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This Hot Chocolate Tiramisu is perhaps the single best winter dessert I’ve ever eaten or made. It combines one of my favorite desserts, Tiramisu, with the best winter drink, Hot Chocolate. I’ve made many versions of Tiramisu and this is, by far, my favorite.
This simple dessert is the perfect combination of moist, light and indulgent, with both coffee and chocolate flavors shining through. I literally could not stop eating this, and cannot recommend trying this recipe strongly enough!
Read the full blog post below for detailed notes, tips, tricks, photos and videos.
WHAT INSPIRED THIS RECIPE
I shared an Easy Chocolate Tiramisu recipe earlier this year, and it was a lot more popular than I had anticipated. Truth be told, all my Tiramisu recipes get a lot of love, which shows that you guys love it just as much as I do! I also shared a Paris Hot Chocolate, and that, too, was highly rated.
As I started ideating winter recipes, I had the idea of combining hot chocolate with tiramisu. I didn’t want this to be similar to my chocolate tiramisu recipe, which is essentially tiramisu with layers of chocolate ganache. So in this recipe, I use actual hot chocolate in three ways:
- Inside the mascarpone cream
- Layered within the tiramisu
- Poured on top while serving
The result is truly spectacular! While this dessert is still simple enough to make, it has incredible depth of flavors which will fool everyone into thinking a lot of effort has gone into making it.
WHAT THIS HOT CHOCOLATE TIRAMISU IS MADE OF
Let’s quickly go over the layers used to make this Hot Chocolate Tiramisu:
- Hot chocolate. Well, duh! The hot chocolate will be added to the mascarpone cream, layered in the tiramisu, and poured on top of the slices when serving
- Hot chocolate mascarpone cream. Instead of the plain mascarpone cream used in regular tiramisu, this mascarpone cream has hot chocolate inside it, making it double chocolate (don’t worry, though, it’s not overpowering at all)
- Ladyfingers soaked in a cocoa and coffee mixture. Instead of plain coffee, we will add some cocoa powder to the soak as well. If you don’t like coffee, you can use a hot cocoa mix and add it to water instead!
- Whipped cream. The tiramisu is topped off with whipped cream, which is a must on top of hot chocolate, and adds a wonderful lightness to the tiramisu
The hot chocolate (which is actually hot) on top of the cold and light tiramisu makes for the most indulgent experience. You’ll have to try it to get it!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
This hot chocolate tiramisu does not require any fancy ingredients – in fact, the list is quite similar to my Easy Chocolate Tiramisu. Here’s what you will need (make sure to scroll down to the brown recipe card for the exact quantities):
- Milk
- Heavy cream
- Powdered sugar
- Espresso powder
- Dark chocolate
- Mascarpone cheese
- Granulated sugar
- Strong coffee
- Cocoa powder
- Ladyfingers
HOW TO MAKE HOT CHOCOLATE TIRAMISU
As I mentioned earlier, this recipe is not complicated! If you were able to make my Easy Chocolate Tiramisu, you can certainly also make this one. Here’s what you will do:
- Make the hot chocolate. You will make this first by heating all the ingredients until melted. Then let it cool slightly.
- Prepare the hot chocolate mascarpone cream. First whisk the mascarpone with sugar and about half of the hot chocolate, then add the cold heavy cream and whisk to medium peaks. Simple enough!
- Make the coffee & cocoa soak. Just whisk it all together
- Assemble the tiramisu. It’s already time to get layering! Start with a layer of ladyfingers soaked in the coffee and cocoa soak. Then add a layer of the hot chocolate mascarpone cream, followed by the hot chocolate itself. Repeat for 2 layers
- Chill. Now just whack the tiramisu in the fridge and let it set overnight
- Decorate. Pipe on some plain whipped cream and dust with cocoa powder
- Serve! Cut the tiramisu into slices. Pour some hot chocolate on top of each slice right before serving (this is the same hot chocolate made in step 1, some should be left over which you will heat up for serving)
We love tiramisu and chocolate desserts at Bake With Zoha! Don’t miss out these incredible recipes:
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
No, I don’t recommend doing that. The sweetness of this recipe is specifically for dark chocolate. If needed, you can use semi-sweet chocolate but dark will give you the best results.
Unfortunately, I believe mascarpone is not substitutable in tiramisu as it is a key component. However, if you really have no other choice, you may use cream cheese.
If your mascarpone cream mixture runny, it could be because your mascarpone cheese has a different consistency or your heavy cream wasn’t whipped enough. Don’t worry – just whisk for a few seconds and it should thicken up as the cream inside reaches stiff peaks.
Most likely, the mascarpone cheese is overmixed (it is really quite sensitive) or you are using a lower quality brand of mascarpone cheese (they are not all created equal). I strongly recommend getting a good quality brand like Galbani or Belgioioso, making sure the mascarpone cheese is slightly cooler than room temperature, and being very careful when mixing it with the cream. You want to do it at low speed until it reaches a fluffy consistency.
Yes, you can prepare this tiramisu up to 2 days before serving (afterwards it does start to become a bit more soggy). Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge. Leave the whipped cream, cocoa powder, and hot chocolate pour for when you are ready to serve.
Keep the Tiramisu stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can use an 8×8″ dish or individual serving cups for this Tiramisu. It’s flexible based on how you like to layer Tiramisu!
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Ingredients
Hot Chocolate:
- 1 cup milk (240g)
- 1 1/4 cup heavy cream (300g)
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 12 oz good quality dark chocolate; between 60-70% cocoa (340g)
Hot Chocolate Mascarpone Cream:
- 12 ounces good quality mascarpone cheese, from fridge (340g or 1 1/2 8 oz packs)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (55g)
- Pinch of salt
- About half of the hot chocolate from above
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream (240g)
Soak:
- 1 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee (you can make it with hot water and 3–4 tsp of instant espresso powder if needed)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
Assembly & decoration:
- ~30-35 ladyfingers
- 3/4 cup heavy cream, chilled (180g)
- Cocoa powder for dusting
Instructions
Hot Chocolate:
- Add all ingredients to a nonstick saucepan
- Cook and stir on medium-low heat until the chocolate is fully melted and everything is combined
- Set aside to cool down to room temperature
Hot Chocolate Mascarpone Cream:
- Add the mascarpone, sugar, salt and about half of the hot chocolate from above to a bowl. Whisk on medium low speed until the ingredients are combined and start to thicken up
- Add the heavy cream and whisk on medium speed until the mixture reaches medium peaks (aka becomes thick and fluffy). Do not overmix as you will risk it becoming grainy. Note that this step can cause a bit of a splatter, so using a larger, deep bowl is best!
Soak:
- Whisk the coffee and cocoa powder in a wide bottomed bowl
Assembly:
- Dip the ladyfingers in the soak one by one, for about 1-2 seconds per side, and add a layer on the bottom of a 9×9″ pan
- Add half of the hot chocolate mascarpone cream on top and spread it evenly
- Add ~1/2 cup of hot chocolate on top gently and spread it. I like to do this just by tilting the pan, as the hot chocolate just flows in every direction
- Put in the freezer for 10 minutes so the hot chocolate sets
- Repeat the same three layers once again (ladyfingers, mascarpone cream, hot chocolate). By the end, all of the mascarpone cream will be used up, but you should still have hot chocolate left over. This will be used for serving
- Cover and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight (or at least 4 hours)
Decoration & serving:
- Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks
- Spread or pipe on top of the tiramisu
- Dust with cocoa powder
- Slice up and serve with a little bit of the remaining hot chocolate, warmed up in the microwave, poured on top!
Comments
Nisreen Takulla-Khalil
Hi,
If I want to make this for a 9×13 inch pan, how much quantity will I need? 1 and a 1/2 times or 2 times the original quantity?
Thank you
Zoha
I think 1.5x will do the trick 🙂
LJ
Made this for friendsgiving and it was a total crowd pleaser. I switched some minor things in the recipe (used fresh pulled espresso instead of coffee or instant espresso for soaking the lady fingers for a deeper coffee flavor). It was a very decadent chocolate forward treat!
Zoha
YAY!! Thank you so much!
Zuku
I made this for Eid yesterday . it was the bomb, everybody loved it . So amazing !!!! 😍😍
Zoha
Aww thank you!!
Michelle
Hey Zoha!!! Tried out this recipe. And it turned out simply amazing. The espresso soaked ladyfingers were complimenting the hot chocolate mascarpone cream so well!!! Great recipe♥️
Madiha Bano
Nice
Nisreen Takulla-Khalil
Hi,
For the hot chocolate mix, can I substitute with semi sweet or milk chocolate? We’re not too fond of dark chocolate.
Thank you
Zoha
Semi sweet will work!
Ariana Mundy
Hi Zoha!
I want to make this delicious tiramisu but have a few questions!
1. I would like to add a raspberry element here, was thinking a curd at the very bottom of the pan / in between layers OR subbing one raspberry mousse/ marscarpone layer for one of the chocolate ones . trying to avoid seeds if I can so avoiding fresh raspberries!
2. We have a huge family! How could i adapt for a 9×13?
Thanks!
Ariana
Zoha
I think both are good ideas for raspberry, but don’t do bottom of the pan as you won’t be able to slice it out easily! For 9×13 you can try to do 1.5x the quantities 🙂
Zoha
Thank you!