Tres Leches Tiramisu
An easy no-bake tres leches tiramisu recipe.
This tres leches tiramisu is super creamy rich and velvety. That’s why tiramisu tastes so good!
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2 classics are better than 1
Two of the best desserts in the world combined! This no-bake Tres Leches Tiramisu is made with traditional ladyfingers that are soaked in a three milk syrup, as in the traditional tres leches cake. This is an insanely rich and creamy tiramisu that never gets soggy because the syrup is thick and velvety. That’s why this decadent dessert is so delicious! It’s a delicate combination that celebrates the beauty and simplicity of using everyday ingredients in unexpected ways.
I think tiramisu is one of those desserts that can be intimidating but in reality it’s ridiculously easy to make. You don’t have to turn the oven on, which I never mind but still is one step less, and requires simple everyday ingredients; it’s just eggs, sugar and mascarpone cheese for the cream and a liquid to soak the ladyfingers. The traditional liquid is coffee and a bit of liquor, but nowadays there are so many variations that I’m just thinking of creating a whole new blog just to share those! I want to say that I’m just kidding, but now it’s the only thing I’m thinking of!
While that happens, I’m telling you all about this tres leches tiramisu! This tiramisu is extremely creamy, luscious and velvety, mostly because that thick mascarpone cream. The contrast with the ladyfingers soaked in the tres leches syrup makes the perfect texture. Each bite will decadently melt in your mouth. You can’t just take my word for it! You need to go now and try it for yourself.
This tiramisu recipe doesn’t have any alcohol. But a nice addition would be a tablespoon or two of a dark rum. It would be the perfect pairing for the tres leches syrup.
For this tiramisu I used pasteurized eggs. But if you have any concerns with raw eggs, by all means you can heat up eggs in a double boiler whisking constantly until a thermometer reaches 160°. I also used a bit of cream of tartar, some drops of lemon juice and some of the sugar to make the egg whites more stable. The cream can end up thinner than it looks here and not as velvety.
Follow my lead to see how easy it is to make this amazing no-bake dessert. Here are your guided steps:
Making Tres Leches Tiramisu from scratch:
Start by chilling the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed and whole milk with the sugar and the pinch of cinnamon. You can make this overnight. If in a hurry, place the mixture in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes, stirring it a couple of times in between to prevent ice crystals. As soon as it feels cold, transfer it to the fridge.
When the milk syrup is already chilled, separate the eggs.
Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form, which means that the egg whites will be very foamy, the wire is leaving behind shallow indentations that disappear from the surface after a few seconds, and when you lift the wire the foam in the tip will be thick but can’t stand still. Stiff peaks mean that the wire is leaving deep indentations that remain visible longer and when you rise the wire the foam on the tip looks glossy and can stand still.
Since I was using my stand mixer and I have just one bowl, I had to transfer them to another bowl and clean it to beat the yolks with the sugar there.
While the yolk and the remaining sugar are being beaten, take out the mascarpone because it needs to be cold before mixing. This is key in preventing the mascarpone cream to curdle. Been there my friends!! When you take it out, smear it with the back of a spoon just to make it spreadable.
To make the cream, fold very gently the egg whites with the egg yolks and mascarpone mixture.
Assembling is super easy!! Just spread a very thin layer of the mascarpone cream on the bottom of your dish. Arrange some soaked ladyfingers to cover the bottom completely. Spread a bit less of half of the cream on top. Arrange a second layer of soaked cookies and more of the mascarpone cream. Arrange some blueberries or halved strawberries if you want and cover everything with the remaining mascarpone cream.
Since the tres leches syrup is thicker than the traditional espresso, the ladyfingers will take longer to soak the liquid, about 20 to 30 seconds per side. You can soak a few at a time or place the ladyfingers in a large dish to soak. If doing the latter, you will need to work very fast though.
Chill for 8 to 12 hours, preferably overnight. It’s even better the second day after it’s done!
Traditionally tres leches cake is served with a slight dust of cinnamon on top, so I mixed a bit of it with cocoa powder for the traditional dust over tiramisu. You can decorate with blueberries on top as well.
What you’ll need:
Ladyfingers, of course! These were the exact ladyfingers I used.
A classic square deep dish.
Small silicon spatula.
A strainer for dusting the cinnamon cocoa powder. I love this golden one I’m using in the pic.
3 recipes I think you’ll love if you’re loving this one:
Classic Tiramisu with Brownie Crust
Brownie Cheesecake Bars with Dulce de Leche
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This will be good in the fridge for a few days so it’s a perfect recipe to make in advance. Come back and tell me how good this was and how many smiles you put in peoples faces!
Remember to take a pic, share your success with everyone and tag me on Instagram @devamadeo or Facebook @DevAmadeo. Happy baking darlings!
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Tres Leches Tiramisu
Ingredients
Tres leches syrup
◯ Evaporated milk - 6 oz, ¾ cup or ½ can
◯ Sweetened condensed milk - 7 oz, ¾ cup + 1 Tsp or ½ can
◯ Milk, preferably whole -2 oz, ¼ cup
◯ Natural granulated sugar (optional, just to enhance the sweetness of the milk) - ½ Tsp
◯ Pinch of cinnamon
◯ Dark rum (optional) - 1 to 2 TBSP, to taste
Tiramisu
◯ Organic pasteurized cage free eggs - 5, separated
◯ Cream of tartar - ¼ Tsp
◯ Lemon juice or white vinegar - about ¼ Tsp
◯ Natural granulated sugar - 4 TBSP, 50 g + 2 TBSP, 25 g
◯ Mascarpone cheese, chilled - 16 oz. (1 pound)
◯ Lady fingers - 22 to 25 pieces, 200g
◯ Blueberries or halved strawberries (optional) - about ½ cup
◯ Unsweetened cocoa powder mixed with a good pinch of cinnamon for dusting on top to serve - about 1 TBSP, 6g, of the mixture
Details
Yield:
a 8” deep dish, about 9 pieces
Total time:
45 minutes, plus 6 to 8 hours in the fridge (overnight)
Active time:
20 minutes
Equipment:
stand mixer or electric hand mixer, deep dish, silicon spatula, strainer to dust the cinnamon cocoa powder on top.
Steps:
Making the tres leches syrup:
In a bowl combine the ½ can of evaporated milk, the ½ can of sweetened condensed milk, the ¼ cup of whole milk, the ½ teaspoon of sugar, the pinch of cinnamon and the tablespoon of dark rum, if using. Chill thoroughly (see notes about speeding up this step).
Making the tiramisu:
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or with an electric hand mixer with the whisk attached, mix the egg whites with the ¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar and the ¼ teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. When soft peaks form (see notes), start gradually sprinkling 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Mix until stiff peaks form, just a notch before turning into meringue. Gently transfer to another bowl if using the same bowl for beating the egg whites, or set aside.
Change to the paddle attachment. Beat the egg yolks and the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar on high speed (#8 in the Kitchen Aid) for 5 minutes, until foamy, thick and pale yellow.
While the egg yolks are beating, transfer mascarpone to a small mixing bowl and smooth it out with the back of a spoon. (If using a manual mixer, do this after beating the yolks.)
Drop about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the egg yolk mixture into the mascarpone cheese and mix until it starts to become a bit runny. Add 2 to 3 more and gently mix until well combined. Transfer to mixing bowl and in the lowest speed mix until the cheese has dissolved into the egg yolks, about 3 minutes.
Gently combine the egg whites into the egg yolk-mascarpone mixture with a folding motion. To fold, place the spatula in the center of the bowl and start rotating your wrist clockwise, going out towards the wall of the bowl and returning to center
Spread a bit of the mascarpone cream on the bottom of your serving dish. Take out the fridge the tres leches syrup. Dip the ladyfingers in the syrup, about 25 to 30 seconds each side. The outer layer of the cookie should yield when you press it but the very center should feel hard. Arrange cookies very near to each other. Break in half some of the cookies before dipping to fill the sides of your dish if necessary.
Smooth out a bit less of half of the mascarpone cream on top of the ladyfingers (eyeball it here guys!). Create a second layer with the remaining cookies, soaking them in the tres leches syrup first.
Smooth out most of the remaining mascarpone cream, reserving about 1 cup to spread on top of the blueberries or strawberries (if not adding any fruit, just divide the mascarpone cream in half between each layer). Arrange the blueberries or pieces of strawberries and cover with the mascarpone cream left.
Cover with plastic paper and chill 6 to 8 hours, ideally overnight. Even better 2 days before planning on serving.
When ready to serve, mix about a tablespoon of natural unsweetened cocoa powder mixed with a good pinch of cinnamon (about ⅛ teaspoon). Decorate each slice with some blueberries or strawberries. Serve chilled!
It will be good for 4 to 5 days covered in the fridge.
