Pumpkin Tiramisu

Today I will show you how to make this Pumpkin Tiramisu two ways: one way as a trifle in a dish, and as a cake on a plate! On the video, you will see the assembly of the cake. And on the blog post and the picture tutorial, you will see how I assembled the Pumpkin Tiramisu trifle.

Pick which one you like best, the trifle style, or the cake style! Both are delicious and equally easy to make!

Layers of: coffee + kahlua soaked ladyfingers, Pumpkin Mascarpone cream, and whipped cream. All of these layers get piled up, finished with a dusting of cocoa powder and pumpkin spice!

So let’s begin!

Tiramisu is music to the ears of those who love both coffee and dessert.

And right now it’s fall, aka my favorite season. And there’s pumpkin everywhere, so only natural I put it in anything I bake.

Tiramisu is one of those desserts you make for your guests, or for a holiday party. It’s celebratory, meant to bring people together in JOY!

How to make Pumpkin Tiramisu

Let’s start with the ladyfinger cookies.

I make my ladyfingers from scratch, and you can find the recipe here: Homemade Ladyfingers (video included). However, you can use store-bought and it will be just as delicious!

I have also made my own Pumpkin Spice, but you can use store-bought pumpkin spice, it will work just the same!

You will need: ginger, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. And by making your own you get to control the amount of each spice you add, in case someone in your family has some sort of aversion to cloves (ahem, my husband).

In the following pictures I will show you how to make this Pumpkin Tiramisu trifle style, served in a glass dish. Make sure to watch the video to see how to make this Pumpkin Tiramisu as a cake, decorated with ladyfingers around it, on a cake plate, which also makes for a very nice presentation for a holiday gathering!

Either if you decide to make this as a trifle or as a cake, it doesn’t matter because the recipe is exactly the same, and only the assembly will be different.

Step 1: Make the Pumpkin Custard

Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a bowl for a couple of minutes until lightened in color and doubled in volume.

Set this aside.

Place milk, some of the pumpkin spice, and pumpkin puree in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Turn the heat off.

Slowly add the hot pumpkin/milk mixture to the egg/sugar mixture. Add one spoonful, whisk until incorporated, then add another spoonful. Do this until the whole mixture is incorporated.

The reason why you do this slowly, is not to cook the egg yolks. This is called tempering.

Now, return this mixture to the saucepan, to cook the custard until thickened.

Cook, stirring non-stop, for a few minutes, until it becomes thick. Then, transfer it to a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it until completely cool.

There! Your pumpkin custard is ready! You can use this for many other desserts, to fill cream puffs, cakes, cupcakes, etc!

Step 2: Make the Pumpkin Mascarpone cream

Once the Pumpkin Custard has completely cooled down, remove it from the fridge. Whisk it with the mascarpone cheese. Set it aside. This is going to be one of the layers of your Pumpkin Tiramisu.

Step 3: Make the Whipped Cream

Sounds easy, and it is. Simply whip the cream with sugar. This will be another layer of your Pumpkin Tiramisu. You are almost ready to start assembling!

Step 4: Assembling the Pumpkin Tiramisu

When assembling the trifle, we will start with one layer of Ladyfingers dipped in coffee + Kahlua mixture.

To assemble the Pumpkin tiramisu in a glass dish:

• First layer: coffee dipped ladyfingers
• Second layer: half of the Pumpkin Mascarpone mixture
• Third layer: one third of the whipped cream
• Fourth layer: coffee dipped ladyfingers
• Fifth layer: remaining half of the Pumpkin Mascarpone
• Sixth layer: one third of the whipped cream
• Seventh layer: coffee dipped ladyfingers

To finish:

Spread the remaining 1/3 of whipped cream on top of ladyfingers for the final layer. Place it in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

Only sprinkle the cocoa powder on top right before serving!

And this is what it is going to look like. It looks like a beautiful and delicious dessert, perfect Tiramisu for the holidays!

When making the Cake style Pumpkin Tiramisu, you can line the bottom of a springform pan with plastic wrap, and your layers will start with:

• First layer: 1 cup of Pumpkin Mascarpone
• Second layer: Layer of coffee dipped ladyfingers
• Third layer: Half of the Pumpkin Mascarpone
• Fourth layer: Half of the whipped cream
• Fifth layer: Layer of coffee dipped ladyfingers
• Sixth layer: Remaining half of the Pumpkin Mascarpone
• Seventh layer: Remaining half of the whipped cream
• Eighth layer: Final layer of coffee dipped ladyfingers

Make sure you watch the video on this page to see exactly how I made the Pumpkin Tiramisu.

Tips on how to make Pumpkin Tiramisu

• Only soak the ladyfingers right before you add them to the assembly of the tiramisu, or they might get too soggy and hard to manage. And also make sure to quickly soak them, instead of letting them sit in the coffee mixture.
• You can also place the coffee and Kahlua mixture in a spray bottle and spray the ladyfingers instead of soaking them.
• Make sure to let the Tiramisu sit in the fridge for 24-48 hours before serving, the taste will be SO much better!
• Only sprinkle the cocoa powder right before serving it.
• If you make the homemade ladyfingers for the tiramisu recipe, make sure to bake them a couple minutes longer until they are a bit browned, and leave them sitting in the counter uncovered, overnight, so they will have the perfect consistency for soaking.

Here are some other pumpkin desserts you may like to check out: Pumpkin Creme Brûlée, Pumpkin Cheesecake Macarons, Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes, Pumpkin Cupcakes, or Pumpkin Macarons.

The picture below is from the first time I posted this 2 years ago! I figured I’d leave this one here, to compare the progress in both the dessert and also the photography!🎃

Thanks for reading my blog! Hope you enjoy the video and the tutorial on how to make Pumpkin Tiramisu! Have a lovely day! Let me know if you make my recipes, and tag me on instagram, as I love to see your creations, answer questions, and connect with this awesome community of lovely bakers!

Pumpkin Tiramisu

Camila Hurst

This Pumpkin Tiramisu is a heavenly dessert, sure to impress your family and friends.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2 hours hrs

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10 servings

Calories 350 kcal

Ingredients

  

Tiramisu

• 6 egg yolks
• 3/4 cups white sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin pure
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• 1 lb. mascarpone cheese
• 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 5 tablespoons powdered sugar sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup strong coffee brewed and brought to room temperature
• 4 tablespoons Kahlua
• 2 recipe for homemade ladyfingers* or 6 oz store-bought lady finger cookies

For the topping: 1 tablespoon cocoa powder + 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice

Pumpkin spice blend

• This recipe makes 1 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin spice blend you’ll use 1 1/4 teaspoon of it for the mascarpone pumpkin filling and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon for the topping
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon powdered
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground clove
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice or two crushed allspice berries

Instructions

 

Make the Pumpkin Custard

• Whisk egg yolks and 3/4 cup white sugar in a bowl for a couple of minutes, until lightened in color and doubled in volume. Set aside.
• Mix milk, pumpkin puree and 1 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin spice in a small saucepan and bring it to the stove, over medium heat, stir occasionally as you let the mixture come to a boil.
• As soon as you see the first bubbles emerging, remove from the heat.
• Add about 1/3 of the hot milk/pumpkin mixture to the egg/sugar mixture while whisking non-stop. Once that's incorporated, add a bit more of the hot mixture while whisking. Do this until the whole milk/pumpkin mixture is incorporated with the eggs. This is called tempering, and we add the hot liquid slowly to the yolks so they don't get cooked.
• Pour this mixture back into saucepan and stir, over medium heat until it boils and thickens.
• Don’t stop stirring, mixture will look lumpy but then smooth out and get thick. It should take a few minutes to achieve a thick and smooth custard.
• Turn the heat off, transfer pumpkin custard to a bowl and cover the surface with some plastic wrap. You must do this so when the custard cools, it won’t form a skin on top.
• Put custard in the fridge until it cools all the way, about 2 hours.

Make Pumpkin Mascarpone cream

• Whisk mascarpone cheese and cooled pumpkin custard together. Set aside

Make the Whipped Cream

• Whip heavy cream and 5 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla in your mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. I like to whip my cream on high for about 3 minutes. Keep an eye on it not to over whip. Once you see stiff peaks, stop beating.

To assemble a trifle style Pumpkin Tiramisu

• I used a 8×8" tall glass dish.
• Mix coffee and Kahlua in a shallow bowl. Keep it nearby to dip the ladyfinger cookies before placing them in the tiramisu.
• First layer: cover the bottom of the dish with a layer of ladyfingers dipped in the coffee+Kahlua.
• Second layer: half of the Pumpkin Mascarpone cream.
• Third layer: one third of the whipped cream.
• Fourth layer: coffee dipped ladyfingers
• Fifth layer: remaining half of the Pumpkin Mascarpone
• Sixth layer: one third of the whipped cream
• Seventh layer: coffee dipped ladyfingers
• Eighth layer: remaining third of the whipped cream
• Place Tiramisu in the fridge for at least 24 hours, or more. Before serving, mix cocoa powder and 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin spice, and sprinkle it all over the top of the Tiramisu using a sifter.

To assemble a cake style Pumpkin Tiramisu

• I used a 9" springform pan.
• Prepare your pan by lining the bottom and sides with plastic wrap. I used 2 pieces and lined them crosswise.
• First layer: 1 cup of the Pumpkin Mascarpone cream. Spread it to the ends as best as you can.
• Second layer: coffee dipped ladyfingers
• Third layer: Half of the remaining Pumpkin Mascarpone cream (after you've removed 1 cup of it for the bottom of the pan)
• Fourth layer: Half of the whipped cream
• Fifth layer: coffee dipped ladyfingers
• Sixth layer: remaining Pumpkin Mascarpone cream
• Seventh layer: coffee dipped ladyfingers
• Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Make sure you do refrigerate it overnight! The tiramisu will taste better on the second and third day, as the flavors have had time to blend together.
• To assemble: simply turn the pan over on a cake platter, open the sides of the springform pan and remove plastic from the top. You can also decorate the sides with ladyfinger cookies.
• Right before serving, mix 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder with 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin spice, use a sieve or a sifter to sprinkle it on top of the tiramisu.

Storage

• Tiramisu will store nicely in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Notes

*My recipe for homemade Ladyfingers and the video can be found here.

*Tips to dip the ladyfingers: Dunk each ladyfinger cookie in the coffee mixture, one by one and do this quickly or the cookies will be too soggy, specially if you are using homemade. Another alternative is to put the coffee+kahlua in a spray bottle and simply spray the cookies one by one before placing them in the tiramisu.

***Make sure to only dip each ladyfinger in the coffee mixture right before you place it on the tiramisu.

 

Keyword pumpkin, thanksgiving, tiramisu

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