Gingerbread Tiramisu is what you were searching for today scrolling through your feed, I know it! Planning a holiday dessert that's simple enough to make, and will have that WOW factor to impress all your guests? Trust me when I say you'll take one bite of this Gingerbread Tiramisu, close your eyes and feel HUGGED by the taste of the holidays. Skeptical? I get it. Not to worry. Try it and please report back.
A twist on the classic Italian dessert - we are leveling up this Gingerbread Tiramisu in two ways: dunking the ladyfingers in rich gingerbread coffee and adding a layer of crisp gingerbread cookies. The silky gingerbread mascarpone filling is lusciously creamy, sandwiched between the softened coffee-dunked ladyfingers. All this is balanced with the bittersweet touch of classic cocoa powder dusting and adorable gingerbread cookies for decoration. Make this festive no-bake dessert for your next holiday party or cozy gathering, and I promise you will be ending the night with an empty pan.
I made a mental note a year ago that this holiday season, making my own gingerbread tiramisu will be on my to-do list after seeing Jenna from Butternut Bakery make one. It looked AH-MAZING! After adjust her recipe - adding a few more classic gingerbread spices and tweaking ingredient ratios, I can confidently say I'll be making this a few more times for this year's holiday gatherings!
Looking for more tiramisu inspiration? My Cranberry Tiramisu will be perfect for any Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert table, and creamy Pistachio Tiramisu has been a favorite this year with pistachio being all the craze.
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Why You Will Love This Gingerbread Tiramisu
- No baking: This is probably the number one reason people love making homemade tiramisu! Especially during the holidays when the oven is being occupied with turkeys and side dishes, it's so convenient to assemble this gingerbread tiramisu, chill it, and simply present it when ready to serve.
- Perfect to prep ahead: Almost all tiramisu does best with a night's rest in the fridge, or at least 4 hours of chilling. This gives it time for the filling to soften the ladyfingers and gingerbread cookies, and all the spiced flavors to develop.
- Using gingerbread coffee and crispy gingerbread cookies changes the game: It truly does! The coffee amps up the flavors in the dunked ladyfingers and the cookies gives every bite that extra something - taste, texture, and sweetness that delights everyone.
Notes About A Few Key Ingredients
- Mascarpone cheese: Use it chilled straight out of the fridge. You can substitute with full-fat cream cheese, however, mascarpone definitely has a creamier and more velvety mouthfeel so results will differ.
- Molasses: Essential ingredient in gingerbread. It's the thick brown syrup left after crushed sugar cane or beets are boiled down to form sugar crystals.
- Ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves: The major spices that make up gingerbread. Some people omit cloves, but this combination is what gives gingerbread its distinct warm spiced flavor.
- Heavy cream: also labeled heavy whipping cream.
- Salt: Enhances the flavors of any dessert.
- Ladyfingers: Use store-bought or homemade. I usually get them at my local Sprouts in the cookie aisle. I find making homemade gluten-free ladyfingers to be the best if you have the time. The Loopy Whisk has an amazing recipe I've used multiple times and they are better than any store-bought ladyfingers I've ever tasted.
- Gingerbread coffee: I enjoy this gingerbread coffee I bought for the first time on Amazon. You can also find some at Starbucks. If you don't wish to purchase any, you can simply add gingerbread spices into your coffee before brewing/pouring over. The recipe card below will have the measurements. And of course feel free to use regular classic unflavored coffee.
- Crisp gingerbread cookies: I used the holiday Pepperidge Farm gingermen cookies, you can also use ginger snaps. Be sure they are fairly thin and crisp, avoid the soft ones.
How To Make Gingerbread Tiramisu
If you prefer not to buy gingerbread coffee, simply mix in ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and a pinch of cloves to your regular coffee grinds before brewing.
Select a shallow bowl to easily dunk your ladyfingers. Allow brewed coffee to cool completely.
Temper your eggs/sugar over a double boiler. Heat on low until sugar granules have dissolved. You can skip this step if you're not tempering your eggs.
Add molasses, vanilla, salt, and all your spices. Allow mixture to cool completely - chill in fridge or place over a large bowl of ice.
Once egg mixture has cooled, add and whisk in cold mascarpone cheese.
Whip on medium-low speed until smooth. We're not incorporating air, so avoid mixing on high speed.
Pour in heavy cream and whisk until slightly thickened.
Reserve one cup of gingerbread mascarpone filling to use as topping in a separate medium mixing bowl.
Dunk ladyfingers in cooled coffee for only one second and let excess coffee drip off before adding to pan. Any longer and the ladyfingers become mushy.
This recipe fits in a 8-inch square pan. Cut ladyfingers to size if you want to lay them all the same way. Pour about ⅓ of the remaining gingerbread mascarpone filling on top.
Add the gingerbread cookie layer. Pour about ⅓ of the remaining filling once again.
Lay out the second row of ladyfingers and the last of the gingerbread mascarpone filling. Spread evenly.
Pour and whisk in heavy cream to the reserved bowl of mascarpone filling.
Whip on med-high until you achieve firm-to-stiff peaks.
Transfer gingerbread mascarpone cream into piping bag and dollop as desired. Once complete, chill in fridge for 4 hours min (preferably overnight). Optional: dust with cocoa powder before or after chilling.
Dust generously with cocoa powder.
Decorate with more gingerbread cookies.
Take a bite, admire your work, and give yourself a pat on the back!
Suzy's Tips For Success
- Feel for sugar granules when tempering your eggs: Gently touch the egg/sugar mixture and rub between your fingers. You want to heat this until sugar has dissolved and you no longer feel sugar granules. This will ensure your filling sets silky and smooth.
- Avoid over-mixing your mascarpone cheese: Over-whipping your mascarpone can cause it to curdle and turn gritty. Keep your mixer on med-low speed.
- Pour heavy cream directly into your gingerbread mascarpone: Many recipes will have you whip your heavy cream in a separate bowl, then combine it into your mascarpone cheese. Heavy cream is easy to over-whip. To have better control, adding it directly to your mascarpone filling and whipping it together will create a more cohesive smooth consistency. It will give you better control to gauge when to stop whipping.
- Dunk ladyfingers quickly: Avoid soaking ladyfingers in coffee for too long. Submerge for one second, that's it. Any longer and you will have spongey mushy ladyfingers in your tiramisu and trust me - that is NOT the bite you want.
- Even layering: This recipe fits into an 8-inch square pan. Depending on the size of your ladyfingers, you may want to cut them to size if you want them all laying the same direction. Avoid overlapping them. Each layer of filling should fully cover the ladyfingers evenly.
- Prepare gingerbread tiramisu ahead of time: Plan ahead to allow tiramisu to chill in fridge overnight for best results. You can dust with cocoa powder before chilling, however, I prefer to add cocoa powder and decorations right before serving.
Best Way To Store Gingerbread Tiramisu
You can store tiramisu in fridge for up to 4 days uncovered. Be sure to cover the pan once it's sliced. You can also freeze before adding the cocoa powder for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, decorate with cocoa powder and crisp cookies, and serve.
FAQ
I usually find pre-packaged ladyfingers in most store's cookie aisles. You can also bake your own, which I highly recommend!
Yes! Substitute in gluten-free ladyfingers and gluten-free gingerbread cookies.
Thin and crispy! Avoid the soft thicker ones. I used Pepperidge Farm gingermen - they are so cute and worked great! You can also use ginger snaps, but they seem to be pricier at the store.
Nope, feel free to use your regular coffee! You can also add in the gingerbread spices you're using for your tiramisu into your regular coffee grinds before brewing.
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Equipment
- 8-inch square pan (20cm)
- hand mixer optional
- large parchment paper
- piping bag/tip - I used 1A tip
Ingredients
Gingerbread Mascarpone Filling
- 6 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 16 oz mascarpone cheese cold
- 1½ cup heavy cream divided
- 12-17 crisp gingerbread cookies or ginger snaps
Gingerbread Coffee Soak
- 1½ cup strong brewed gingerbread or regular coffee cooled
- 7 oz ladyfingers approx 24-26
- cocoa powder for dusting
Instructions
- Brew gingerbread coffee and pour into a wide and shallow bowl. Alternatively, you can add ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and pinch of cardamom & cloves to regular coffee grinds before brewing. Add optional sugar if desired and allow it to cool completely.1½ cup strong brewed gingerbread or regular coffee
- In a heat-safe bowl, combine and mix egg yolks and sugar. Create a double-boiler by boiling 2-inches of water in a saucepan. Place bowl on top the saucepan, ensuring bottom of the bowl does not touch the simmering water. Whisk until mixture thins and sugar has dissolved. You should feel no sugar granules when rubbed between your fingers. This should take approx 5 minutes. Remove bowl from the heat.6 large egg yolks, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Add molasses, vanilla, salt, and all the spices and stir. Allow mixture to cool completely, either in the fridge or place over a large bowl of ice. Stir so it chills evenly.2 tablespoon molasses, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Once chilled, spoon in the mascarpone cheese and whisk until smooth. Pour in 1 cup of the heavy cream and beat until it slightly thickens.16 oz mascarpone cheese, 1½ cup heavy cream
- Reserve and pour 1 cup of the filling into an empty mixing bowl. This will be used for the piped topping.
- Dunk the ladyfingers for one second and arrange in bottom of pan. Cut to size if you prefer to lay them the same direction. Pour in about ⅓ of the filling and spread evenly to cover the ladyfingers.7 oz ladyfingers
- Then, arrange layer of gingerbread cookies. Pour in ⅓ of the remaining filling once again, making sure to cover the cookies. Repeat with another layer of dunked ladyfingers and the last of the filling. Spread evenly.12-17 crisp gingerbread cookies
- Pour in the remaining ½ cup of heavy cream into the reserved filling. Whip until you achieve firm-to-stiff peaks. Transfer into piping bag and pipe/dollop cream on top the filling. Chill tiramisu in fridge for 4 hours minimum, or preferably overnight.
- Once ready to serve, lay out two sheet of parchment paper and place tiramisu pan on top. Dust with cocoa powder and decorate with cookies. Slice and serve!cocoa powder
Notes
Nutrition
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Angel Khonesavanh says
This tastes amazing! Better than traditional in my opinion !
Suzy says
Thanks, Angel! Nothing against the classic, but I think I agree with you. It's going to be a regular holiday dessert from now on!