Gluten Free Classic Tiramisu (Gluten Filled version also included)
This is the first time I am writing the full recipe for the classic tiramisu. The kind where you need to make everything from scratch, including the ladyfingers. The main reason for me doing this is that it is quite challenging finding storebought gluten free ladyfingers (at least where I’m coming from). And even if you do find them – it’s very expensive. We’re talking 150% price gap, if you’re lucky.
This makes me mad, and ladyfingers are truly something you can easily make at home. All you need to do is follow the below instructions.
I’ve previously have already shared my Tiramisu cream recipe, which is based on a pastry cream that’s made of whole eggs, as opposed to raw egg yolks (apologies to anyone anticipating the original version of Tiramisu). But it does a really good job indeed.
Trust me when I’m telling you I always get so many compliments on my Tiramisu, and hopefully it’ll drive you to make one soon.
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Gluten Free Classic Tiramisu (Gluten Filled version also included):
Equipment:
- Standard baking sheet sized 40cm (l) x 30cm (w), lined with parchment paper.
- Rectangular deep serving dish sized
Recipe:
For the Ladyfingers (24 pieces):
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Egg Whites | 102g (Egg whites from 3 Medium Sized Eggs) |
| White Granulated Sugar (1) | 50g |
| Egg Yolks | 48g (Egg Yolks from 3 Medium Sized Eggs) |
| All Purpose Flour * | 85g |
| Cornstarch | 15g |
| Salt | 1/8 tsp |
| White Granulated Sugar (2) | 40g |
| Vanilla Sugar | 10g |
| For dusting the ladyfingers: Powdered Sugar | QS |
* For the gluten free version, omit the cornstarch and use 100g of any storebought gluten free all-purpose flour blend of your choice, that is based on white rice flour and also includes xanthan gum.
For the pastry cream:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Eggs | 50g (1 medium sized egg) |
| Milk | 200g |
| Cornstarch | 12g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 90g |
| Vanilla Paste | 10g |
| Unsalted Butter | 20g |
For the Tiramisu Cream:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Pastry Cream | The Entire Amount |
| Heavy Cream (38%) | 300g |
| White Granulated Sugar | 30g |
| Mascarpone Cheese | 500g |
For the coffee syrup:
| Ingredient | Amount (g / units) |
| Boiling Water | 250g |
| Espresso Powder | 5 tsps |
| White Granulated Sugar | 85g |
| Coffee Liquor or Dark Rum | 45g |
Dessert preparation and assembly instructions:
For the Ladyfingers:
- Into a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites and sugar (1) on low speed. Add the sugar gradually, and wait until you can’t hear the sugar shaking inside the bowl before adding more.
- After all the sugar has dissolved, increase the mixing speed to medium, and beat until very stiff peaks meringue. Set it aside.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 180C, fan mode off, placing a baking rack at the center of your oven.
- In a separate bowl, using the same hand mixer (no need to wash the beaters), beat the egg yolks together with sugar (2), vanilla sugar and salt, until foamy, airy and light in color. This should take about 3 minutes.
- Fold the meringue into the yolks mixture in 3 parts.
- Sift the dry ingredients over the eggs mixture, and gently yet quickly fold them inside. The mixture should be uniform without any visible traces of meringue or any dry powder “pockets”.
- Transfer the mixture to a large piping bag fitted with a plain round piping nozzle, 12mm in diameter.
- Pipe ladyfingers that each is about 11cm long on top of a baking tray lined with parchment paper. It is recommended to start piping from a height of 1cm and adjusting the piping tip to be at 45 degrees angle. Also, pipe only 12 ladyfingers on a single tray and ensure they are sufficiently and equally spaced apart as they puff a lot during baking.
- Using a sieve, generously dust the ladyfingers with powdered sugar, and bake for 10 minutes until nicely golden brown.
- Take out to a cooling rack and wait for the ladyfingers to cool down completely before unmolding them from the tray.
For the pastry cream:
- In a small bowl, whisk together 50g of the milk and cornstarch, until smooth and without any lumps. Add the eggs and whisk thoroughly to combine.
- Into a small saucepan, and the 150g of Milk and sugar, and cook on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the milk simmers.
- Gradually temper the eggs mixture with the hot milk by constantly whisking it to avoid cooking the eggs.
- Pour the eggs mixture back into the saucepan through a fine strainer to get rid of any unwanted cooked egg bits.
- Cook on medium heat whisking constantly making sure to scrape the sides of your pan, until you see large and thick bubbles rising to the surface. This should take 2-3 minutes. As soon as you see the bubbles, cook for some 1-2 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and add in the butter and vanilla. Whisk them well to combine.
- Transfer the batter to a clean bowl and cover it with plastic wrap that touches the surface of the custard to prevent a skin forming. Cool down to room temperature, before transferring to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (you can make this cream one day in advanced).
Pro Tip: When you need to cool down a pastry cream fast, you can wrap a tray with plastic wrap, and pour the cream in an even layer on top of the plastic wrap. Adhere a large piece of plastic wrap to the cream and make sure it is sealed well from all sides. Transfer the tray to the refrigerator and it should be cooled down in less than one hour.
For the coffee syrup:
Mix all of the ingredients together (except for the liquor) until the sugar is fully dissolved. Set to the side until the mixture cooled down to room temperature. Then add the liquor.
For the Tiramisu Cream:
- In a large bowl, soften the mascarpone cheese using a rubber spatula.
- Gradually add about 1-2 tbsps of the pastry cream to the mascarpone, and fold them together until fully combined. Note that the cream should not curdle.
- Beat the heavy cream and sugar together to very stiff peaks, and fold it in 3-4 additions into the mascarpone mixture. Refrigerate until use.
Assembly:
- Dip the ladyfingers in the coffee syrup and neatly arrange them inside the serving dish.
- Evenly spread half the amount of Tiramisu Cream on top of the cake.
- Repeat steps 1-2 above once more with the rest of the cake, syrup and cream.
- Dust the top with Dutch processed cocoa powder, and store refrigerated for up to 3 days (I like to first dust non-melting powdered sugar before I dust the cocoa powder, because it helps create a separating layer that prevents the cocoa powder from absorbing the liquids in the cream, which actually makes it darker).
