s the scoreboard.
Homemade mascarpone:
- 7 dl soy milk (I used vanilla flavoured variety)
- 1 dl lemon juice
Pour the soy milk into a pot, and bring to a simmer. Then add in the lemon juice. Instantly you’ll see the soy milk react and start curdling. Remove the pot from the heat and cover with a lid into it has cooled down to room temperature. While the mascarpone is cooling down, you can start working on the ladyfingers.
Once the soy milk curdles as cooled down, you will be able to separate the solid curdles from the remaining liquid, do this by running the content of the pot through a strainer. Transfer the solid curdles into a food processor and blend until smooth.
If you are using a sweetened soymilk, you might not need to add additional sweeteners but add to taste and preference. This vanilla soy milk I used is very sweet, so I won’t be adding more sugar. Store in the fridge until assembly.
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Ladyfingers:
- 1, 5 dl aquafaba
- 0,5 dl powdered sugar
- 0,8 dl soy milk
- 5 dl wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
Strain the liquid from a tin of chickpeas (this is your aquafaba) and transfer it into a bowl. It is extremely important that the bowl is completely clean and there isn’t any residue from water or oils, as this can affect the consistency of the aquafaba. Whisk the liquid until stiff peaks form, this can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes, but just stick with it and be patient, if the bowl is clean, it will start to form eventually. I recommend using an electric whisk for this.
Once your aquafaba looks like meringue add in the powdered sugar and whisk until combined. The consistency might deflate slightly once you add in the sugar, but that’s okay. Now add the plant milk, sieve in your flour, and your remaining ingredients and mix until combined.
Transfer your batter to a piping bag and squeeze your individual lady fingers into a baking sheet, or into a baking mould. I used a rectangular mould for this recipe, but they can also be free-handed. Before they go in the oven sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Baking at 150 degrees Celsius, for 20 minutes. Once the ladyfingers are fluffy and slightly golden, take them out and let them cool down to room temperature before moving forward with the recipe.
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Making the tiramisu:
- 150 ml plantbased cream (that can be whisked into whipped cream, not all options can so make sure you have one that can be whisked)
- 1 cup of strong coffee
- 2 tbsps of cognac (optional)
- 2 tbsps of dark cocoa powder
Whisk your cream until you have stiff peaks in your whipped cream. Then gently mix together the mascarpone cream from earlier with the whipped cream. And place in the fridge.
Mix your cup of strong coffee, in a bowl or tray, with the cognac if you choose, otherwise, just add the coffee. Soak the cooled-down lady fingers for approximately 1 minute. You don’t want the ladyfingers becoming so spongy that they fall apart, but you do want them to soak up enough coffee to add flavour, so make a couple of tests to figure out how long you need to soak your ladyfingers. I recommend cutting into one to see how fast they soak up the coffee.
When putting together your tiramisu, you can either choose to make a big tray and cut out individual serving sizes, or use portion-sized trays so every guest gets their own little tiramisu. I recommend the latter, as it can be a bit difficult to arrange the cut slice in an elegant way.
Place a small layer of the cream on the bottom. Then add your ladyfingers, and then add more of the cream on top. The ladyfingers need to be covered completely. The cream might seem too liquid during assembly, but it will set in the fridge, so trust the process. When the layers are done, set them in the fridge. I recommend letting the tiramisu rest for at least 5 hours to get the consistency right, but longer also works. You can even let it set overnight, as long as it is covered in the fridge.
Before serving sieve the dark cocoa powder on top, and there you go. Homemade, plantbased tiramisu.
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