Simple Tiramisu with Cream Cheese

This is tiramisu stripped down to its essence: coffee-soaked cake, creamy cheese, and a blanket of bitter cocoa powder.

Instead of making ladyfingers from scratch, you use store-bought sponge cake sliced in half and soaked with strong coffee mixed with brandy or your favorite liqueur. The filling is mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese if that’s what you can find) beaten with powdered sugar until it’s light and spreadable.

Layer it all together, dust the top with unsweetened cocoa, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The result is a simplified version that still captures that signature tiramisu balance of bitter coffee and sweet cream.

Chef Tips

• Use strong coffee or instant espresso (weak coffee won’t give you enough flavor)
• Sprinkle the coffee-liqueur blend on the cake in stages (you want it strongly flavored but not soggy enough to collapse)
• Beat the cream cheese or mascarpone with sugar until the sugar completely dissolves (grainy filling ruins the texture)
• Use a fine-mesh strainer to dust the cocoa powder evenly over the top
• Refrigerate at least 2 hours, but overnight is even better for the flavors to meld

Variations

• Irish Cream: Use Baileys or Kahlua instead of brandy for different liqueur notes
• Chocolate Tiramisu: Add 2 tbsp cocoa powder to the cream cheese mixture for chocolate layers
• Amaretto Version: Use amaretto liqueur and top with sliced almonds along with cocoa