Description
This vegan Strawberry Tiramisu is a delightful dairy-free twist on the classic Italian dessert. Layers of homemade vegan ladyfingers are soaked with a luscious strawberry confit and topped with a creamy vegan mascarpone made from coconut whipping cream and vegan cream cheese. Enhanced with vanilla and strawberry powder, this dessert is perfect for summer gatherings or any occasion, offering a fresh, fruity, and creamy experience without any animal products.
Ingredients
Scale
Vegan Ladyfingers
- ½ batch vegan ladyfingers (or vegan cookies or vegan graham crackers)
Strawberry Confit
- 400 g fresh strawberries
- 120 g cane sugar (or superfine/caster/brown sugar)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour)
- 50 ml water
Vegan Mascarpone
- 700 g coconut whipping cream
- 400 g vegan cream cheese
- 70 g sweetened condensed coconut milk
- 1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste/vanilla extract)
- 4 tablespoons strawberry powder (or freeze-dried strawberries)
Instructions
- Prepare Vegan Ladyfingers: If making homemade vegan ladyfingers, prepare them according to your recipe or use store-bought vegan cookies or vegan graham crackers to substitute.
- Make the Strawberry Confit: Wash and hull the strawberries. Place them in a saucepan with the cane sugar and lemon juice, then simmer over medium heat for 12–15 minutes until the berries are soft but hold their shape, stirring occasionally.
- Separate Strawberry Syrup: Pass the cooked strawberries through a fine-mesh sieve to separate the solids from the syrup. Set both aside.
- Thicken the Syrup: In the same saucepan, whisk cornstarch and water until smooth. Add the reserved strawberry syrup and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly for about 3 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat.
- Combine Strawberry and Syrup: Stir the reserved strawberries into the thickened syrup and let cool to room temperature, approximately 20 minutes.
- Whip Coconut Cream: Using an electric mixer, whisk the coconut whipping cream in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. This may take a couple of minutes; a regular whisk can be used but will require more effort.
- Prepare Vegan Mascarpone Base: Scrape seeds from the vanilla pod and add them to a large bowl with the vegan cream cheese and sweetened condensed coconut milk. Whisk until smooth and creamy.
- Fold Whipped Cream into Cream Cheese: Gently fold the whipped coconut cream into the cream cheese mixture using a rubber spatula to maintain lightness. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Assemble the Tiramisu: In an 8×8″ dish, arrange a layer of ladyfingers to cover the base, trimming if necessary. Brush or spoon some strawberry confit on top, then pipe a layer of the vegan mascarpone cream. Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers, add the remaining strawberry confit including whole strawberries, and top with the remaining mascarpone.
- Finish and Chill: Dust the top layer with strawberry powder. Cover and refrigerate the tiramisu to set for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. For best quality, consume within two days.
Notes
- Vegan ladyfingers can be homemade or substituted with vegan cookies or graham crackers to save time.
- Using fresh strawberries will give the best flavor, but frozen can be used in a pinch—ensure they are thawed and drained.
- Vanilla bean provides the best flavor, but vanilla extract or paste is an excellent alternative.
- Whipping coconut cream works best if the cream is well chilled before whipping.
- Strawberry powder can be substituted with finely crushed freeze-dried strawberries or omitted for a less intense strawberry flavor.
- Consume within two days for optimal freshness and texture.
