The BEST Skinny Tiramisu EVER

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This skinny tiramisu is a rich and elegant dessert, bold in flavors of coffee and liqueur to warm you up in winter. Creamy and light layers of luxury that melt in the mouth make this a perfect crowd-pleasing dessert. The recipe tries to keep it simple, easy, effortless as close to classic Tiramisu as possible.

If you love bold rich flavored desserts then Tiramisu is one of them! Right? Well, I will be honest and say I have eaten more tiramisu in my life then probably an Italian himself.  There was a time when I would order Tiramisu almost exclusively for dessert. Crazy obsession with Tiramisu! As if ordering Tiramisu after every meal wasn't enough I also made the best Tiramisu in town! Ask my friends and they still remember it.

Well, those were the days!! When my waistline would afford a good old Tiramisu. Over the years once I had kids, my metabolism moved in the other direction. And the waistline had to be kept in check. So for a good many years, Tiramisu was completely forgotten.

What is tiramisu?

The word 'Tiramisu' actually means "pick me up" but many people have mistaken it for 'coffee dessert'.  Well, Tiramisu is a rich and very elegant Italian dessert often served with great pride. It can be found in simple coffee shops but also in the most elegant high-end restaurants and rightfully so.

Delicate finger-like biscuits are dipped in a liquid made with coffee, and Italian liquor such as Marsala or creme de cocoa; layered with rich Italian Mascarpone cream cheese, eggs, and sugar custard. These layers are similar to what we refer to good light and fluffy pudding.

These days there is a huge number of variations of this classic dessert from changing the ladyfingers to a light sponge or switching the coffee to a fruit juice (I do that!) or using whipped egg whites instead of whipping cream to make it lighter.

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Why skinny?

Now, this may be a skinny tiramisu but it does not lack in flavor nor does it do any injustice to the classic version. The tweaks I've made are in trying to keep the dessert as close to the original as possible. No point in eating something low fat if it does not give you true satisfaction! Right?

I have served my skinny tiramisu on many occasions to family and friends and they are always surprised that this is a skinny version because it does not lack in flavor and BEST Of ALL - It still holds its' shape, unlike the low-fat Tiramisu which you cannot slice!!

• First - Cream Cheese - In keeping with being authentic it does have mascarpone but since mascarpone is really high in fat we substitute a big portion of that with a light cream cheese.
• Whipped cream - We reduce the whipped cream in this and add more eggless vanilla pastry cream to make up for the quantity.
• Eggless vanilla pastry cream - This eggless version is basically thickened milk that works great when you need to substitute the classic vanilla pastry cream usually used in a classic tiramisu which has three times more fat/calories because of the egg yolks and cream.

Ingredients and substitutes

• Vanilla pastry cream - Here I am using the eggless version to keep it light, but you can use my classic recipe which is made with egg yolks and heavy cream.
• Cream cheese - Instead of 500 grams of full-fat mascarpone which is usually 45% fill fat; I am substituting most of it with a 9% fat cream cheese which is much lighter. The little I use does give a nice richness of mascarpone. You are free to use full fat or switch all low fat.
• Liqueur - I like to keep things non-alcoholic for my kids so I have put that as an optional ingredient, unlike the authentic tiramisu. If you omit the liqueur just add more coffee to bring to the measure needed to soak the biscuits.
• Freezing the tiramisu - If you notice I ask to freeze the tiramisu for just 45 minutes before you serve it. This is the secret to getting those slices to hold their shape. You don't want it freezing too long just 30 to 45 minutes does the trick.

Step by step instructions (pin)

Pastry cream

• In a heavy-bottom saucepan combine the sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla.
• Gradually pour the milk, using a whisk to combine. Make sure there are no lumps
• Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook stirring constantly. The milk will thicken as it cooks.
  Tip - Keep the heat on medium to low adjusting to prevent the milk from sticking at the bottom.
• When the milk thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Cook for one to two minutes more.
  Tip - we do want a thick pastry cream or our tiramisu will be too soft and not its shape.
• Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic touches the top surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming at the top.
• Chill for a minimum of 4 hours or until ready to assemble the dessert.

Prepare

• Coffee mixture - combine hot coffee, liquor, and cocoa powder - set aside to cool
• Mascarpone cream - In a bowl and a whisk, combine the mascarpone, cream cheese, and powdered sugar - set aside
• Whipped cream - Whip the cream with powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
  Divide the whipped cream into 3. Add one portion to the vanilla pastry cream, one to the mascarpone cream, and third for the top of the dessert.

Assemble

• Use a 9 x 9-inch square or 7 x 9-inch rectangle pan that can accommodate about 10 to 12 ladyfingers in two rows or similar
• Dip each ladyfinger briefly in the coffee liquid and place the biscuits in a single layer.
• Top with half the cream cheese mixture, followed by half the pastry cream mixture.
• Dust with cocoa powder using a fine sieve.
• Repeat the next layers of ingredients starting with ladyfingers followed by cream cheese and vanilla pastry cream layers
• Finally, top with the remaining whipped cream. Smooth the top with a spatula.

Chill & serve

• Chill the tiramisu for a minimum of three hours or overnight. (overnight works best)
• Freeze for 45 minutes before you serve. This helps holds those layers together when you cut into these layers.
• Dust the top generously with cocoa powder before serving.
• Cut into slices and use a flat spatula to help lift the layers
• Enjoy!

Storage & Shelf-life

• Tiramisu will stay in the fridge for 2  days before the whipped cream will start to lose volume
• It will still be delicious but the whipped cream will be soft so it may not hold well as a slice.

If you like tiramisu you may like these as well.

• Tiramisu Cake - No Bake
• Mascarpone Cream Cake
• No-Churn Tiramisu Ice Cream
• BEST EVER Skinny Tiramisu Dessert
• Fried Tiramisu Donuts
• Tiramisu filled Doughnuts - Sufganiyot
• No-Churn Tiramisu Ice Cream

Frequently asked questions

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