With bold coffee-dipped lady fingers and a sweet, protein-filled custard, this protein tiramisu recipe packs in 10 grams of protein per slice. It has no protein powder so it actually tastes like a real tiramisu thanks to cottage cheese despite no marscarpone.
This no-bake dessert comes together in about 20 minutes and makes the perfect summer or anytime, easy dessert. I’m actually saving some in our freezer so I can enjoy it in the summer!
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Coffee and chocolate is just a dream pairing, whether it be a coffee birthday cake with a chocolate frosting or a chocolate mug cake with a cup of coffee on the side. This combination is my go-to for a rich and decadent dessert.
This protein tiramisu without mascarpone pairs these two luscious flavors together in an easy-to-make classic Italian dessert. It blends cottage cheese to create that silky ribbon-like cream tiramisu is known for but with SO much more protein. I’m already sitting on the Amalfi coast enjoying it, so let’s get to making it!
Jump to:
- Why this protein tiramisu will make you do the happy food dance
- recipe ingredients
- do I need to cook the egg yolks?
- how to make tiramisu (with photo & video!)
- expert tips
- common questions
- troubleshooting & testing notes
- storage & make-ahead tips
- drinks to enjoy with this protein coffee dessert
- Recipe
- more high-protein desserts you'll love
Why this protein tiramisu will make you do the happy food dance
- Easy & quick: Tiramisu is an Italian classic for a reason - it’s made with minimal, good-quality ingredients, and requires little work. Most of the time is just letting it set up.
- It actually tastes good! Unlike other protein desserts, this protein tiramisu tastes just as creamy and decadent as the real deal thanks to some hard work and sleuthing on my part. I do want to note that this is not authentic tiramisu because it doesn’t contain mascarpone but it does contain booze. And authentic Italian tiramisu does not use booze, we Americans made it our own by adding alcohol, go figure.
- Light & refreshing: Tiramisu is sort of like an Italian icebox cake. It’s often served in the summer because it’s served cold. But my hot tip is to serve it on a warm, but brisk summer evening with a warm cup of decaf coffee.
recipe ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this tiramisu without mascarpone.
notes
- The cream: To keep the fluffy texture, you need heavy whipping cream. I whip mine with a bit of powdered sugar and coffee. Some with get mixed with the protein cream and the rest will be a topping.
- The protein cream: This is super easy to make because it’s just egg yolks blended with sugar, cottage cheese, almond extract, vanilla extract, and salt. Blended cottage cheese is such a great trick here and can be used even to make protein fudesicles! And yes, there are raw egg yolks in this dessert - if you are nervous about it, I have a method to cook them too!
- The lady fingers: Lady fingers are a crunchy cookie-like biscuit with a sugared topping. You can get them in most cookie aisles at the store. For tiramisu, we dip them in a combination of coffee and coffee liquor, like Kalhua. There is a trick to dipping though, so be sure to read the tips.
- The chocolate: All tiramisu is dusted with cocoa powder just before serving. I prefer to use the darkest cocoa powder I can find. It’s prettier and provides a more robust taste in comparison to the rich cream.
- Optional: For more protein, you can add collagen peptides to the cream mixture.
substitutions & variations
All substitutions are a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted. See recipe card for quantities.
- Heavy cream —> vegan heavy cream: Not that it will make it dairy-free, but you can make it with less dairy by using vegan heavy whipping cream.
- Lady fingers —> rice cakes: A popular low-carb trend on social media was to make single-serve protein tiramisu with rice cakes. You can use plain rice cakes in place of lady fingers for a low-carb version, but I promise it won’t taste as good.
- Leave out the alcohol: You can leave out the coffee liquor as desired. I would make the coffee a little stronger if doing this though to cut through the cream.
- Make it decaf: To make it kid-friendly, outside of leaving out the alcohol, I would use decaf coffee.
- A note about the almond extract: this is absolutely necessary because mascarpone has a slight nuttiness to it. We don’t have mascarpone, therefore we need almond (just a hint) to replicate this flavor.
- Adjust the sweetness: if you don’t like things too sweet, leave out the powdered sugar from the whipped cream mixture.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
do I need to cook the egg yolks?
Traditional tiramisu doesn’t cook the egg yolks because it uses such high-quality ingredients. And if you think about it, we eat over-easy eggs with runny yolks all the time, so no, you don’t need to cook the egg yolks.
But, if you are nervous here’s what you can do.
- Mix together the egg yolks and sugar in a cold saucepan until a paste forms.
- Bring to a low heat while constantly whisking.
- Continue cooking and whisking for 5-7 minutes or until the mixture has turned light yellow (more golden in color) and appears silky.
- Then add this mixture to the blender with everything else and continue on.
how to make tiramisu (with photo & video!)
Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the full recipe!
- Whip your heavy whipping cream, adding the ground coffee and powdered sugar at the end. Store it in the fridge until ready to use.
- Brew strong coffee and mix it with the alcohol.
- Blend the protein cream ingredients until smooth.
- Gently fold together ¾ths of the whipped cream with the protein cottage cheese mixture.
- Dip the lady fingers in the coffee for 2 seconds on each side, placing them in a single layer on the bottom of a pan
- Layer with lady fingers, half the protein whipped cream, another layer of lady fingers, the remaining protein cream, and then top with the remaining whipped coffee cream.
- Store in the fridge for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight. Dust with cocoa powder just before serving.
quick recipe video
expert tips
- Don’t over whip the cream: Over whipping cream will result in basically butter, so just keep an eye on it. When stiff peaks form, fold in the powdered sugar and coffee.
- Gently, gently fold the cream together: We do not want to deflate the cream so use a spatula to gently fold in the protein cream. Just work one turn at a time until it’s mostly combined. It doesn’t need to be fully mixed.
- The art of dipping lady fingers: You only need to dip the cookies for 2 seconds on each side. So hold it in the coffee, count to 2, then flip and count to 2 again. That’s it! Much more and they will fall apart on you.
- Let this chill, like really chill: This is a “scoopable” tiramisu as I like to say. It's cream. Dreamy and delicious, but you need to let it chill for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight. This will give the cream time to set up, making it easier to cut or scoop out.
common questions
It’s best served cold and with a side of fresh coffee - decaf if it’s after dinner! Some of my favorite dinner pairings are rigatoni carbonara, protein Tuscan chicken, and lemon ricotta pasta.
Yes, you can use gluten-free lady fingers to make this protein dessert.
No, I promise you won’t taste it! Dan even made the common “It’s crazy how cottage cheese can be so gross but as soon as you blend it, it’s awesome because it’s just creamy”. So, rest assured, the cottage cheese just makes it super creamy and packs in the protein - there are no curds.
Yes, you can layer the lady fingers (or rice cakes) in small storage containers, jars, or ramekins with the cream for single serve sizes.
I like to use a 9x9 pan for thicker layers and fewer lady fingers or a 9x13 pan for thinner layers and more lady finger cookies.
troubleshooting & testing notes
My lady fingers are not soft after letting the tiramisu chill, what do I do?
This means you either didn’t soak them enough or you didn’t let the whole dish chill long enough. Either way, just leave the tiramisu to chill in the fridge for another couple of hours and they will soften up.
The cream seems kind of runny, is this right?
Yes, the cream is a bit runny because we are folding in a heavy protein cream with the light whipped cream. I assure you it firms right up in the fridge! We don’t want it too runny though. Too runny would mean it pours like an actual liquid versus a custard or pudding.
I tried this with protein powder and here’s what happened.
Protein powder makes everything not baked taste like protein powder. Adding it to the tiramisu cream was fine texture wise but it was too sweet and tasted like protein powder. And I want this tiramisu to taste like a really good traditional tiramisu - no compromising on taste here!
storage & make-ahead tips
This dessert should be kept in the fridge or freezer in a covered container. It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for 3 months. It freezes really well (after soaking for the recommended time) and I’ve been able to slice it, wrap it with plastic wrap, and then place them in a ziplock bag for double freezer protection.
It should be eaten cold and if eating from the freezer, let it thaw a bit on the counter for 15-20 minutes (for a single slice) before digging into the tiramisu.
Freezing tip: I always try to portion desserts into individual serving sizes when freezing. This makes it easy to remove just 1 or 2 to enjoy for dessert. If I’m gifting this, then I will make and freeze the whole tray.
make-ahead
Tiramisu is the perfect dessert to make in advance! You can make it up to 2 days before. Just wait to dust with chocolate until right before. You can also make it, let it soak, and then freeze it for up to 3 months. Just pop it in the fridge the night before you want to enjoy it or let it thaw on the counter. Dust with cocoa and enjoy!
drinks to enjoy with this protein coffee dessert
Recipe
Protein Tiramisu Recipe - no protein powder or mascarpone!
Equipment
- 1 hand mixer
- 1 blender or food processor
- 1 large bowl
- 9x9 pan or 9x13 for thinner layers
Ingredients
Whipped Cream
- 2 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (can omit for less sweetness)
- 2 teaspoon ground coffee
- ¼ cup collagen peptides (unflavored, optional for more protein)
Protein Cream
- 5 egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- 16 oz cottage cheese
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
The Rest
- 2 packs Lady fingers (depending on pan size it will take 1-2 packs)
- 1.5 cups coffee (strongly brewed)
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder (extra dark if possible)
- 3 tablespoon coffee liquor (like Kaluha, optional)
Before you start!
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Instructions
- Brew a strong 1.5 cups coffee. When the coffee is done, pour into a wide bowl and mix with the 3 tablespoon coffee liquor.While it's brewing, begin whipping the 2 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream. Once stiff peaks form, add the ¼ cup powdered sugar and 2 teaspoon ground coffee. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
- In a blender, combine 5 egg yolks, ½ cup sugar, 16 oz cottage cheese, ⅛ teaspoon almond extract, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and ¼ teaspoon salt until smooth to make the protein cream.
- Remove ¼th of the whipped cream and keep it in the fridge for now. Add the protein cream to the other ¾ths of the whipped cream. Gently fold it in with a spatula, being careful to not deflate it too much. It doesn't need to be fully incorporated, just mostly.
- Grab your pan and set up a layering station with the 2 packs Lady fingers, then the bowl of coffee, then the pan, and the protein whipped cream on the other side.
- Now, dip each side of the lady finger into the coffee mixture for 2 seconds, or just until they feel slightly heavy. Then transfer to the bottom of the dish. Repeat until you have a single layer of lady fingers on the entire bottom of the pan. There is an art to this because if dipped too long, they will fall apart.
- Top the cookies with half of the protein whipped cream, spreading evenly to get it into all the nooks and crannies. Repeat the lady finger process, placing another even layer of the soaked cookies on top of the cream. Spread out the remaining protein whipped cream on top.Finally, grab your remaining whipped cream from the fridge and spread or pipe it evenly over the top.
- Let this chill, covered, in the fridge for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight. Dust with the 2 tablespoon cocoa powder just before serving.
Video
Notes
- Mix together the egg yolks and sugar in a cold saucepan until a paste forms.
- Bring to a low heat while constantly whisking.
- Continue cooking and whisking for 5-7 minutes or until the mixture has turned light yellow (more golden in color) and appears silky.
- Then add this mixture to the blender with everything else and continue on.
- Don’t over whip the cream: Over whipping cream will result in basically butter, so just keep an eye on it. When stiff peaks form, fold in the powdered sugar and coffee.
- Gently, gently fold the cream together: We do not want to deflate the cream so use a spatula to gently fold in the protein cream. Just work one turn at a time until it’s mostly combined. It doesn’t need to be fully mixed.
- The art of dipping lady fingers: You only need to dip the cookies for 2 seconds on each side. So hold it in the coffee, count to 2, then flip and count to 2 again. That’s it! Much more and they will fall apart on you.
- Let this chill, like really chill: This is a “scoopable” tiramisu as I like to say. It's cream. Dreamy and delicious, but you need to let it chill for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight. This will give the cream time to set up, making it easier to cut or scoop out.
Looking for more information?
Additional substitution information can be found above in the substitution section of this post.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.
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