These raw vegan tiramisu cups are a great, healthy dessert to bring to a party for several reasons. Number one: unlike other desserts (I am thinking cakes or cookies) that can get dry or stale if you prepare them ahead of time, the longer ahead of time you prepare tiramisu the better it gets… so you won’t get any performance anxiety.
Number two: because these raw vegan tiramisu cups are perfectly layered in their own clear, disposable container, you won’t have to worry about people slicing the tiramisu in an ugly mess. Each portion will be pretty and untouched by others and there won’t be any dishes to clean up.
Serving your dessert in individual cups will also make it easier for guests to take leftovers home… And lastly, don’t these little raw vegan tiramisu cups look cute and adorable layered in this fashion?
Now: why raw vegan? Up until recently, I have always stuck to the more traditional version of tiramisu made with ladyfingers – “Savoiardi” in Italian – (and you can find the recipe for it on this post: “Gluten Free Tiramisu with Ladyfingers”). But things changed when I tried an amazing raw vegan version of tiramisu in Los Angeles.
There is a restaurant in Downtown LA that I Alec and I adore, and whenever we are in the area, we stop there for their amazing salads and their raw vegan treats (you can find this and all of my other favorite dairy and gluten free restaurants in LA listed on this post).
Besides cashew nuts, coffee and cacao, I had no idea what other ingredients they used for their tiramisu, so after various attempts, I came up with my own recipe for it. Whenever I make my raw vegan tiramisu cups, everybody seems to love them, and I hope you will too, so let’s get to the RECIPE!!
How to Make a Raw Vegan "Mascarpone" Cream for Tiramisu:
It all starts with cashew nuts. To make them soft and turn into the luscious cream you see in these photos, you’ll need to soak them in warm water for at least 3 hours. Ideally (and especially if you don’t have a high speed blender) you would soak them overnight. Just remember to place your soaking bowl in the refrigerator.
Blend your nuts together with the other ingredients listed in the recipe card (except for the coconut yogurt, which you’ll only blend on medium at the end for just a few seconds), pour the “mascarpone” cream in a clean bowl and cover it with cling wrap, making sure it adheres to the surface of the cream so it won’t create any film on top. Now, place the cream in the refrigerator.
How to Make a the "Cookie" Layer for a Raw Vegan Tiramisu:
After you washed off your high speed blender from the cashew cream, make sure you dry it very well so there is no water in it before you put in your next ingredient: walnuts. You’ll simply put in all the walnuts the recipe calls for and blend them on medium until you have a coarse flour.
Transfer your freshly ground walnut flour in a bowl and get ready to blend the next ingredients: a combination of raw gluten free oats, organic instant coffee and dates.
Once oats, instant coffee and dates are in the blender, you’ll want to blend them on medium making sure not to overheat the ingredients nor to make them turn into a thick paste. The texture you are going for is a crumbly mix like the one you see in these photos, where no chunks of dates are left.
Combine the oat mixture into the bowl with the walnut flour, add in all the other ingredients for the “cookie” layer and mix well with a fork first and with your fingers after, making sure you are not kneading this mixture (it does not have to become a dough), but rather creating more crumbs (see the recipe card below for more detailed instructions).
Now it’s time to assemble your raw vegan tiramisu cups! Arrange about 30 to 35 mini dessert cups close to each other on your kitchen counter, and place a teaspoon of cookie mixture on the bottom of each one.
Gently press it down with your thumb, making sure not to press too much. Layer a dollop of “mascarpone” cream on top with a piping bag (or a Ziplock bag in which you cut a small hole on the bottom corner).
Add on another teaspoon of cookie mixture and top it with the leftover “mascarpone” cream. Lastly, sift some cacao and coconut sugar on top, transfer all of your raw vegan tiramisu cups on a tray, cover it well with cling wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
When it’s time to serve your raw vegan tiramisu cups, I like to decorate them with a coffee bean (better if covered in dark chocolate) or with a small mint leaf, which adds a nice contrast of colors.
I would stay away from fruit and berries as they change the flavor of the tiramisu too much. A nice styling touch would be to place some leaves and white flowers on the bottom of your serving tray to make the colors of your tiramisu pop even more.
THE IMPORTANCE OF TASTE TESTING: While I did try to be as precise as possibile while writing this recipe, it’s crucial that you taste test your cream and cookie mixture during the making of your tiramisu. Depending on the type or brand of ingredients you use, taste might vary.
- The “mascarpone” cream is not as sweet as you’d like? Throw in a couple more dates!
- You want the hind of coffee in your “cookie” mix to be more intense? Add an extra teaspoon of organic instant coffee!
…You get my point: taste and adjust the balance of ingredients to your liking to make sure your raw vegan tiramisu is exactly how you like it!
Raw Vegan Tiramisu Cups (Dairy & Gluten Free)
Equipment
- 1 High Speed Blender I use a Vitamix
- 1 Piping Bag can be replaced with a large Ziplock bag
- 33 Mini, clear dessert cups 2.1” x 1.75” you can find these on Amazon
Ingredients
For the “Mascarpone” Cream:
- 3 cups Raw Cashews (300 gr)
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- Zest of 1 Orange
- ½ cup Orange Juice (100 gr) freshly squeezed
- 5 tbsp Lemon Juice (70 gr) freshly squeezed
- ⅓ cup Full Fat Coconut Milk (75 gr) the best brand is Aroy-D, you can find it on Amazon
- 4 tbsp Maple Syrup (100 gr) or Honey if keeping it vegan is not a concern
- 3 Dates
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil (30 gr) melted
- 1 tbsp Mesquite Powder (15 gr) or Maca Powder
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp Cardamom
- 1 cup Plain Coconut Yogurt (180 gr) do not choose a tangy type. I use the unsweetened coconut yogurt from Sprouts or plain CocoJune.
- Start with this amount of liquid and see if you need to add more liquid depending on desired taste and consistency.
For the “Ladyfinger Cookie” Layer:
- 1 cup Raw Walnuts (100 gr)
- 1 cup Raw Gluten Free Oats (100 gr)
- 10 Dates (65 gr)
- 2 ½ tbsp Organic Instant Coffee (15 gr)
- ¾ cup Almond Flour (75 gr)
- 1 tbsp Black Strap Molasses (20 gr)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tbsp Maple Syrup (50 gr) or Honey if keeping it vegan is not a concern
- 2 tbsp Coconut Sugar (15 gr)
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tbsp Coconut Milk (15 gr)
For Dusting:
- ⅓ cup Cacao Powder
- 1 tbsp Coconut Sugar
Instructions
- To get started on your raw vegan tiramisu, place the cashews in a bowl, fill it with water and let them soak for a minimum of 3 hours. Ideally, you would let them soak overnight and store the soaking bowl in the refrigerator.
- When the cashews are soaked, grate the zest of a whole orange and lemon and set aside.
- Juice the orange and lemon you just zested and pour ½ cup (100 gr) of orange Juice and 5 tbsp (70 gr) of lemon juice of the bottom of a high speed blender (I used a Vitamix).
- Add in the coconut milk, vanilla extract, maple syrup or honey, melted coconut oil, cinnamon and cardamom so that all the liquids are on the bottom making it easier for the blades to spin. Now, add in the cashew nuts and dates and blend moving up to the highest setting until you have a smooth and thick cream.
- Lastly, add in the coconut yogurt and blend on medium until it’s well combined with the cream.
- Transfer the “mascarpone” cream for your raw vegan tiramisu cups in a bowl, cover it with cling wrap like you see in the photo I added in this post and store in the refrigerator.
- Wash the blender, dry it well and start preparing the cookie layer.
- Place your walnuts in the Vitamix and blend on medium until you have a coarse flour (see photos for reference).
- Transfer the walnut flour you just made in a bowl, and add oats, instant coffee and dates into the blender.
- Blend on medium, until you have an even, crumbly mixture in which the chunks of dates are no longer visible.
- Combine this mixture in the bowl with the walnut flour. Add in molasses, vanilla, maple syrup (or honey) and mix well with a fork
- When all the ingredients are combined, add in almond flour and coconut sugar and keep mixing with your fork, moving the mixture from the bottom to the top. Your goal during this process is to keep the mixture crumbly and refrain from kneading it.
- Lastly, drizzle the coconut milk over this mixture and work it with your hands mixing well and creating more crumbs by gently pressing the mix in between your fingertips.
- Layout about 30 to 35 mini dessert cups and place them all next to each other so it’s easier not spill ingredients and waste them.
- To assemble your raw vegan tiramisu cups, place a teaspoon of cookie mixture on the bottom of each cup. Gently press it down with your thumb, making sure not to press too much as you want to keep the layer quite crumbly.
- Place the “mascarpone” cream in a piping bag (if you don’t have one you can use a large Ziplock bag to which you’ll cut off a small piece of one of the corners).
- Squeeze out dollops of cream over the cookie layer, until you filled your cups until the middle.
- Set the piping bag aside.
- Place another teaspoon of cookie mixture in your dessert cups, on top of the first mascarpone layer until you run out of mixture and all of your cups have a second “cookie” layer.
- Gently tap the “cookie” crumbs with your thumb to make sure they create a compact layer and squeeze the rest of the “mascarpone cream on top of it.
- Combine cacao and coconut sugar in a small bowl, place it in a sieve and sift on top of your raw vegan tiramisu cups.
- Place all of your cups on tray, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
- Enjoy your raw vegan tiramisu cups!
Notes
- These disposable small cups are perfect for a large party of 15+ people and you can find them here. Some people eat just one, some others like to encore, so this would be the the perfect amount for a 15 to 20 people party.
- Alternatively, if you want to prepare bigger tiramisu cups for a more formal dinner, this recipes fills 8 glass cups that are 3" tall and have a 3" diameter
I can’t wait for you to serve these raw vegan tiramisu cups at your next party, so – as always – make sure to share a photo with me by tagging me on Instagram! Also, don’t forget to share this recipe with your friends on Facebook, save it on your favorite Pinterest board and subscribe to my weekly newsletter so that you never miss a post!!
Lots of love and I will catch you at the next recipe!
Ambra
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