Creamy Vegan Banana Pudding Tiramisù
The best of banana pudding and tiramisu combined, this unbelievably rich and creamy vegan banana pudding tiramisu is layered with homemade espresso-soaked ladyfingers, a from scratch creamy vanilla “mascarpone” pudding, fresh banana, and homemade vegan whipped cream. Then we finish with a dusting of cocoa powder, vanilla wafers, and more bananas! It’s the ultimate chilled summer treat!
Tell me about this banana pudding tiramisu:
This might be my top 5 favorite creations for The Banana Diaries (next to my vegan vanilla cake and vegan chocolate chip cookies!). I’m serious. This banana pudding tiramisu is a whole new level of deliciousness.
It’s like the best vegan banana pudding and the best vegan tiramisu had a baby, and it’s this deliciously chilled and refreshing yet decadent dessert. And for my next cookbook, I’m betting on this being the cover.
We’re taking the best of tiramisu: the espresso soaked deliciously vanilla ladyfingers and sweet and creamy mascarpone cream. Then we’re combining the best of banana pudding: fresh bananas, from-scratch vanilla pudding, and whipped cream.
And we’re putting it all together. The result? Notes of espresso with cocoa married with fresh banana, creamy and buttery vanilla, and all in a chilled and wonderfully spoonable layered dessert lasagna.
And if you’re tiramisu obsessed like I am, then check out my strawberry tiramisu and tiramisu cheesecake!
Basically heaven on a plate. And we couldn’t stop at one bite, so I know you won’t be able to either! If you’re a banana lover and are down for a twist on the classic Italian dessert, then this recipe is for you!
P.S. you should also check out my banana pudding sheet cake!! Just as easy, and for cake lovers!
The four components of this tiramisu:
Let me break down this vegan banana pudding tiramisu for you. We have four main components:
- Vegan ladyfingers: These are entirely homemade, and they’re so easy. You don’t even need a mold to get that beautiful savoiardi shape! If you need gluten free, you can definitely swap in gluten free flour, as long as it’s truly 1-to-1. I recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure.
- From scratch vegan vanilla “mascarpone” pudding: This is a combination of dairy free milk, dairy free yogurt (for the tang), sugar, cornstarch, vegan butter, and vanilla extract. Making homemade pudding is honestly just as easy as buying a pudding mix, so you might as well make it from scratch!
- Banana: You don’t need super ripe bananas, like in banana bread, here.
- Whipped cream: This is also made from scratch- just heavy vegan cream (I love Califa or Plant Crock), a touch of sugar, and a little cornstarch. Not dissimilar from a classic whipped cream recipe. I also dust the banana pudding tiramisu with a bit of cocoa powder (like regular tiramisu), and sprinkle with more bananas and crushed vegan vanilla wafers.
Making the homemade vegan ladyfingers:
This is probably the most intimidating component of the banana pudding tiramisu. Most tiramisu recipes, you can use store bought, but store bought ladyfingers are not vegan. They contain eggs, unfortunately.
So we’re making our own ladyfingers, which I based off of my great grandpa’s recipe (and made it dairy free and vegan 😉 ).
It’s really a simple process, I promise! You’ll start by whisking together the dry ingredients. Then set that aside and move onto the wet.
If you’ve made a meringue before, then it’s very similar. Whip the aquafaba (chickpea brine) together with the cream of tartar, and add in the sugar slowly. Then incorporate the remaining wet ingredients. Sift in the dry in increments, and fold just until mixed.
Then we pipe the batter onto a baking sheet, dust with powdered sugar, and bake for just 12 minutes!
Overview: How to make banana pudding tiramisu:
Tips for success:
My biggest tip is to make the ladyfingers the day before. This is because making them the day before allows the ladyfingers to slightly dry out. That means they’ll soak up more espresso!
Some more tips:
- Take it in stages: Tiramisu in general can be a bit overwhelming in that you’re assembling a lot of components. I like to really read through both the ingredients list and the instructions before I begin to make a recipe. That preps the brain for what’s to come, so you’ll be less likely to frazzled in the making of this!
- Use store bought vegan whipped cream if it makes it easier! There’s no shame in using some store bought components. I love So Delicious! vegan frozen whipped cream if you want to use store bought.
- Don’t top the second layer of bananas until you’re ready to top with whipped cream: I mention this above, but I want to reiterate it again. Because we’re chilling the banana pudding tiramisu for a few hours in the fridge, we want to avoid the bananas browning due to oxidization. You’ll only be assembling one banana layer during the assembly portion. Then when you top, you’ll add on the second layer, plus more bananas for garnish!
- The vanilla wafers are optional: Of course, banana pudding calls for vanilla wafers, which you can either make or purchase vegan. However, you might have some leftover ladyfingers, which would also be great to crumble on top too!
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Creamy Vegan Banana Pudding Tiramisù
- Prep Time: 20
- Chilling Time: 240
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 4 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The best of banana pudding and tiramisu combined, this unbelievably rich and creamy vegan banana pudding tiramisu is layered with homemade espresso-soaked ladyfingers, a from scratch creamy vanilla “mascarpone” pudding, fresh banana, and homemade vegan whipped cream. Then we finish with a dusting of cocoa powder, vanilla wafers, and more bananas! It’s the ultimate chilled summer treat!
Ingredients
Vegan Vanilla “Mascarpone” Pudding:
- 3 cups (720 mL) unsweetened vanilla soy milk or almond milk
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) unsweetened dairy free yogurt
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp (100 g) cornstarch or arrowroot starch
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup (78 g) vegan butter, cold
- 2 cups (250 grams) all purpose flour or sifted gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour (if doing gluten-free, add in 1 tsp arrowroot powder)
- 2 tbsp (20 g) cornstarch or arrowroot starch
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) aquafaba*
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) dairy free yogurt or unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
- 2 tbsp melted vegan butter or avocado oil, room temperature
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 cup (30 g) powdered sugar
Vegan Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup (240 mL) vegan heavy cream, cold
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
Toppings & Assembly:
- 3–4 large bananas
- 1 cup brewed espresso (decaf if desired)
- Crushed vegan vanilla wafers (see notes for gluten free)
- Cocoa powder
- Sliced banana
Instructions
- Prep: You’ll first start by making the vegan ladyfingers, then move onto the pudding, followed by the assembly of the banana tiramisu, and toppings. Measure out all ingredients for the ladyfingers. Preheat the oven to 390F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Make the ladyfinger batter: Follow the instructions for making and baking the vegan ladyfingers in this post.
- Next, make the vanilla mascarpone pudding: In a large pot (and without turning on the heat), add in the dairy free milk, dairy free yogurt, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract, vanilla paste, and sea salt. Whisk together until the cornstarch has completely dissolved and there are no more clumps. If it’s easiest, you can first mix the cornstarch with 1 cup of the dairy free milk to create a cornstarch “slurry,” then pour that into the pudding ingredients.
- Heat: Bring the vanilla pudding to a bowl, stirring constantly on medium heat. Once it’s bubbling, reduce to medium low, and continue stirring until it feels a bit effortful to stir. The pudding will have thickened up (about 5-7 minutes after heating). Once thickened, remove the pudding from the heat, and add in the vegan butter cold. Stir until the butter has melted. Pour the pudding into a large bowl and set aside.
- Assembly: Now it’s time to assemble our vegan banana pudding tiramisu! Start by gathering an 8×8 square baking dish, your ladyfingers, the vanilla pudding, brewed espresso, and 2 large bananas at first. Take one ladyfingers and dip it into the espresso with a fork. Turn it over to completely soak then remove it from the espresso and place it onto the bottom of the baking pan. Repeat with the other ladyfingers (I used 10 per ladyfinger layer), laying them in a row across the pan (see photos). Then pour on top half of the vanilla pudding mixture. Use an offset spatula to smooth the pudding. Then slice 1 banana banana, and place the banana coins on top. You might need more than 1 large banana for this layer.
- Repeat & Chill: Repeat this layering process once more with the ladyfingers and vanilla pudding, but don’t lay the banana coins on top just yet. This is because we don’t want the bananas to brown due to oxidization. Instead, once you’ve finished the pudding layer, place a piece of plastic wrap over the dish and wrap it tightly. Place the dish into the fridge to set for 4-5 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to serve: Right before serving, you’ll make the whipped cream. Place the mixing bowl of a stand mixer or just a large bowl into the freezer 10 minutes before making the whipped cream, and make sure the heavy cream is cold. Then using a whisk attachment for the stand mixer or a hand mixer, add in the heavy cream and begin to mix on medium speed. After about 2 minutes, add in the sugar, along with the cornstarch (to help hold its shape). Increase the speed to high and continue to mix for 3-5 minutes, or until you reach semi-stiff peaks, being careful not to over mix the vegan whipped cream.
- Top & serve: Once the whipped cream is made, remove the banana pudding tiramisu from the fridge, and remove the plastic wrap. Slice the remaining banana and place the coins on top of the vanilla pudding layer. Then top with the whipped cream, followed by a dusting of cocoa powder, crushed vegan vanilla wafers, and more sliced banana. Slice and serve!
- Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
Aquafaba: This is the liquid in your chickpea can or jar. It acts just like an egg white and is an amazing egg substitute in baking!
Vegan gluten free vanilla wafers: You can use my recipe for gluten free vegan vanilla wafers in my salted caramel vegan banana pudding recipe.
the ladyfinger recipe is absolutely delicious! i’m giving 5-stars despite the marscapone not turning out exactly as i wanted, i believe it’s a mistake on my part for heating it too long. i’ll attempt this again sometime & cook it for less time as it thickened immensely. was yummy nonetheless!!
made just the marscapone & ladyfingers. for ladyfingers i used yogurt & cornstarch, & cornstarch in marscapone. i used another recipe for vegan wafer cookies as topping along with bananas of course 🙂