Speculoos tiramisu is a twist on the classic Italian dessert that incorporates both Biscoff cookies and Biscoff spread. This easy-to-make and alcohol-free Lotus Biscoff tiramisu is a wonderful combination of flavours and textures.
If you're wondering what drink you could enjoy alongside this speculoos dessert, give my Biscoff latte a go.
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Why I love this dessert
Regardless of what name you decide to attach to your dessert, there are plenty of reasons to fall in love with this recipe:
- Easy: A no-bake recipe that's quick and simple to prepare.
- Feeds plenty: This Speculoos tiramisu serves up to 8 people.
- Flavour: Creamy mascarpone, bold coffee, and sweetly spiced Biscoff cookies and spread create a winning flavour profile.
- Texture: The crunchy cookie topping contrasts with those soft, creamy layers perfectly.
- Different: A fun twist on the classic tiramisu.
- Alcohol-free: Kid-friendly and perfect for sharing - if you're willing!
At the heart of this speculoos tiramisu (aka Lotus Biscoff tiramisu) is a fairly traditional recipe for Italian tiramisu that includes mascarpone, egg yolk and egg whites but not double cream. It embraces strong coffee flavour along with the sweet caramel and spice notes of Biscoff cookies and Biscoff spread.
If you are looking for a traditional dessert with a twist then this speculoos tiramisu is a great option. Enjoy this Biscoff dessert throughout the year, whether for a special occasion or just because you fancy an outrageous treat.
What are speculoos?
Speculoos are a type of sweet, spiced biscuit that originated in Belgium in the 20th century. Interestingly, speculoos biscuits are a spin-off from speculaas biscuits, which are more heavily spiced shortcrust biscuits from Flanders, Belgium.
Speculaas biscuits are likely to include cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, pepper, ginger and cardamom. Moreover, they are often embossed, resembling traditional images. Speculoos biscuits came about as a cheaper alternative to the original speculaas bake.
Lotus Biscoff cookies are a version of speculoos biscuits.
Strictly speaking, depending on the type of cookie used you'll be making either a speculaas tiramisu, speculoos tiramisu or a Biscoff tiramisu. But I'm not one to get hung up on technicalities when there's tasty dessert up for grabs.
Biscoff lovers! Have you spotted my recipes for Biscoff rocky road and Biscoff Millionaire's Slices?
Tiramisu lovers! If you're keen for more versions of this creamy Italian dessert then try my recipes for pistachio tiramisu, amaretto & orange tiramisu and my advocaat tiramisu.
Ingredients notes
Mascarpone: always use good quality full-fat mascarpone cheese when making this recipe for speculoos tiramisu. It should also be fresh (with plenty of time before its best-before or use-by date). Mascarpone can be temperamental and it is prone to splitting, so sticking to these two guidelines is a good way to help reduce the risk of running into trouble with it. Also, read my tips about baking with mascarpone before starting this recipe.
Coffee: the coffee needs to stand up against the creaminess of the mascarpone filling, so it needs to be suitably strong. Espresso coffee is the best option, but if you can't brew that then using instant coffee is perfectly acceptable.
Speculoos cookies/ Biscoff cookies: these are a very important component in this Biscoff tiramisu recipe. I used Lotus Biscoff cookies, but you can use different brands (such as Aldi) or even make your own speculoos/ speculaas biscuits.
Speculoos/ Biscoff spread: this is another integral ingredient. Again, I used Lotus Biscoff spread (smooth) but you can use alternative brands.
Ladyfingers (savoiardi biscuits or sponge fingers): I used store-bought ladyfinger biscuits but if you fancy making your own ladyfingers I'm going to be impressed. I can only imagine it would take this dessert to another level again.
If you struggle to get hold of ladyfingers then try trifle sponges. At a pinch, you could use plain sponge cake, but I find this option a little heavy in this Biscoff dessert. The resulting tiramisu will be more aligned with an English trifle rather than true Italian tiramisu.
Equipment note
The measures given in the recipe card are enough to fill a 9×6-inch oblong serving dish with a depth of 3 inches, using 2 layers of ladyfingers.
Step by step instructions
Full instructions and measurements are given in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
- Step 1: Brew the espresso coffee and leave it to cool.
- Step 2: Separate the egg yolks and whites. Put all of the egg yolks into the bowl of a stand mixer with the caster sugar and whip for around 5 minutes until very thick, moussy and pale. (If you do not have a stand mixer then use a medium-sized bowl and electric beaters.) They are whipped sufficiently when a trail remains for a few seconds after the mixture falls off the whisk (this is the ribbon stage).
- Step 3: In seperate bowls beat or stir the mascarpone briefly, just until it is smooth, and beat the egg white to firm peaks (using clean beaters).
- Step 4: Add the egg yolk mixture to the mascarpone and gently beat it in using the lowest speed setting on your handheld electric beaters. Mix until just smooth being careful not to overmix as the mascarpone could split.
- Step 5: Use a large metal spoon to gently fold the whipped egg white into the mascarpone mixture.
- Step 6: Spread a heaped spoonful of this creamy mascarpone mixture into the bottom of the serving dish. One by one dip the ladyfingers into the coffee mixture for around 3 seconds each and lay them on top of the mascarpone layer. Repeat until the base layer is covered.
- Step 7: Crush 2 of the Biscoff cookies and sprinkle them over the ladyfingers. Warm the Biscoff spread to loosen it and drizzle half of it over the crushed biscuits.
- Step 8: Spread half of the remaining mascarpone mixture over the first layer and smooth it out gently. Add a second layer of coffee-dipped ladyfingers, followed by 2 more crushed Biscoff cookies and the remaining Biscoff spread.
- Step 9: Top with the remaining mascarpone filling mixture and spread it out evenly. Cover the dish with food wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, to allow it to set. When ready to serve, dust the top with cocoa powder and finish with 2 more crushed Biscoff cookies for added crunch.
Expert tips
- The exact number of ladyfingers needed will depend on the size of the bowl used to assemble the dessert in. Lay them out and ensure that you have enough to make 2 full layers in your dish.
- The coffee needs to be strong. Use either 60g espresso powder to brew 240ml coffee or use 8 teaspoons instant coffee dissolved in 240ml freshly boiled water.
- Let the coffee cool before dipping the ladyfingers into it. If the coffee is hot then the biscuits will likely fall apart before you can lay them into the serving dish.
- Treat the mascarpone gently to avoid it splitting. Do not overmix it.
- This dessert does need to sit in the fridge to firm up for a minimum of 6 hours, but ideally, leaving it overnight is best.
- The crushed cookies inside of the dessert may still be a little crunchy if you serve the dessert after just 6 hours in the fridge. Leaving it overnight will ensure that they turn scrumptiously soft.
- To ensure that the cookies on top of the dessert are crunchy, add them just before serving.
- Use a knife to cut squares and use a flexible serving spatula to remove neat portions from the serving dish.
Frequently asked questions
This Biscoff tiramisu is based on the classic Italian version of this dessert that uses egg yolks and egg whites in the mascarpone layer rather than cream.
Yes, you can. Try replacing 60ml of the coffee with either rum, Baileys Irish cream liqueur or Amaretto.
It's possible that the mascarpone was beaten too much, causing it to split and water to separate from the cheese curds.
Low-fat versions of mascarpone can also be problematic as they have a higher water content than full-fat mascarpone.
There are several reasons why a tiramisu can remain runny after it has been chilled for long enough. It is possible that the egg yolk mixture or the egg whites were not sufficiently beaten. A sloppy dessert can also be the result of soaking the ladyfingers in the coffee for too long.
To make a gluten-free Biscoff tiramisu you'll need to use gluten-free lady fingers, gluten-free speculoos cookies and gluten-free speculoos cookie spread.
Follow Domestic Gothess' recipe for vegan tiramisu. Add in the crushed Biscoff cookies and Biscoff spread, both of which are vegan products.
Use it to make a rum sour cocktail or Aperol gin sour. Alternatively, if you have a few spare egg whites sitting in the fridge, use them to make a meringue dessert or easy coconut macaroons.
How to serve Biscoff tiramisu
This creamy Biscoff dessert can be served either in neat slices or scooped from the serving bowl into dessert bowls.
If you are serving it in slices and are worried about getting the slices out neatly, try the following technique:
- Place the undecorated dessert into the freezer 30 minutes before serving it to help firm up the edges.
- After 30 minutes, remove it from the freezer and top it with the cocoa powder and crushed biscuits.
- Run a knife around the edge of the serving dish and cut into portions.
- Use a flexible spatula to carefully remove each slice (expect the first slice to be the hardest to remove).
You can also prepare your speculoos tiramisu in individual serving glasses to get around the question of whether to slice or scoop.
Variations
- Alcohol: a splash of Baileys or amaretto or even rum livens up the flavours of this Biscoff dessert for adult palates. Replace 60ml of the coffee with alcohol.
- Raspberries: my biscoff cheesecake is testament to how well the flavours of tart raspberries and Biscoff cookies pair together. Just before popping your speculoos tiramisu into the fridge, dust the top lightly with cocoa powder and press fresh raspberries into the top layer of mascarpone. When ready to serve apply a light dusting of cocoa powder and crumble the biscuits over the top.
- Strawberries: When ready to serve mark portions using a sharp knife and then top each serving with a fresh strawberry. The pop of colour is lovely.
- Nuts: almonds and hazelnuts partner with coffee fantastically. Consider adding a scattering of chopped nuts as you layer up your creamy Biscoff dessert.
More tempting Biscoff dessert recipes
Take a look through all of my easy & enticing Biscoff recipes. Here are a few of my creations:
If you have tried this Biscoff tiramisu recipe please give it a rating below. Don't forget to share your creations with me on Instagram too - I love to hear how you've got along. Use #littlesugarsnaps and tag me @jane_littlesugarsnaps.
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Speculoos Tiramisu (Biscoff Tiramisu)
Equipment
- Serving dish approximately 9 inches x 6 inches with a depth of 3 inches
Ingredients
- 240 ml Coffee (strong) Made using 15g espresso coffee per 60ml or 8 teaspoons instant coffee
- 3 Eggs Large, free range
- 1 Egg yolk Large, free range
- 75 g Caster sugar
- 250 g Mascarpone full-fat
- 175 g Ladyfingers Savoiardi/ sponge fingers
- 100 g Biscoff spread (smooth) cookie butter
- 6 Biscoff cookies
- 1½ tablespoons Cocoa powder
Instructions
- Brew the espresso coffee and leave it to cool. Use either 15g espresso powder per 60ml coffee or, if using instant coffee dissolve 8 teaspoons of granules/ powder in 240ml water that is just off the boil.
- Separate the egg yolks and whites. Put all of the egg yolks into the bowl of a stand mixer with the caster sugar.
- Whip the egg yolks and sugar for around 5 minutes until very thick, moussy and pale. (If you do not have a stand mixer then use a medium-sized bowl and electric beaters - it may take slightly longer.) They are whipped sufficiently when a trail remains for a few seconds after the mixture falls off the whisk (this is the ribbon stage).
- Beat or stir the mascarpone briefly, just until it is smooth.
- Beat the egg white to firm peaks (using clean beaters).
- Add the egg yolk mixture to the mascarpone and gently beat it in using the lowest speed setting on your handheld electric beaters. Mix until just smooth being careful not to overmix as the mascarpone could split.
- Use a large metal spoon to gently fold the whipped egg white into the mascarpone mixture until no streaks or lumps of egg white remain.
- Spoon a small amount of this creamy mixture into the bottom of the serving dish (about 2 tablespoons).
- Dip a ladyfinger into the coffee mixture for approximately 3 seconds and lay it on top of the mascarpone layer in one of the glasses. Repeat until the base layer is covered. If necessary, chop the biscuits to make them fit (before soaking them in the coffee).
- Crush 2 of the Biscoff cookies and sprinkle them over the ladyfingers.
- Warm the Biscoff spread briefly until it is soft enough to drizzle (either in a pan or in the microwave on the defrost setting for around 20 seconds).
- Drizzle half of the Biscoff spread over the crushed biscuits.
- Now add half of the mascarpone mixture and gently spread it out to cover everything.
- Add another layer of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, 2 more crushed biscuits and the remaining Biscoff spread (reheat if necessary).
- Top with the remaining mascarpone filling mixture and spread it out.
- Cover the dish with food wrap and place it in the fridge to chill and set - for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight.
- When you are ready to serve your speculoos tiramisu sieve the cocoa powder over the top and scatter 2 more crushed Biscoff cookies over it.
Notes
- The exact number of ladyfingers needed will depend on the size of the bowl used to assemble the dessert in. Lay them out and ensure that you have enough to make 2 full layers in your dish.
- The coffee needs to be strong. Use either 60g espresso powder to brew 240ml coffee or use 8 teaspoons instant coffee dissolved in 240ml freshly boiled water.
- Let the coffee cool before dipping the ladyfingers into it. If the coffee is hot then the biscuits will likely fall apart before you can lay them into the serving dish.
- For a splash of booze try replacing 60ml of the coffee with either rum, Baileys Irish cream liqueur or Amaretto.
- Treat the mascarpone gently to avoid it splitting. Do not overmix it.
- This dessert does need to sit in the fridge to firm up for a minimum of 6 hours, but ideally, leaving it overnight is best.
- The crushed cookies inside of the dessert may still be a little crunchy if you serve the dessert after just 6 hours in the fridge. Leaving it overnight will ensure that they turn scrumptiously soft.
- To ensure that the cookies on top of the dessert are crunchy, add them just before serving.
- Use a knife to cut squares and use a flexible serving spatula to remove neat portions from the serving dish.
Jane Coupland says
This is a playful take on tiramisu. I hope you enjoy it as much as my taste testers did.