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Gluten-free vegan tiramisu that is low in carbs and doesn’t taste like coconut

November 6, 2014 By Nora 32 Comments

Tiramisu is an iconic dessert for me. It’s a combination of everything I love about a treat: it’s sweet, creamy, light with lots of quality coffee… Even its name says it all: “pick me up” in Italian. Actually, I named my first food blog “tiramisu”, however, those times have changed: at first I had to manage on a low carb diet, then it turned out I should eat gluten- and dairy-free, too, so I had to adjust my tiramisu recipe accordingly. Lastly, I thought why not go all the way and make this an ingenious recipe: avoid the eggs and get vegan, too.

Gluten-free vegan tiramisu that is low in carbs and doesn*t taste like coconut

I know there are vegan tiramisu recipes out there, but they just didn’t seem like the real thing to me. I wanted some soft sponge cake bites submerged in coffee and embraced in a creamy vanilla sauce with layers of cocoa powder that taste just like this and nothing else: no soy products and no coconut aftertaste.
It took me some experimenting, but finally, here we are. Hint: the vegan sponge cake bites make also a great take away treat on their own.

Gluten-free vegan tiramisu that is low in carbs and doesn*t taste like coconut

Ingredients for 4 servings:
for 8 sponge cake bites:
80g rice flour
50g almond flour
100 ml plant milk*
25g coconut oil
pinch of baking soda
couple drops of apple cider vinegar
pinch of stevia powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

for the vanilla cream:
150g coconut oil
300 ml plant milk*
200 ml coconut cream
1/4 teaspoon of stevia powder
beans scraped from one vanilla pod
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons (20g) of starch**

1 cup of strong coffee (caffeine free, if desired)
cocoa- or carob powder for sprinkling

* I did the carb count at the end of this post based on almond- or soy milk (approx. 2.5g carbs/100 ml). You can use different milks, of course, but the numbers may vary.
** I used and recommend tapioca starch, but it also might work with oher starches, e.g. corn starch.

Gluten-free vegan tiramisu that is low in carbs and doesn*t taste like coconut

  1. At first prepare the sponge cake bites. Mix plant milk, coconut oil, heat it until lukewarm, then add a few drops of apple cider vinegar: it’s going to get thick.
  2. Combine rice flour, almond flour, stevia powder, baking soda and salt in a small mixing bowl.
  3. Work milky mixture into the dry ingredients: you should get a thick, pancake-like texture. Line a baking pan with baking sheets and form 8 disk shapes with a spoon. Bake them at 180 C / 360 F for 15 minutes.
  4. While the sponge cake bites are in the oven, you can prepare the vanilla cream. Set aside a small portion of the milk, and put the rest of it on the stove with the coconut oil, vanilla beans and vanilla extract. Start heating.
  5. Mix tapioca starch and stevia powder with the rest of the milk until smooth, no clots. When the hot milk portion is almost boiling, pour in the starchy mixture and start whisking: mix it until the cream gets thick but do not bring it to a boil. Taste check if it’s sweet enough and set aside to cool.
  6. Beat the coconut cream into stiff peaks and when the vanilla cream is only lukewarm, fold coconut whip into vanilla cream.
  7. From now on it goes as expected: some vanilla cream at the bottom of the cups, cocoa powder, sponge cake bites generously sprinkled with coffee, and again cream, cocoa powder, and so on. Use coffee generously, as the sponge cake bites will soak it up over time.
  8. Set aside the cups in a cool place and leave some time before serving for the tastes to really come together. Enjoy!
Gluten-free vegan tiramisu that is low in carbs and doesn*t taste like coconut

Gluten-free vegan tiramisu that is low in carbs and doesn*t taste like coconut

Gluten-free vegan tiramisu that is low in carbs and doesn*t taste like coconut

Gluten-free vegan tiramisu that is low in carbs and doesn*t taste like coconut

That’s it… another great recipe that took me more time to type than to actually make!
I think my story with the diet- and food allergy friendly tiramisu has come to an end with this recipe. I hope you’ll like it just as much as we did!
Carbohydrate content of the sponge cake disks is 10g/piece, the vanilla cream had approx. 28g of carbs altogether, which makes 27g CH/serving. Not bad for such an indulgent dessert, don’t you think?

Gluten-free vegan tiramisu that is low in carbs and doesn*t taste like coconut

I contributed this recipe to the 159. Allergy Free Wednesday and Gluten Free Friday.

Related posts:

Coconut Yogurt Ice Pops with Balsamic Roasted Strawberries Raw cocoa & chia seed energy balls Chia pudding with poppy seeds and pomegranate – no need to cook this one Diet-friendly dark chocolate ice pops

Filed Under: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, yeast-free Tagged With: dessert, Italian, low glycemic, make ahead

Previous Post: « Easy as pie gluten-free, whole grain, vegan pie crust
Next Post: Salty charamel latte made vegan & sugarfree (skinny) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linda Moore says

    March 7, 2015 at 6:57 pm

    Hi Nori,
    Love the dish your tiramisu is in where did you get them from….want to make asap!! also love your name.

    Reply
  2. Nora says

    March 7, 2015 at 7:01 pm

    Hi Linda,
    Glassware is from Butlers, I just had to have them! πŸ˜€
    Thanks for commenting, I hope you'll enjoy this recipe.

    Reply
  3. Jillian Hudson says

    March 19, 2015 at 10:14 am

    This is a great recipe! I’d love it if you would share it on my latest corn-free link party. http://www.creatingsilverlinings.com/corn-free-every-day-mar-14-2015/

    Reply
  4. Nora says

    March 19, 2015 at 10:24 am

    Thanks for the invite, I just did! πŸ™‚

    Reply
  5. Curious non coffee drinker says

    May 8, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    Is there something I could substitute for the coffee?

    Reply
  6. Nora says

    May 8, 2015 at 9:37 pm

    I guess a cocoa or carob drink would work just fine. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  7. Bethany says

    May 9, 2015 at 7:09 pm

    Wow! It looks delicious!

    Reply
  8. Adrienne says

    June 1, 2015 at 9:55 pm

    Hi there. LOVE this recipe and pinned it.

    Just wanted to let you know – it would likely not turn into anything but apparently it's against Paypal's terms of service to have a donate button on a blog like this. At least, that was the case the last time I checked their rules on that. Just wouldn't want you to get in trouble :).

    Take good care – I'm going to subscribe!

    Reply
  9. Nora says

    June 1, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    Hi Adrienne,
    I'm so happy you liked my post! I'm already following your blog. πŸ™‚
    Thanks for letting me know, apparently, I misread something… will remove it.
    See you!

    Reply
  10. heal YOUnaturally says

    November 4, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    I adore Tiramisu but stopped eating it for obvious reason. YOU just made my heart smile with a healthy version. Yum!
    Making this baby for the holidays, and sharing it with my lovely readers.

    Love your recipes. Keep'em coming.
    Astrid

    Reply
  11. Nora says

    November 4, 2015 at 10:02 pm

    Thank you so much for your lovely comment and shares! I'm sure you'll love it… πŸ˜‰

    Reply
  12. Tamara DePoalo says

    November 26, 2015 at 10:56 pm

    Do you have the recipe converted to cups or table/teaspoons instead of the g or ml measurements??

    Reply
  13. Nora says

    November 26, 2015 at 11:03 pm

    Hi there,
    Sorry, I tried but I got measurements like 8.33 tablespoons, etc., so I let this recipe be. I live in Europe so I work with grams, but, if you really are interested in GF baking, I really suggest that you consider buying a kitchen scale. All the big GF bloggers work with one and that's for a reason: it's so much more precise and that's so much more needed in GF baking.

    Reply
  14. Mme Marie-Claude says

    December 23, 2015 at 12:01 am

    Hi there,

    This looks amazing and I want to do this for Christmas. I was just wondering, the coconut cream Is it the trick of putting the coconut can in the fridge overnight and using that cream?

    Reply
  15. Nora says

    December 23, 2015 at 12:02 am

    Exactly! Happy Holidays! πŸ™‚

    Reply
  16. Heather says

    April 24, 2016 at 4:57 am

    Thank you for this recipe. I can’t wait to try it! I LOOOOVVVEEE tiramisu. By coconut cream, do you mean thick canned coconut milk (such as Thai brand)? Isn’t coconut cream basically just sweetened coconut milk? If so, do you think I could substitute coconut milk or coconut butter with added agave? Thanks!!!

    Reply
    • Nora says

      April 24, 2016 at 9:27 pm

      Hi Heather,
      by coconut cream I mean thick canned coconut milk. This works like dairy cream, it gets a little fluffy and gives a nice airy structure to the vanilla cream in this recipe. So I wouldn’t sub for anything. Hope you’ll love this! πŸ˜‰

      Reply
  17. Sanja says

    October 20, 2016 at 5:43 pm

    Can’t wait to make this! Do you have any recommendations on a substitute for the rice flour (i.e. do you think I could use more almond flour + a couple of tablespoons of coconut flour)?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Nora says

      October 20, 2016 at 8:51 pm

      You’ll need something to bind almond flour, so instead of rice you could try buckwheat or tapioca but I’m not sure about the outcome as I always use (brown) rice flour for this. Enjoy!

      Reply
  18. Sarah says

    November 7, 2016 at 12:36 am

    Any substitutions for the almond flour? I’m allergic to almonds but really want to try this recipe, it looks so tasty!

    Reply
    • Nora says

      November 7, 2016 at 12:37 am

      Tigernut flour! πŸ˜‰

      Reply
      • Sarah says

        November 7, 2016 at 1:08 am

        Thank you!

        Reply
  19. joanne says

    December 11, 2016 at 9:57 am

    I love tiramisu, but have gone gluten-free and dairy-free, and am looking forward to trying out this recipe!
    One thing though.. I don’t like the taste of stevia. Can you please suggest a natural healthy substitute with amounts?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Nora says

      December 12, 2016 at 11:12 pm

      I’m sorry I can’t help you there with amounts as I always made this with stevia. The vanilla cream is easy as you can choose any sweetener you like you and taste it, the only thing I’d be worried about is the consistency of the biscuits: choosing another sweetener may make them too soft or moist. Please give some feedback about your batch!

      Reply
  20. Ali Sauce says

    January 13, 2018 at 12:17 am

    I don’t know if any of your commenters have actually made this recipe but I’ve been following your directions exactly and it’s not thickening or doing anything you say it’s supposed to. Plus you mention to add salt but don’t say how much. I just spent over $25 on these ingredients and I have a big pile of no flavor mush…

    Reply
    • Nora says

      January 24, 2018 at 12:19 pm

      I’m sorry about your troubles! Yes, many of my readers have actually made this recipe – quality of ingredients varies so much depending on where you live, it’s really difficult to publish recipes for an international readership. Also sorry or getting back to you this late – I gave birth to my second child a few days prior your comment, and ‘m just getting back to my inbox these days. Wish you more luck with your next kitchen project!

      Reply
  21. Caro says

    March 4, 2018 at 6:40 am

    You say it doesn’t taste like coconut. But with so many different coconut elements. It sure tastes like coconut! Bit of a disillusion there

    Reply
    • Nora says

      March 4, 2018 at 10:49 am

      If it wouldn’t have any coconut ingredients, it would’n be a surprise, now, would it? πŸ™‚

      Reply
  22. Catherine says

    April 3, 2020 at 9:42 am

    Hi can I use the whole rice flower?

    Reply
    • Nora says

      May 16, 2020 at 7:21 am

      Yes.

      Reply
  23. Benita says

    May 9, 2020 at 7:51 pm

    Can you please explain to me what to use for β€œplant milk”? We use a variety of dairy free milk so please tell me what works the best. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Nora says

      May 16, 2020 at 7:22 am

      Whatever you have on hand… Soy, almond, oat work fine.

      Reply

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I'm Nora: creative foodie, ex-PCOS patient, mom of a little baby girl, scientist, coffee lover, avid traveller to name a few things that come to mind. More about me...

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