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These delightful pancakes are dipped in espresso and layered with a creamy and slightly tangy vanilla cream! Dusted with cacao powder for a tiramisu-inspired treat! Vegan, 9 ingredients, and with a gluten-free option!
Any tiramisu lover out there?! We put the main flavors of tiramisu into a pancake form! The definition of dessert for breakfast finally comes true with these decadent pancakes!
📘 What Is Tiramisu
Tiramisù is a classic Italian dessert that consists of ladyfingers dipped in coffee and layered with mascarpone cream. It is then sprinkled with cacao powder and served chilled. The origin of Tiramisu is still unclear, but it is said to have appeared around 1960.
🥣 How to Make It
This recipe is pretty straightforward and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare, assuming you have made the vegan pastry cream ahead of time. If not, check out the recipe notes to see how to substitute the pastry cream.
Here is what you will need:
- All-purpose flour – To keep it simple, I went with all-purpose flour. You can use a 1:1 gluten-free flour mix if you want to make gluten-free pancakes.
- Plant-based milk – Almond milk, soy milk, cashew milk, or even oat milk. Use the unsweetened kind.
- Baking powder – To help the pancakes rise and give them a fluffy texture.
- Sugar – We are using sugar in the pancake batter as well as the espresso dip. You can use coconut sugar, maple syrup, brown sugar, or your favorite sweetener.
- Vanilla extract – For flavor and extra sweetness.
- Vanilla pastry cream – While regular tiramisu makes use of mascarpone for the cream, we will be using homemade vegan pastry cream here.
- Coconut yogurt – Optional. It brings a subtle tanginess to the cream.
- Espresso – We will use espresso to dip the pancakes and infuse them with a delicate coffee flavor.
- Cacao powder – For sprinkling on top of the pancakes, use unsweetened cacao powder.
First, start by preparing the pancake batter. Whisk together all of the ingredients until smooth. Note: depending on the brand and type of flour used, you might have to adjust a little bit the ratio of liquid to flour. The batter should be thick but not too runny.
Next, cook the pancakes in a non-stick skillet until golden brown. You should end up with about 8 pancakes to make 2 stacks.
In the meantime, prepare the espresso dip by mixing cold espresso with sugar and optionally khalua. If you don’t have khalua, you can use amaretto or simply omit it.
For the vanilla cream, stir together vegan pastry cream with a couple of tablespoons of plant-based yogurt. I personally used coconut yogurt to keep the cream thick and creamy.
To assemble:
- Quickly dip a pancake into the espresso. You want to dip the pancakes on each face for just 2-3 seconds as they absorb the liquid very quickly. Transfer to a plate.
- Spread 2-3 tablespoons of the vanilla cream on top of the pancake. I used a spoon, but you can use a piping bag as well.
- Repeat 3 times or until you have used up all of the pancakes.
- Finish with a layer of cream on top of the last pancake.
- Sprinkle with cacao powder, and enjoy!
You can then serve the pancakes right away or chill them in the refrigerator for about 1 hour!
💬 FAQ
Yes, simply replace the all-purpose flour with your favorite 1:1 gluten-free flour mix.
You can simply use a thick coconut yogurt sweetened to taste and combined with a drizzle of vanilla extract!
You can prepare the pancakes a few hours before serving, but these must be served the same day.
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Vegan Tiramisu Pancakes
Ingredients
Vanilla Cream
- 1 cup vegan pastry cream see notes
- 1/4 cup thick vegan yogurt (optional, for a tangy flavor)
Pancakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (Feel free to use 1:1 gluten-free mix for a gluten-free version)
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp white vinegar
Espresso Dip
- 1/2 cup brewed espresso cold
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp khalua optional
For topping
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
Vanilla Cream
- In a small bowl, combine the vegan pastry cream and the yogurt until smooth. Set aside.
Pancakes
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Pour in the wet ingredients. Next, pour in the plant-based milk, yogurt, melted butter, vanilla extract, and vinegar.
- Whisk. Whisk until combined, with almost no clumps remaining. Do not overmix, though, or your pancakes will be gummy.
- Let it sit. Allow the batter to rest for 5-10 minutes while you preheat the skillet.
- Heat a non-stick skillet. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add a teaspoon of oil and use a kitchen paper towel to very lightly grease the skillet.
- Pour the batter. Pour about 3 tablespoons of the batter into the skillet and spread it slightly into a round shape, approximately 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. Repeat 2-3 times, depending on the size of your skillet.
- Cook until golden brown. Cook the pancakes for 2-3 minutes, or until holes form on the surface and the bottoms are golden brown.
- Flip. Use a spatula to carefully flip the pancakes. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side, or until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter.
- Allow to cool. Allow the pancakes to cool for at least 15 minutes.
To Assemble
- Make the dip. Add the brewed espresso, sugar, and khalua (if using) to a deep plate. Stir to combine. Dip one of the pancakes into the espresso for 1-2 seconds on each side.
- Assemble. Arrange the pancake on a plate. Then, spread 2-3 tablespoons of the vanilla cream on top. Repeat these steps three times, or until you have a stack of four pancakes layered with the cream. Finish with a layer of vanilla cream.You should be able to make two stacks of 4 pancakes.
- Dust with cocoa powder. Use a fine sieve to dust the pancakes with unsweetened cacao powder. Serve immediately!
Notes
- If you don’t have time to make the pastry cream: simply replace it with thick coconut yogurt or vegan Greek yogurt. Mix it with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar (adjust to taste) and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
Leave a Comment
I followed this recipe exactly. I made the batter for one batch, saw how empty the bowl looked and made another batch (exact recipe again). Even with two batches, this yielded 4 tiny, gummy pancakes. The pastry cream is tasty, but the metric conversion for the corn starch is off because it over set and I had to add more milk and reheat it to get the proper consistency. Not worth the fuss.
An amazing breakfast. I’ll try it for my family this weekend. Thank you.
I had confusing, but good results with this recipe. I doubled all the quantities and it seemed to make very little batter, which was also very dry, so i added almost the full additional quantity of milk . I used soy. After that, the pancakes were very good, fluffiest ive managed to get vegan pancakes to be without some kind of egg replacement. Made another double batch, but still only got about 7 pancakes total out of 4x the recipe. Maybe partly because the batter was so thick but i dont think that explains such a large difference? I made them a similar size as the ones in the recipe picture appear to be, but not as flat because of how thick the batter was, it didnt spread much. I reread the quantities a few times to make sure i didnt miss something so im at a loss. But despite that, the result was very good and id make these again with the same changes. The pastry cream was lovely.
Sorry to hear you had trouble with this recipe!
I’ll make sure to re-test it soon. Depending on the brand of flour used, it can need more or less liquid. Glad you still liked the pastry cream 🙂
Please do surprise me again next time! That was truly splendid!!! I can’t think of any better words than that.
My little boy really loved it. The sweetness was perfect for us. Thanks for the recipe, Thomas!
Glad you and your little boy loved it! Thanks for your rating Christine 🙂
Looks gorgeous!
Bet it tastes so too.
Most folks don’t have kahlua on shelf but every kitchen needs good brandy; a decent substitute.
Thanks Pat! 🙂