Tiramisu is a classic Italian dessert famous across the world. It’s usually made by dipping ladyfingers (a type of spongy cake) in brewed coffee (espresso) and wine. These coffee-infused ladyfingers are then separated into layers by a whipped mixture of eggs, mascarpone cheese, and sugar. The top most layer (usually a thick dollop of the creamy mixture) is topped with either cocoa or powdered coffee. It’s also a no-bake dessert, if you have access to the Italian ladyfingers, that is!
It’s a delicious dish - and we wanted to add our own spin to it by switching out the coffee for freshly brewed masala chai. Masala chai is a layered and complex blend of black tea with fragrant spices such as cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, etc. That’s why masala Chai Tiramisu, especially when made with wine, takes on a unique, mulled-wine like flavor that can spice up this classic dessert!
Masala Chai Tiramisu Recipe:
Prep Time: 1 hour, Cool Time: 6-8 hours
For the Masala Chai:
A saucepan and wooden spoon
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup Marsala wine (or rum, brandy, or a suitable red wine) (Optional)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 black tea bags (or 2 tbsp of loose leaf black tea)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 4 whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
OR
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup Marsala wine (or rum, brandy, or a suitable red wine) (Optional)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- ChaiBag’s 11 Spices Chai Blend
For the Tiramisu:
A wide-base bowl to cool the Masala Chai brew and drip the ladyfingers
Two mixing bowls and a hand-held mixer
A rectangular serving dish
Ingredients:
- 12 Italian ladyfinger cookies
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup Marsala wine (or rum, brandy, or a suitable red wine) (Optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch of ground cloves
Instructions:
- In a saucepan, combine water, sugar, black tea, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves, grated ginger, and ground nutmeg for the masala chai. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Let it simmer for an additional 5 minutes to infuse the flavors. Remove from heat and allow the chai to cool.
- Time Saving Hack: You can use ChaiBag’s 11 Spices Chai blend above which contains all the tea and spices premixed in the right proportion for you, so that you just need to brew and add the sugar.
- Once the masala chai has cooled, strain it to remove the spices and tea. Then optionally add the wine (or rum). Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form (you can check this by the stability of the peaks that form when you lift the mixer/whisks from the bowl).
- In another bowl, whisk together the mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, wine (optional), ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, ground ginger, and ground cloves until smooth and well-distributed. Taking about 1/4th of the whipped cream at a time, gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture until creamy and light.
- Dip 4 ladyfinger cookies into the Masala Chai and wine brew, and arrange them in a single layer in the bottom of a rectangular serving dish. Ensure the ladyfingers are well soaked but not overly soggy (they shouldn’t break too easily, and should have a slightly spongy texture).
- Spread about a quarter of the mascarpone mixture over the soaked ladyfinger cookies in the dish, creating an even layer.
- Repeat the steps above (3-4) three more times, so that you have a total of three ladyfinger layers and four cream layers, with the top most being a thick cream layer. If you’d like a stronger masala chai flavor, you can add a few more teaspoons of brewed masala chai at this stage.
- Dust a thin layer of cocoa powder evenly on top of the assembled tiramisu.
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours or overnight to allow the tiramisu to set.
- Enjoy the delicious fusion of masala chai and tiramisu!