Creamy Pistachio Tiramisu (No Egg)

This creamy pistachio tiramisu is a fun and elevated twist on the classic recipe. Nothing says ‘fancy’ quite like a pistachio flavoured dessert, and this one looks the part too with its gorgeous bright green colour. This recipe uses decadent pistachio butter to infuse the flavour in the cream and the coffee, resulting in a rich and balanced bite. All you need are 6 ingredients and 30 minutes!

Classic Tiramisu vs. Pistachio Tiramisu

This recipe is very similar to a classic tiramisu recipe except for a few differences:

• No eggs or alcohol are used in this recipe – you won’t miss them!
• Pistachio butter is mixed in with the mascarpone to give a depth of flavour and nuttiness.
• Rather than topped with cocoa powder, it is dusted with pistachio dust! The most beautiful topping in my opinion.

The reason this recipe resembles the taste of classic tiramisu closely is because the Italian lady fingers are also dipped in coffee or espresso. There are recipes that have you dip the lady fingers in milk, which you can do if you don’t like coffee, but I recommend the coffee flavour which compliments the pistachios really well.

Also, inspired by a recent “cardamom latte” I had at a cafe, I also added a bit of ground cardamom to the cream, the mascarpone, and the coffee. It’s subtle but it’s there and lends another note of flavour that I highly recommend.

Pistachios and cardamom are a common flavour combination in middle eastern desserts like in baklava and mahalabia.

This dessert is also a no-bake one, which are my favourite. It joins the ranks with lazy cake, biscuit balls, and biscoff truffles as my go-to quick desserts that are fail proof.

Types of Pistachio Butter

There are two types of pistachio butter that you can buy from stores and a third option:

• Sweetened pistachio butter. The most common one I found is the Pisti brand found at Costco or Amazon. I don’t recommend using sweetened pistachio butter in this recipe, because it is too sweet. I also find that you lose the pistachio flavour. The texture of this butter is thicker.

• Unsweetened pistachio butter. This is my preference, because it also has just two ingredients: pistachios and salt. The brand I used in this recipe is this NutJar one, which is made in Canada. I found it at Healthy planet (although it goes for the same price on Amazon). The texture of this one is like a runny all-natural peanut butter.

• Make your own pistachio butter. Not as hard as it seems – you’ll need to buy raw unsalted pistachios, shell them, blanch them in hot water for a few seconds, peel the skins off (to get a vibrant green colour), then process them in a food processor until they turn into butter. This is a great guide for making your own.

If you only have access to the sweetened pistachio butter, I suggest removing the sugar from the Mascarpone mixture completely to account for the additional sweetness in the butter.

Ingredients for Pistachio Tiramisu

The classic tiramisu ingredients are required:

• Heavy whipping cream (35%)
• Mascarpone cheese for that classic flavour
• Italian lady fingers – any brand will do
• Espresso or coffee

You’ll also need:

• Unsweetened pistachio butter (I used a brand called Nutjar which I love). If you can only find sweetened pistachio butter, remove any added sugar in the mascarpone mixture when making the recipe.
• Ground cardamom. This is an optional addition if you love the flavour of pistachio and cardamom together, like me!

How to Make it – Step By Step

The first step is to brew your coffee or espresso, mix it with the pistachio butter and cardamom, then leave it to cool completely. If you dip the lady fingers in hot coffee, they will melt away!

I used a Keurig pod for this and it worked great.

Next, whip the cream, sugar and cardamom (if using) to stiff peaks. Keep the cream cold until you’re ready to whip. Whip on medium speed for 6-8 minutes. Once whipped, place in a separate bowl and set aside.

TIP: If you struggle to get whipped cream to stiff peaks, place your whisk attachment and bowl in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to cool. A cold bowl helps the cream whip much better.

In the same stand mixer bowl (you can also use a hand mixer), add the mascarpone cheese, the pistachio butter, the sugar, and the cardamom. Whisk until the mixture is combined. You will need to pause and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

TIP: At first glance, you may think that adding more pistachio butter will make it look and taste better, since pistachio flavour is very subtle. But be careful not to add too much (and stick to this recipe), because pistachio butter is also very heavy. If you add too much, you risk the tiramisu tasting too heavy.

Spoon the whipped creamy into the mascarpone mixture and fold it in gently until well incorporated. This takes patience and about 5 to 7 minutes.

Folding the cream in ensures the whipped cream is able to maintain its airiness for a light texture and mouthfeel in the final product.

Now use a 9″ by 13″ baking dish to start layering. Dip the lady fingers in the coffee on one side, dunking it in so that most of it is saturated. Then, place it in the baking dish and repeat until you have a full layer of soaked lady fingers.

I don’t dunk them in on both sides to avoid them getting too soggy and soft after chilling, because they will continue to soften in the fridge.

Next, add half of the cream mixture over the lady fingers and smooth it into an even layer. It’s easy to do this using an offset spatula or use a rubber spatula. Repeat with another layer of lady fingers, and another layer of cream. You will have a total of 4 layers as follows:

• First layer of soaked lady fingers
• First layer of cream
• Second layer of soaked lady fingers
• Second layer of cream.

You can decorate the top however you like, or simply keep it plain. I wanted to stick to the classic “dusted” top layer, but used finely crushed pistachio instead of cocoa powder. I used a spice grinder to grind slivered pistachios.

If you want a bright green colour, you will have to use slivered pistachios that have no peels on them. These can be found at middle eastern shops (they are a bit pricey) and often referred to as “Aleppo Pistachios”.

If you can only find regular pistachios, you can blanch them in hot water for 5 minutes, then remove them and rub them with a towel to get most of the peels off. Then let them dry and grind them.

Otherwise, you can decorate in these different ways:

• Regular unsalted pistachios, crushed (large pieces is okay), sprinkled all over the surface.
• Keep the surface plain.
• Dust the surface with cocoa powder (I bet it will taste great!).
• Use the pistachio butter in a piping bag and make lines of it across the whole surface, then use a toothpick to drag the lines and create a spider web pattern.

Use a strainer or sifter to sift the crushed pistachio over the top layer, which filters out any large pieces.

Cover the tiramisu with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. The longer you leave it, the more the flavours will develop.

Slice into pieces and serve!

Storage Instructions

Any leftovers can be kept in the same baking dish and covered with plastic wrap, or transferred to an air tight container. Keep it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

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