Gluten-Free Tiramisu from Scratch (Mostly)

A piece of tiramisu on a white plate with gold trim, set on a wood-top counter.

A picture of a piece of tiramisu on a white plate with gold trim on a wood block surface. The heading section of the image reads "Tiramisu by The Deglutenizer."

Since the last things we made were homemade Kahlua and vanilla sugar, the obligatory recipe for today should be a dish that uses both. Today we’re making tiramisu with those ingredients, plus some eggs, mascarpone, and storebought ladyfingers.

Tiramisu is a traditional Italian dessert with conflicting origin stories as to the original date, city, and creator of the dish. Despite the controversy, tiramisu is now so synonymous with Italian desserts that even chain pizza restaurants here in the U.S. offer tiramisu on their dessert menus (usually a mass-produced thaw-n-serve product).

The dish uses simple ingredients handled well to create this layered dessert flavored with aged coffee and rum. Make it at home with the recipe below.

Ingredients:

3 eggs, separated (4 for more filling)
¼ c. vanilla sugar
8 oz. mascarpone, room temperature
1 package gluten-free ladyfingers (Schar recommended)
1 c. leftover coffee, cooled
¼ c. homemade Kahlua
Cocoa powder for dusting

Directions:

Set up a pot with a few inches of water over your stovetop.
In a large glass or metal bowl, combine the egg yolks and vanilla sugar. In a separate bowl, add your egg whites and set aside.
Set the yolks and sugar over the double boiler and whisk continuously until the mixture lightens in color and falls from the whisk in a ribbon.
Remove the yolk mixture from the double boiler and whisk in the mascarpone. Set aside.
In a shallow baking dish, lay half your ladyfingers down for a base layer.
Combine the coffee and Kahlua, then spoon half the mixture over the ladyfingers.
Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, then gently fold them into the yolk mixture in three separate additions to prevent the filling from deflating.
Add half of the filling over your base layer of ladyfingers and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.
Build the second layer of ladyfingers, spoon the rest of the coffee and Kahlua mixture over, and top with the rest of the filling. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and store it in the refrigerator for at least overnight to set up and age.
Before serving, dust the top of the tiramisu with cocoa powder. Cut and serve with a hot cup of coffee, an icy white Russian, or your favorite dessert wine.

This dessert is lightly sweet, and the cocoa dusting on top adds a complimentary bitterness. For a sweeter flavor, consider adding an extra tablespoon or two of sugar to your coffee and Kahlua base to soak your ladyfingers.

Let me know how you enjoy your tiramisu in a comment below! If you liked this recipe, try some of my others, like my homemade ice cream recipe (oh, try making some tiramisu ice cream!) or my traditional cheesecake with a ginger snap crust.