I love any dessert recipe that can be made ahead and served in a cup! And these Tiramisu Cups tick both of those requirements, plus they’re loaded with chocolate making them even more perfect for your next dinner party.
This recipe for mini Tiramisu Cups is for individual tiramisu desserts made from layers of coffee-soaked ladyfingers, a mascarpone filling, chopped chocolate chunks, and a dusting of cocoa powder to finish them off.
If you love mini dessert recipes then you have to have a look at this recipe for Banoffee Cups, these Mini Lemon Meringues, or this recipe for a Red Velvet Mug Cake.
Ingredients
To make these delicious mini tiramisu desserts you will need the simple ingredients listed below, remember always to use fresh ingredients when baking.
- Ladyfinger biscuits
- Strong coffee
- Marsala wine
- Egg yolks
- Castor sugar
- Mascarpone cheese
- Heavy cream
- Vanilla extract
- Unsweetened Cocoa powder
- Chocolate
Strong brewed coffee – for this recipe I used ground espresso beans made in a French press. If you have a coffee machine you can make shots of espresso coffee or you can use instant espresso powder. The flavor of the coffee is very important in this recipe.
Marsala – for this recipe I used Marsala, you can use Kahlua coffee liqueur, Sherry, Amaretto Liqueur, or Martini. You can also choose to leave out the alcohol if you prefer.
Ladyfinger biscuits – you will need lady fingers or savoiardi biscuits for this recipe. I used Bakers Boudoir biscuits, you are looking for an airy biscuit that is able to soak up the coffee and alcohol mixture.
Heavy cream – you will need a heavy whipping cream for this recipe, which is about 36% fat. The cream must be cold before whipping for the best results.
Mascarpone – this is a soft cheese with high fat content. For this recipe, it's best to take the cheese out of the fridge only about 10 minutes before using it.
Chocolate – choose a quality great-tasting milk or dark chocolate for this recipe. Chocolate chunks are added during layering and a Ferrero Rocher chocolate is used to top off the dessert. You can choose to leave out the chocolate if you would prefer.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
To make individual tiramisu cups follow the simple instructions below. First, you will make the mascarpone cream filling, and then you will assemble the desserts before allowing them to set in the fridge.
STEP 1: Make zabaione cream. Place the egg yolks and sugar into a bowl of a double boiler set over simmering water. Whisk the eggs and sugar over medium heat until light in color and creamy. The mixture must be at the ribbon stage, it is ready when it holds a figure 8 for a few seconds.
STEP 2: Add the mascarpone. Add the mascarpone to the egg yolk mixture and gently mix the two together with a rubber spatula and then a hand whisk to make sure there are no lumps.
STEP 3: Whip the cream. Add the cream and vanilla extract to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and beat at a low speed until stiff peaks form.
STEP 4: Fold cream into egg mixture. Gently fold the whipped cream into the egg and mascarpone mixture using a rubber spatula. Fill a piping bag with the cream mixture.
STEP 5: Assemble. Pour the coffee and alcohol into a shallow dish, soak the finger biscuits one at a time in the liquid, and lay them into the bottom of the dessert cups - creating a layer of soaked biscuits at the bottom of the cup. Then pipe a layer of the mascarpone mixture onto this. Sprinkle a layer of chocolate chunks onto the cream mixture, and continue layering in this way until each cup is filled.
STEP 6: Decorate. End the layering with the cream mixture and dust this with cocoa powder before adding a halved Ferrero Rocher onto each cup. Place the cups in the fridge to set for about 3 hours before serving. Enjoy!
Hint: Do not overwork the mascarpone cheese, otherwise the mixture can curdle. This can happen very easily, so be careful.
Variations
This somewhat classic tiramisu recipe can be mixed up to add your own spin on it! So get creative with the type of chocolate you use for the layering as well as extra add-ins. You can roast hazelnuts, chop them, and add them in with the chocolate chunks.
If you’d like to try a different version of this dessert then have a look at this recipe for a delicious Pistachio Tiramisu.
Equipment
You don’t need any fancy equipment to make this recipe, but you will need the use of a stove to avoid adding raw eggs to this dessert. You will also need 4 individual dessert glasses, a large bowl, a rubber spatula, and a whisk.
This dessert can be made in a larger tray instead of mini cups, just leave it in the fridge to set for longer if needed.
Storage
This no bake dessert must be stored in the fridge until serving, any leftover tiramisu can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. Be sure to either wrap each dessert up tightly in plastic wrap or transfer the leftovers to an airtight container.
I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
Top tips
To make the perfect mini tiramisu cups, follow my top tips below
- Choose to whisk the egg yolks and sugar over a water bath so that this recipe doesn’t contain raw eggs.
- When whisking the egg yolks and sugar together, make sure the base of the bowl does not touch the water.
- Add the mascarpone by hand, do not decide to use a mixer for this as you can easily overwork the cheese and the mixture can curdle.
- The cream must be cold before whipping, also whip the cream slowly for the best results, increasing the speed gradually.
- Don’t rush the setting process, ideally, let the tiramisu set in the fridge overnight.
FAQ
This probably happened when adding the mascarpone, as explained the cheese needs to be added gently. Do not overwork the cheese with a whisk before adding it. Also, the cheese must be between cold and room temperature, removing it from the fridge 10 to 15 minutes before needing it is ideal.
If you have left it in the fridge long enough and it is still a little liquid then you probably did not whisk the eggs and sugar until the ribbon stage or whisk the cream for long enough.
Be careful not to oversoak the biscuits, these biscuits soak up liquid very easily so a quick turn in the coffee mixture is enough for this recipe.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
These easy tiramisu cups are the perfect low-fuss dessert recipe to make ahead of time for a dinner party and it’s an absolute crowd-pleaser!
If you have given this recipe a go and love it as much as I do then leave a comment and star rating below, I love hearing from all of you!
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Happy Baking
With Love,
Kitty
📖 Recipe
Tiramisu Cups
Equipment
- 4x individual desserts glasses
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 110 g castor sugar
- 250 ml mascarpone cheese
- 125 ml heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 125 ml strong coffee
- 50 ml marsala wine
- 150 g ladyfingers
- 100 g milk chocolate chopped
- 4 Ferrero Rocher chocolates halved
- cocoa powder for dusting
Instructions
- Place the egg yolks and sugar into a bowl of a double boiler set over simmering water. Whisk the eggs and sugar over medium heat until light in color and creamy. The mixture must be at the ribbon stage, it is ready when it holds a figure 8 for a few seconds.
- Add the mascarpone to the egg yolk mixture and gently mix the two together with a rubber spatula and then a hand whisk to make sure there are no lumps.
- Add the cream and vanilla extract to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and beat at a low speed until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the egg and mascarpone mixture using a rubber spatula. Fill a piping bag with the cream mixture.
- Pour the coffee and alcohol into a shallow dish, soak the finger biscuits one at a time in the liquid, and lay them into the bottom of the dessert cups - creating a layer of soaked biscuits at the bottom of the cup. Then pipe a layer of the mascarpone mixture onto this. Sprinkle a layer of chocolate chunks onto the cream mixture, and continue layering in this way until each cup is filled.
- End the layering with the cream mixture and dust this with cocoa powder before adding a halved Ferrero Rocher onto each cup. Place the cups in the fridge to set for about 3 hours before serving. Enjoy!
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