Chocolate Tiramisu
If you’re a fan of the classic Italian Tiramisu dessert, then you’re really going to love this unique take! With lots of rich chocolate subbing in for coffee and liquor, this is a creamy-dreamy dessert the whole family can enjoy! Whip up a pan to bring to your next potluck.
Hey how was your Mother’s Day weekend? I hope it was fun and special!
I’m so glad the weather finally brightened up, just in time for the holiday! For a while there I was worried it was going to be my first-ever dreary, rainy, gray Mother’s Day. I’ve been so lucky for the last 9 years of being a mom; all my Mother’s Days have always been sunny and gorgeous and this one turned out to be no exception. Hooray!
It was a very busy weekend for us. My sister-in-law and her beautiful family came in, so we all tried to make the most of it and spend as much time together as possible. Saturday, the husbands took the kids out for the day so that the women could have a little female-bonding. My SIL needed clothes so we had brunch and then hit the stores. It was so much fun we’ve decided to make it a yearly tradition!
After that we all met back up and had a casual dinner out. Then, Sunday morning was brunch with my mom and then a big barbecue get-together with all the cousins, Aunts, Uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents. Everybody had a blast and I brought a big pan of Chocolate Tiramisu for everyone to enjoy.
I’m so thrilled with this dessert recipe- it’s perfect for potlucks and barbecues. It’s totally make-ahead: the longer it sits, the better it gets. It makes a big pan so it can really feed a crowd. It’s good cold but it’s still great at room temp too. There’s no booze or coffee, so the whole family can enjoy. And, of course, it’s CHOCOLATE!! I mean, just so much goodness on every possible level, right?
If you really want to be a superstar you can make it with homemade ladyfingers, but I did this one with the store-bought kind. If your supermarket has an Italian foods section, you’re likely to find them there. They’re often labelled as “savoiardi.” (Here’s a link where you can mail-order, if need be.) They’re super-dry and crisp, but when you dunk them into the cocoa liquid they soften up really fast. And then, once they’ve really had a chance to meld with the mascarpone mixture, they become fluffy and cake-like. It ends up being a lot like an easy layer cake, but with lots and lots of creamy, rich, mousse-like frosting!
So, if you are a fan of tiramisu I highly recommend you give this unique take a try. I think it’s even better than the original!
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Chocolate Tiramisu
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 16 ounces (453.59 g) mascarpone cheese, (2 1/2 cups)
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) semi sweet chocolate,, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1 cup (238 ml) heavy cream,, cold
- 2 cups (500 ml) hot water
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder,, plus more for garnish
- 48 ladyfingers, or savoiardi
Optional
- sweetened whipped cream, for garnish
- shaved chocolate*, for garnish
Instructions
- Place the egg yolks and sugar in a large metal mixing bowl, and set it over a pot of simmering water.
- Cook, whisking, until the mixture is pale, thick, and doubled in volume (about 5 minutes).
- Remove from the heat, and whisk in the mascarpone, melted chocolate, vanilla, and salt.
- Whip the cream until it holds stiff peaks.
- Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Set the filling aside.
- Whisk the hot water and cocoa together in a small bowl. One at a time, dip the ladyfingers into the cocoa mixture and place in a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. Line the ladyfingers up in two straight rows of twelve.
- Spread half the filling over the ladyfingers, and repeat.
- Spread the rest of the filling on top and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Optional: just before serving, dust the tiramisu with cocoa powder. Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
Hi,
Can you substitute the heavy cream with whipped egg whites?
I have not tried that, but feel free to experiment!
It looks wonderful! I am planning to make it for my son’s birthday. Does it do well in the fridge for 24 hours before serving? I am planning the make it the night before.
Thank you!
Yes! This is one of those recipes that gets better the longer it sits. Good luck and happy birthday to your son!
Just found this site. I like trying out new recipes. Will try out the tarasimu chocolate cake variation
Hope you enjoy!
This looks amazing. Considering you have mentioned the cream in cup size, I did some quick math and it translates to 6.4 ounces of heavy cream. Is that the right quantity? I’m preparing this for my cousin’s baby shower and am so excited to be finally making a tiramisu. Thanks for the beautiful recipe.
Very happy that you like it Prakriti! You can just toggle the “metric” button just below the list of ingredients if you’re looking for an alternative form of measurement.
This looks and sounds wonderful – a perfect dessert without alcohol and caffeine. I’m getting ready to make it but am puzzled by the first step: Should the metal bowl sit in the simmering water or should I create a double boiler effect? Many thanks and I will let you know about my results!
Hi Sarah! So glad you’re going to give this recipe a try! You can just set your bowl over the pot of simmering water. It’s just like a double-boiler. Good luck!
i never make a chocolate tiramisu like this..i should try it..,.thanks for the recipe..
My pleasure Emily! Hope you enjoy!
you state in your ingredients 16 oz of mascarpone but in parentheses you put 2 1/2 cups. 16 oz is 2 cups. is it 16oz of mascarpone one tub 2 cubs or 16 oz tub plus another 4 oz of mascarpone?
Hey Jenn! I used one 16 ounce container of mascarpone and when I measured it out (using dry measuring cups) it measured at 2 1/2 cups. So I guess the short answer is 16 ounces! Hope that clarifies. Good luck and enjoy!
While a wonderful desert, not a tiramisu…
Well, I’m pretty sure I didn’t lead anyone to believe it was traditional in any way. I did call it a “unique take” quite a few times. What would you have titled the article? Bearing SEO in mind of course.
Wow, that is quite possibly the prettiest tiramisu I’ve ever seen! And I’ve never had a chocolate one. So awesome.
Thank you so much Allie! I’m so happy you like this idea! 😀
Allie your photos are stunning and I am going to make this special recipe for my guests. thank you xoxo
You are so sweet Beverley! Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy this as much as we did! xo
This looks so delicious Allie, I love tiramisu and this is so neat and perfect. There’s no alcohol in here though… I’ve never seen a version without booze in before.
I know- it’s traditionally made with espresso and liqueurs but I wanted something that my kids, nieces, and nephews could also enjoy. So I put my own twist on it! It was a big hit. Thanks Angela!
Mother’s Day is one of the most important days of the year so I hope you enjoyed it! And dear, this dessert is so elegant it’s really impressive! Chocolate tiramisù can only do one thing: warm up your heart. I’m sure it did and that it brought everyone together.
The tiramisù looks so chocolatey and decadent you almost feel guilty as a little devil when you eat it! 😀 Looking at your pictures already makes me drool… Thank you very much for sharing <3
https://imkimiyo.wordpress.com/2016/05/11/recipe-pistachio-vanilla-and-raspberry-craquelin-cream-puffs-choux-craquants-a-la-pistache-a-la-vanille-et-a-la-framboise/
My pleasure Kim! And thanks so much for the warm wishes. xo
Sounds like you had an eventful weekend! And this chocolate tiramisu totally made a perfect treat!
It was! Very busy but lots of fun. Thank you so much Linda! Hope you had a great week, dear 🙂
Seriously, why don’t I have a slice of this right now?!
Why don’t you just whip yourself up a batch, with all that spare time you have? Lol! Thanks so much Julianne- have a great weekend hon!
Sounds like you had a great mother’s day weekend Allie!! This is such a fun spin on tiramisu! We have tiramisu all the time at family gatherings (that whole giant italian family thing) – I have to give this a try!!
Well it’s far from authentic but I really loved that all the kiddies could share 😉 Thank you so much Ashley and I hope you have a great weekend sweetie!
Ahhh, your weekend sounded so fun!! Glad it was a great weekend for you!! I would totally eat this version of tiramisu because I love chocolate and I’m not a coffee person (I know I’m weird) 🙂
It’s not for everyone and that’s ok! I do like coffee but I try to avoid caffeine (even in desserts) after a certain time of day, so this was a winner for me. Thanks so much Malinda and happy Friday!!
This looks absolutely amazing!
Thank you so much Sabrina!
This is gorgeous! There’s ALWAYS a little room for more chocolate 🙂
Totally! A day without chocolate is like a day without sunshine 😉 Thanks so much Medha!
Amazing dessert! Beautiful pictures (as always)! Love the wooden plates!
Thank you so much Julia! I picked up those plates at Crate and Barrel 😉
This looks fantastic Allie 🙂 Classic Tiramisu is one of my favourite desserts but I don’t think I would miss the coffee and booze at all with that creamy, chocolatey filling, it looks delicious!
I didn’t miss it a bit Hannah! Thank you so much my dear!