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Small Batch Tiramisu is the perfect Easy Tiramisu Recipe. Small Batch Tiramisu is assembled in a loaf pan, and has layers of espresso soaked lady fingers and a zabaglione filling. This small batch dessert recipe is perfect to make ahead for any occasion.
Table of contents
- Small Batch Tiramisu Recipe
- Components of Tiramisu
- Small Batch Tiramisu
- What sort of coffee is best for Tiramisu?
- FAQ for Small Batch Tiramisu
- For more small batch dessert recipes, check out:
- Recipe For Small Batch Tiramisu
Small Batch Tiramisu Recipe
Hi hi - Just popping in here to share the recipe for this small batch tiramisu with you! I am not a fan of the images at all but wanted to get it up in time, so will re-shoot asap, but here is the recipe for now!
I have a few tiramisu adjacent recipes on here - the most recent being this mini tiramisu cake, but I haven't gotten around to posting a plain tiramisu recipe until now.
Tiramisu is a classic for a very good reason - it is relatively easy to make, great to make ahead and can easily be scaled to feed a crowd. Not to mention that it is incredibly delicious - you really can't go wrong with layers of espresso soaked lady fingers and a whipped cream mascarpone zabaglione filling.
This is a small batch tiramisu recipe which I made in a loaf pan - it serves about 6 people, but you could very easily scale it to feed as many as you like. The process is super easy - you make your coffee soak, make your filling, then assemble the whole thing and layer it all up. It then has a quick spin in the fridge and it is all ready to go. Enjoy!
Components of Tiramisu
This easy Tiramisu recipe has three components:
- Lady Fingers. Also called Savoiardi, lady fingers are Italian sponge biscuits that are a tiramisu classic. They are super dry when in the packet, but once they are quickly soaked in espresso and layered into the tiramisu they turn into an amazing sponge that holds the shape super well. I have seen them at a bunch of supermarkets here in NZ, and they were super common in the US too.
- Espresso Kahlua Soak. The lady fingers are dunked in a super strong espresso mixture, which I sometimes add some kahlua to if I want it to be a little boozy. I made strong coffee with my aeropress, but however you choose to make it is fine. You can use decaf and leave out the alcohol if needed.
- Mascarpone whipped cream filling. The filling for tiramisu is based on a Zabaglione, which is where you cook egg yolks and sugar (and often marsala wine, although I left that out this time) together over a double boiler to form a thick, smooth mixture, which is often called a sabayon in french. This then gets mascarpone added to it, and whipped cream folded through it. This is the tiramisu filling that gets layered with the lady fingers.
Small Batch Tiramisu
This small batch tiramisu has three layers to it - lady fingers, filling, then the cocoa. This stacking is repeated 3 times for 3 layers:
- 8 Lady fingers, soaked in espresso.
- ⅓ of the filling mixture (about 225g)
- A dusting of cocoa powder
Leave the final dusting of cocoa powder off the top until just before serving. If you would like the tiramisu to be a little less cocoa heavy, you can omit the cocoa dusting between layers and just put it on the top. I like to use a good quality dutch cocoa powder.
What sort of coffee is best for Tiramisu?
For this small batch tiramisu, I used super strong coffee that I made in the aeropress then left to cool. You could pull a few shots of espresso or make some nespresso then water it down, or you can make a strong filter coffee.
If you would like to add alcohol, you can substitute 80-100g of the coffee with alcohol of your choice - I use Kahlua but you could use Marsala wine or rum. You could also use a decaf coffee if you wanted to.
It is important that when you are assembling the recipe that you only dip the lady fingers into the coffee mixture very briefly - about one second. Any longer and they will go a little soggy. As the tiramisu sits and the filling sets, the lady fingers will absorb the coffee mixture.
FAQ for Small Batch Tiramisu
- What tools and equipment do you use?
You can see a full list of all the tools I use here
- Which pan did you use?
I assembled this tiramisu in a loaf pan, which was perfect for 3 layers of lady fingers and filling. You are welcome to use a different dish if you like - two layers would likely work really well in a 9" square pan. - Can tiramisu be made ahead of time?
Yes - in fact it is best made ahead of time. I prefer to make it the night before if I can, but it needs at least 4 hours in the fridge in order to allow the lady fingers to soften and the filling to set. - Can I use regular sugar?
If you like you can, but you run the risk of your zabaglione being grainy. You can either blitz your sugar to make it a little finer, or make sure that the sugar is dissolved in the egg yolk mixture. Caster sugar I have found is much more common in nz than the US - if you have a fine grained regular granulated sugar in the US that should be fine. In NZ you want to use Caster. - Is the mascarpone compulsory?
Mascarpone is one of the main flavours that make up tiramisu, so is really needed for this recipe.
For more small batch dessert recipes, check out:
- Apple Crumble
- S'mores Bars
- Rhubarb No Bake Cheesecake
❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️
I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!
Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Recipe For Small Batch Tiramisu
Small Batch Tiramisu
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star4.6 from 35 reviews
- Author: Erin Clarkson
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Small Batch Tiramisu is the perfect Easy Tiramisu Recipe. Small Batch Tiramisu is assembled in a loaf pan, and has layers of espresso soaked lady fingers and a zabaglione filling. This small batch dessert recipe is perfect to make ahead for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
FILLING
- 4 large egg yolks (about 70g), at room temperature
- 100g caster / super fine sugar
- 270g mascarpone, at room temperature
- 270g heavy cream, cold
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
ASSEMBLY
- 330g strong coffee, cool (sub in 80-100g kahlua if you like)
- 24 lady finger biscuits
- Dutch cocoa for dusting
Instructions
FILLING
- Lightly whisk the egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the sugar and whisk well to combine. Create a double boiler by placing a small to medium saucepan of water on the stove, and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Place the bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure that the water does not touch the bowl. Whisking continuously, cook the mixture for 9-10 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick. To test that the sugar has dissolved, rub between your thumb and finger to feel for grains.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and leave to stand for 3-4 minutes, whisking occasionally, to allow it to cool slightly.
- Once the egg mixture has cooled slightly, add the mascarpone and whisk in until just combined. Leave to cool further while you whip the cream.
- Using an electric hand mixer or a whisk, whip the cream with the vanilla until stiff peaks form. Ensure that you do not over whip it, as it will make your mixture grainy. I prefer to whip to soft peaks and then finish by hand.
- Fold the whipped cream into the egg and mascarpone mixture and mix to combine.
ASSEMBLY
- Assemble all your components - the coffee mixed with kahlua if using, the lady fingers, and the tiramisu filling. Have a 9"x5" (23x13cm) loaf pan ready to go.
- Make the first layer by dunking the lady fingers in the coffee mixture one at a time, for no longer than 1 second each. You do not want them to get completely wet - just to moisten. They will absorb more liquid as the tiramisu sets. Arrange 8 of the soaked lady fingers in the bottom of the loaf pan - you may need to snuggle them in.
- Add a third of the filling mixture - about 225g. Spread gently over the lady fingers to smooth, then tap the pan on the counter a few times to get rid of any big bubbles. Top with a dusting of cocoa powder.
- Repeat the layering process with another 8 lady fingers dunked in the coffee mix and 225g more of the filling, then smooth and add cocoa powder.
- Do one final layer of lady fingers, then top with the remainder of the filling. Smooth out with an offset spatula. Leave off the cocoa powder until just before serving. Cover the pan with plastic wrap then leave to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or up to overnight. Remove the plastic wrap and dust with cocoa powder before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Key Ingredients
- Coffee
- Custard
- Egg Yolk
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Reader Interactions
stacyThank you for small batching this!
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- Erin Clarkson
So excited for you to make it! xx
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- caribou
Making this ASAP!!!!
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- Fiona Dyne
Great recipe, easy to replicate at home. Made this as a "birthday cake" for my daughters 20th on Boxing day. Delicious, would make it again.
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- Sue
American recipe PLEASE
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- Erin Clarkson
Sue, I am from New Zealand. You are welcome to convert the recipe yourself but googling services is not something that I offer.
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- Brianna
NOT LOOKING FOR THE GOOGLING STUFF. You are very unprofessional. THIS IS THE US. WHAT IS SOOOO DIFFICULT????
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- Erin Clarkson
You are aware that my website gives me your IP address right? so I can see that you're leaving comments under different usernames and changing the email each time? Grow up and find something more interesting to do with your time. If you're going to be a troll at least be a smart one and target different recipes. I hope whatever is making you this terrible of a person gets better soon.
- Jo
Then do a different recipe, lazy.
- Kirsten
First time I have made tiramisu and made it for Christmas (the pressure!) - but I’ve made a number of Erin’s recipes and have never once had a fail. This recipe was an absolute hit. Pretty straight forward to make and the small batch makes it a good size. Highly recommend this recipe and will make it again for sure
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- Emma
Made this for Christmas and the crowd was well pleased. I tripled it and it made plenty and was incredible. Everything you want from tiramisu!
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- Miray
I made this for family over Christmas and it was so yummy! I accidentally diluted the coffee too much (not a coffee drinker so I initially thought the coffee to dunk the biscuits in was too strong) but 2 nights in the fridge really let the coffee flavour come out even more! I was scared to do the egg bit but it was much easier than expected! Highly recommend this recipe, it's been the best tiramisu I've ever made!
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- Eve
Made this for Christmas. Was delicious
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- Casey
Made this in a square tin with two layers for Christmas day. Perfect amount for a sweet treat for 6 adults. Stashed more savoiardi so I can make again soon!
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- Emily O.
Pretty easy to make. So, so good tasting.
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- Tegan
Absolutely delicious, everyone loved it! This will now be a staple in my dessert repertoire.
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- Tina
Made this last night to have for a lil after lunch dessert and it is so good! v easy to make! I used biscuits that were a bit larger, so I used 6 per layer and had three layers that went all the way to the top of the pan. Perfect way for me to finish up some leftover mascarpone 😀
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- k
Delicious and quick to boot! Added a couple big pinches of salt to the whipped cream, found that granulated sugar dissolved perfectly, used whiskey for about one-third of the coffee, and used all but two of the ladyfingers. (Will omit the booze and make it with decaf next time to make it friendly to late-night and morning snacking. :D) It's held up well so far over 36 hours in the fridge. A recipe I'll revisit!
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- Sophie
Amazingng! So simple and delicious, even had it for breakfast one morning! Best Tiramisu recipe.
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- Alix
This recipe is insane, so easy to make and also very delicious. It was probably a little too much for two people but took that as a challenge to eat it all 😂
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- Estelle
This is one of my favourite tiramisu recipes! The layer ratios are just right and the flavours don't overpower one another. Thank you, Erin!!
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- Michele
Another great recipe! Perfect amount for 3 or 4 adults to share over a weekend! And in case anyone else is making this with a toddler "helping" and forgets to read the recipe directions ahead of time...the filling comes out great even if you put everything in the mixing bowl at once and turn it up high 😆 Probably a bit messier, but thankfully it came out just as creamy and fluffy and delicious. My son really liked licking the spatula, so he gives the recipe 5 stars as well!
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- Fiona
So damn good!! Delicious and a great size.
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- Sarah
Recipe is easy to follow.
Have made it a few times for the fam and it has always been a hit.Thanks for sharing!
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- Lori
Made for Christmas dinner for the second year running and it goes down a treat. Super easy recipe to follow and gives consistent results.
I think I needed to give my whipped cream a little more beating to help the filling set up a little more but otherwise delicious all around.The small batch fills a roughly 20cm round, 8cm tall bowl with straight sides.
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- Donna
I have tried different tiramisu recipes over the years, and this is the best one that I have ever made. Used my food processor to grind my sugar since I did not have caster sugar. Also subbed some Kahlua for the coffee as directed. Follow the directions exactly as Erin outlines, and you will have excellent results. Will be making this recipe from now on! The family loved it.
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- Lucy
AHHHH-MAZING! Made this for Christmas. Doubled the recipe and was able to make a 3-layer 8x8 and a 2 layer loaf pan (one for family dinner, one as my personal tiramisu). Sweet creamy, perfect coffee bite. I used a springform pan, and lined the sides with parchment so I could pop it out and cut and serve (I cut it into 16 perfectly sized portions). The 8x8 used 36 ladyfingers, and the loaf 12 (so two packets of ladyfingers, which I love). Anyway, great recipe. First time doing a bain-marie, which was ok, but boy did my arm getting tired whisking.
My only question to Erin would be, could I do this with less sugar? (my mom's not huge on super sweet)
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- Erin Clarkson
Hi! So happy you loved! Yes you can try less sugar if you want but I haven't tested it so i'm not sure how it would go!
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- Erika
Such a great recipe! First time making tiramisu and it was delicious! I definitely oversoaked the first layer of lady fingers, but it still tasted great and if I just ate the top two layers I couldn't even tell lol
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- Fiona
I made this for a dinner party and it was amazing! I doubled the recipe and made it as 4 layers in a trifle dish and subbed the Kahlua for Masala as that's my preference. Leftovers for breakfast the next day were also very yum. There were arguments about who got to eat the last of it 🙂
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- Sarah
This is 🇺🇸 we have cups and oz.
please
Small batch recipe. OZ AND CUPS!!Reply
- Erin Clarkson
Hi Sarah,
This may come as a surprise to you, but there are in fact other countries in the world outside of the US. While you may be there, I am not, and so my FREE recipes that I provide are in a format that is not only accurate, but applicable world wide. Google is a wonderful place so if my free recipes do not suit you, I am sure that you can find another one that does instead of being an entitled grumpus in my comments section and demanding that I do extra work to create a less accurate version of my free recipe that suits you specifically. Believe it or not, not every recipe has to be written to suit those in the US, although it seems as though this may be a difficult concept for you to grasp.
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- SALLY
WONDERFUL. SUITE YOURSELF. You sure are taking this very personally!!!! GROW UP
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- Erin Clarkson
Sally, I'm not the one yelling at a stranger about a free recipe. You seem to be the one taking this personally.
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- Lindsey
I would like to state for the record, that I too am from the U.S. and have no issues using a scale to measure things. I absolutely love your recipes. They’re the ones missing out by refusing to learn how to use a scale. It’s not that hard. I am also baking and pastry trained, but scales are much more accurate than cups and fluid ounces. People just refuse to learn. It’s also easier to scale a recipe up or down using weight instead of volume. I converted to weight 4 years ago and never looked back. I sometimes find a recipe I like that’s in cups and fluid ounces and convert it to weight! It’s much more preferable. Once again, thank you for sharing your FREE recipes! Not everyone in the US is this rude or refuses to use a scale.
- Erin Clarkson
Thank you! This post somehow attracts some cracker comments! Appreciate this x
- Leigh
Absolutely amazing. I always thought making a tiramisu was out of my reach but I managed to make this pretty easily and it was so worth it! Made it exactly as described (and definitely subbed in the Kahlua). Couldn’t wait the four hours so had my first portion a bit early (and it was still great) but it was definitely even better the next day. Love that it’s on the smaller side as I have less guilt this way. Thanks again for an amazing recipe.
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- Sally
This is the US. Please use American measures. WE CANNOT MAKE THIS.
Pls do this recipe in an American recipe format.!!
thank you
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- Erin Clarkson
Oh Sally. This comment is problematic on so many levels.
- This isn't the US. This is the internet. They do in fact have the internet in other countries, believe it or not.
- Bold of you to speak on behalf of another country, especially when what you are saying isn't true. You can make this. I lived in the US for 7 years and ran my blog from there full time for a number of them. I used a scale, which is readily available in the US for very cheap. The issue isn't you being in the US, the issue here is that you would prefer to demand a free recipe is altered to suit you rather than make a tiny bit of effort to either 1) get a scale or 2) google the conversions. This is a you problem.
I wish you all the best - google is a wonderful place and maybe you can find a different tiramsiu recipe that is in your 'American format'.
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- Sophie
I loved this tiramisu! I made my own ladyfingers for this recipe, and it was amazing! You can also freeze it for an icy treat. Also, one thing I LOVE about your website is that you post your recipes in grams. The grams really help make every recipe foolproof and I have not tried a single recipe here I didn't like. Thanks!!!
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- Cecilia
Hi; This is the US. I do not understand the recipe or measurments. Can you please explain. We use cups, tsp, oz etc.
Should not have to waste time asking for this.
Please respond today.Reply
- Erin Clarkson
Cecilia, this is the internet, believe it or not it does exist in other countries. I shouldn't have to waste time answering this, but here we are I guess.
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- Sheryl
Please
Do the recipe in US measure. I want to make it.
Your recipe is other US web.
Many thanks
Sheryl
10.25.23Reply
- Erin Clarkson
you're welcome to convert the recipe via google.
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- Lauren
So so easy and SO delicious. Could not stop eating it! Made it just for 2 of us, so made it in 2 pans and froze the second. It freezes well and is delicious frozen or thawed as well. 10/10 - a true delicious dessert
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- Katie
I made this tiramisu for a work Christmas party and it was such a hit! Tasted so good and so easy to make!!
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- Kerry
Great idea! No need to buy a big tub of mascarpone 🙂 How do you prevent your loaf pan from being scratched when you cut and serve from it?
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- Erin Clarkson
I use a non scratching spatula or spoon! You could also line it with parchment paper if you need to
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- Vicki
I made your tiramisu for Christmas dinner and it was delicious. The smaller size was perfect as there were just four of us. I'm in the US, but converting the measurements into cups or ounces using an online converter was easy. Thank you!! Happy New Year!
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- Natalie
Absolutely love this recipe, I have been making this to serve alongside our Pavlova at Christmas for a few years now, it's always a hit!
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- Martha Zander
I made this last month to trial how easy it was and for the taste before I made the big batch for Christmas. It did not disappoint. Much better than many I have had in restaurants.
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- Kylie
First time making tiramisu and won't be looking for another recipe! It was so delicious and easy to make. Mum was impressed so that is a giant tick!
Thanks for another great recipe Erin 🙂Reply
- Lisa
So excited to try this recipe! A couple questions: I am wondering how long you think it will keep in the fridge? And is there any chance the leftovers would freeze well? Thank you! Love your site - your recipes are genius.
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- Erin Clarkson
A few days! I don't think it will freeze well because of the ladyfingers
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- Paula
This was my first time making Tiramisu, it was well worth the effort as it was delicious. The family wants it again i tje near future. I used Kahlua and coffee combination. Thanks for the detailed recipe.
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- Mizu
This was my first time making tiramisu so I was a little nervous, but I found these instructions very straightforward and easy to follow.
It also turned out amazing!! I would definitely make it again. Thank you for the recipe, Erin!
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- Zoe
Hi, can I sub vanilla bean paste for vanilla extract?
Thank you!
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- Erin Clarkson
Yep! 🙂
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