This dirty chai tiramisu is a twist on a traditional tiramisu. Chai spices mingle with the bold flavors of espresso-soaked ladyfingers, all layered between lusciously light layers of creamy mascarpone. It’s the perfect fall dessert, but honestly, you may find yourself making this one all year round.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m slightly obsessed with my espresso machine. (I’ve been known to drink as many as 3 lattes in a day.)
Unsurprisingly, I also like tiramisu. I mean, it’s pretty hard to beat a classic tiramisu, with its layers of creamy mascarpone filling, coffee-dipped ladyfingers, and cocoa topping. But, I have to say, adding chai to the mix kind of puts the whole thing over the top.
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Here’s Why You’ll Love This One:
- This dessert is so easy to put together. It really is. If you can whip egg whites, you can make this recipe.
- But it also impresses. ‘Tiramisu’ sounds sophisticated and fancy, and people will likely be surprised you’ve made it yourself.
- Soaking ladyfingers in a chai tea espresso mixture gives this classic Italian tiramisu recipe a gourmet flair without veering too far away from the original recipe if you happen to be a tiramisu purist.
- You can make it ahead of time for easy entertaining. In fact, I think tiramisu is even better the day after you make it.
- No oven required for the perfect late summer and early fall dessert. (Of course, it’s just as good in December as it is in August.)
Chai Latte vs. Dirty Chai
A chai tea latte is an Indian drink made with black tea, milk, and spices like cinnamon, clove, cardamom, ginger, black pepper, star anise, and nutmeg. Its lesser known relative, the dirty chai latte, caters to a more Western audience with the addition of a shot of espresso.
What You’ll Need to Make Dirty Chai Tiramisu
- Italian Savoiardi aka, ladyfingers (or is it lady fingers as two words?), can be found in most grocery stores, but can often be tucked away on the top or bottom shelves. You’ll need 24-26 cookies, which is approximately 2 sleeves. I bought this one online and had enough for two tiramisu.
- Mascarpone cheese is a must in an authentic Italian tiramisu, and adds richness and body to the filling.
- Chai concentrate includes black tea, lots of spices and sweetener. You can buy this in most supermarkets or online.
- Espresso, although, alternatively, you can use freshly brewed coffee or instant espresso or coffee.
- Chai spices to dust the tiramisu instead of cocoa powder. We’re talking cinnamon, ground ginger, cardamom and ground cloves.
- Granulated sugar sweetens the creamy mascarpone filling.
- Large, pasteurized, room temperature eggs, separated. Egg whites will make this filling extra light while the egg yolks add richness. This recipe calls for raw eggs, but using pasteurized eggs eliminates the risk of spreading salmonella.
- Pure vanilla extract
Tiramisu Tips & Tricks
- If you want to remove your tiramisu from the dish you use to make it to serve, be sure to line it with plastic wrap, giving it an extra long edge so you can easily grip it to lift it out. You may also want to pop it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes prior to removing it so that the mousse hardens slightly.
- Chill your dirty chai latte tiramisu in the fridge for at least 6 hours to ensure the cake has time to set. (You can serve this before; It’ll still be delicious but the slices might look a bit messy. You can actually see I didn’t wait when I took my blog pictures. Shh…)
- Cover your tiramisu in the fridge to keep unwanted fridge flavors from getting in the way of all those lovely chai spices.
- If you don’t have an espresso machine, you can use a strong, freshly brewed coffee or even instant espresso or instant coffee.
- If you have trouble finding ladyfingers, you can buy them on Amazon (that’s what I had to do after I had zero luck in three different stores) or substitute with stale pound cake, sponge cake or even homemade ladyfingers.
- You can make this tiramisu up to 2 days in advance.
How to Make Dirty Chai Tiramisu: Step-By-Step Instructions
- Brew 1 cup of espresso or other strong coffee and let cool. Separate the egg whites and the egg yolks, discarding one of the egg whites in the process.
- Meanwhile using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, start to whisk the egg whites in a medium mixing bowl, making sure the beaters are clean. Once they are white and frothy, add the sugar. Keep whisking until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. (Note: You should be able to tip the bowl upside down without anything falling out.)
- Then in a separate, large mixing bowl, use the hand mixer to beat the egg yolks with the sugar until they turn pale yellow. Then, whisk in the mascarpone cheese, adding the vanilla extract at the end.
- To the mascarpone cream, gently fold in the egg whites ⅓ at a time.
- Mix the espresso and the chai.
- Dip ladyfingers into the coffee mixture one by one, turning to coat each side and working quickly so they don’t disintegrate before you can lay them in your baking dish. A good rule of thumb is to count to 3 for each side.
- Lay ladyfingers in a glass or ceramic baking dish one by one. Spread mascarpone mixture over the top of the first layer of ladyfingers. Repeat this process with the remaining ladyfingers and dirty chai mixture until you run out of mascarpone. In my 9 inch quiche pan, I was able to get 2 layers each.
- Combine the topping spices in a small bowl and then either sprinkle over the top of the tiramisu or use a fine-meshed sieve to dust the top.
- Chill for 6 hours or overnight, covering with aluminum.
If you’re looking for more great dessert inspiration, check out this Apple Yogurt Cake with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Crunch. It’s an addictive cake and tastes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Otherwise, buon appetito!
📖 Recipe
Dirty Chai Tiramisu
This dirty chai tiramisu is a twist on traditional, Italian tiramisu. Chai spices mingle with the bold flavors of espresso-soaked ladyfingers, all layered between lusciously light layers of creamy mascarpone.
Ingredients
For the Mascarpone Mixture
- 2 packages mascarpone 500 g
- 6 tablespoons sugar divided in half (3 tablespoons for egg whites and 3 for the egg yolks)
- 3 egg whites room temperature
- 4 egg yolks room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons chai concentrate
For the Dirty Chai-Soaked Ladyfingers
- 2 packages ladyfingers 24-26 ladyfingers
- 1 cup espresso
- 1 cup chai concentrate
For the Chai Spice Topping
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- Pinch of ground cloves
Instructions
- Brew 1 cup of espresso or other strong coffee and let cool. Minewhile, using two different bowls, separate the egg whites into a clean medium mixing bowl and the egg yolks into a large mixing bowl, discarding one of the egg whites in the process.
- Using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, start to whisk the egg whites, making sure the beaters are clean. Once they are white and frothy, add the sugar. Keep whisking until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. (Note: You should be able to tip the bowl upside down without anything falling out.)
- Then in the large mixing bowl, use the hand mixer to beat the egg yolks with the sugar until they turn pale yellow. Then, whisk in the mascarpone cheese, adding the vanilla extract at the end.
- To the mascarpone cream, gently fold in the egg whites ⅓ at a time.
- Mix the espresso and the chai in a bowl you can use to dip the ladyfingers in.
- Dip ladyfingers into the coffee mixture one by one, turning to coat each side and working quickly so they don’t disintegrate before you can lay them in your baking dish. A good rule of thumb is to count to 3 for each side.
- Lay ladyfingers in a glass or ceramic baking dish one by one. Spread mascarpone mixture over the top of the first layer of ladyfingers. Repeat this process with the remaining ladyfingers and dirty chai mixture until you run out of mascarpone. In my 9 inch quiche pan, I was able to get 2 layers each.
- Combine the topping spices in a small bowl and then either sprinkle over the top of the tiramisu or use a fine-meshed sieve to dust the top.
- Chill for 6 hours or overnight, covering with aluminum.
Notes
Notes:
If you are making the tiramisu for entertaining and you want the piping/spice topping to remain in tact, layer the tiramisu as you normally would, but leave the final mascarpone layer until you are ready to serve, storing the mascarpone filling for this layer in an airtight container until ready to use.
Make sure anything that touches the egg whites is clean and dry. A drop of water or egg yolk can keep the egg whites from forming stiff peaks.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
