Tiramisu Cheesecake

When you can’t decide between tiramisu and cheesecake for dessert, this exquisite Tiramisu Cheesecake is the best of both worlds.

Inspired by the Cheesecake Factory’s Tiramisu Cheesecake recipe, a creamy vanilla and coffee cheesecake is baked over coffee soaked ladyfingers before being topped with mascarpone whipped cream! Have I got your attention??

Tiramisu Cheesecake

We’ve got a mixed bag of palates in our household. Some are coffee lovers, whereas the hubby does not drink coffee or enjoy coffee desserts. When tiramisu is on a restaurant menu, I can almost always count on two of our children ordering it. I’m on team coffee desserts and on team cheesecake, so this melding of desserts into a tiramisu cheesecake caught my attention.

This “mash up” of two desserts gained fame when the Cheesecake Factory’s Tiramisu Cheesecake hit their menu. When one can’t decide between two favorite desserts, isn’t it perfect to find two in one??? 

What is Tiramisu?

Translated into English, the Italian word tiramisu means “pick me up” or “cheer me up” referring to the joie de vivre every bite brings. An Italian layered dessert, the components include coffee soaked ladyfingers, Italian zabaglione custard of eggs, sugar and alcohol, mascarpone cheese and cocoa powder.

Tips for Making a Tiramisu Cheesecake

There’s an art to making a cheesecake, especially if you want it super creamy.  Here are my top tips for making the best cheesecakes and how to tweak this Tiramisu cheesecake recipe so it’s just right for you.

Cheesecake Basics:

• Let’s get down to cheesecake basics. PRO-Tip: First, have all your ingredients at room temperature. This means setting out your cream cheese and eggs a couple hours before you plan to start mixing. 
• The cream cheese will blend more smoothly when the chill is off and it’s quite soft. Similarly, the eggs will incorporated best when not fresh out of the refrigerator.

• PRO-Tip: Next, use the paddle attachment for blending. If you use the whisk attachment, air will be incorporated into the cheesecake, preventing it from being the classic, dense cheesecake consistency.
• Third, add your eggs one at a time, and mix just until each is incorporated. Again, over mixing could add air to the batter.

• PRO-Tip: Bake your cheesecake in a bain marie, or water bath. The steamy environment helps minimize the possibility of the cheesecake cracking.
• Wrap your cheesecake pan with a couple layers of heavy duty foil before placing it into the ban marie (I use a roasting pan). This helps minimize any leakage of the water into the cheesecake.

How to Tweak this Tiramisu Cheesecake

If you’re like me, and have family members with varied palates (AKA very picky!), you may want to tweak the recipe a bit. I added one tablespoon of coffee to flavor the cheesecake.  Perfect for my hubby, who does not like coffee flavored anything. But for a tiramisu lover, it’s probably not enough.

• Using 1 tablespoon espresso, instead of coffee, would impart a bit more coffee flavor. But I’m thinking some espresso powder dissolved in the cream would also give that extra coffee oomph.
• There’s also the option to use a second layer of coffee soaked ladyfingers right over the baked cheesecake before adding the mascarpone topping. This adds another coffee element to this cheesecake inspired by the Cheesecake Factory’s Tiramisu Cheesecake.

Two Sweetie Pies

Thanks again to my lovely friend, Danielle, for another magnificent recipe! She is my go-to blogger for decadent treats. I promise you will love whatever you try from her blog!!! We share a recipe from each other’s sites every second Monday of the month.

Check out Danielle’s take on this recipe as well as her social media sites! Plus make sure to stop by her blog and check out which of my recipes she made this month, too.

Hugs & Cookies XOXO — Facebook — Pinterest — Twitter — Instagram

More Tiramisu and Coffee Flavored Recipes You’ll Love:

• Mocha Toffee Fudge Cupcakes from Back for Seconds
• Triple Chocolate Mocha Brownies from Wonky Wonderful
• Chocolate Tiramisu
• Classic Tiramisu
• Berry Tiramisu
• Mocha Ice Cream
• Homemade Kahlua
• Tiramisu Parfaits
• Coffee Ice Cream
• Tiramisu for Two
• Mocha Cheesecake
• More Dessert Recipes

Love this recipe? Please consider rating it in the comments below. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

Tiramisu Cheesecake

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 6 reviews

A delicious cheesecake twist with the amazing flavors of tiramisu!

• Author: Liz Berg
• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 70 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
• Yield: 10 servings 1x
• Category: Dessert, Cheesecake
• Method: Mixing, Baking
• Cuisine: American, Italian-American

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• A package of soft ladyfingers, about 12 will be used
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee

For the Cheesecake:

• 24 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1⅓ cups sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ⅔ cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder

For the Tiramisu Topping:

• 1½ cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 8 ounces Mascarpone Cheese
• Cocoa powder, to garnish

 

Instructions

Butter the inside of a 9-inch springform pan. Wrap the outside with two layers of aluminum foil. Set aside.

Lay the lady fingers in the bottom the springform pan. Cut extra ladyfingers into pieces help fill the gaps.

Use a pastry brush to brush on the coffee and coat the ladyfingers well.

Make the cheesecake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees..

Beat the cream cheese with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar and beat until combined. Scrape the bowl as needed.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing each until incorporated. Mix in the cornstarch.

Mix together the cream and the coffee or espresso powder. Add to bowl and mix until combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

Once smooth, pour the batter over the ladyfingers.

Place the cheesecake into a roasting pan and pour hot water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake 70 minutes, then cool on a wire rack to room temperature.

Tiramisu Topping:

Beat the heavy cream to soft peaks.

Add sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form.

Add mascarpone cheese and mix just until blended. Spread over cooled cheesecake with an offset spatula, reserving some to pipe on top to garnish, if desired.

Chill overnight. Dust with cocoa powder before serving, if desired.

Notes

Recipe adapted from the blog, All That Jas, via Hugs and Cookies XOXO