Italian-American holiday · dessert · easy
Spiced Gingerbread Tiramisu
Gingerbread soaked in spiced espresso under molasses-mascarpone cream — an overnight holiday showstopper.
The classic tiramisu structure gets a holiday accent: crisp gingerbread cookies dip through a spiced espresso-rum soak, and the mascarpone cream carries molasses, cinnamon, ginger, and clove. It chills overnight into something better than the sum of parts — boozy, spiced, and soft as a snowdrift, with crystallized ginger sparking on top. Zero oven time on the day. That is the holiday host's secret weapon.
Ingredients
one 9x13 dish, cut into 10 squares — tall, layered squares
Espresso Soak
Molasses Mascarpone Cream
Assembly
Instructions
- 1
prep
Brew the espresso, stir in the molasses, ginger, rum, and cinnamon, and cool completely to room temperature.
Doneness cue: Room temperature or cooler — warm soak melts the cream layer on contact.
- 2
prep
Beat the room-temperature mascarpone with the powdered sugar, molasses, spice blend, vanilla, and salt until smooth, then stream in the cold cream and whip to soft, billowy peaks.
Doneness cue: Cream holds a soft curl on the whisk and tastes like gingerbread ice cream — stop before stiff peaks.
- 3
assemble
Dip each gingerbread cookie in the soak for 1 second per side — one, one-thousand — and shingle a single layer across the bottom of the 9x13 dish.
Doneness cue: Cookies are saturated but still hold their shape; a 3-second dip is mush.
- 4
assemble
Spread one-third of the cream over the cookie layer, then repeat: soaked cookies, cream — ending with a thick final cap of cream. You should get three cookie layers and three cream layers.
Doneness cue: Top cream layer is smooth and domed slightly above the rim.
- 5
finish
Cover tight and refrigerate 8–12 hours, ideally overnight.
Doneness cue: Next day the cream is set like a pillow and a knife cuts clean — that is the ready signal.
- 6
serving
Just before serving, dust the top with cocoa and cinnamon through a fine sieve and scatter crystallized ginger.
Doneness cue: Dust LAST — cocoa in the fridge overnight blooms weird white spots.
- 7
serving
Cut with a hot, wiped knife into 10 squares and serve cold, straight from the dish.
Doneness cue: Clean walls on each slice: hot knife, one wipe, one cut.
Pairings
Drink · Espresso, an amaro, or a glass of aged tawny port
Side · A small square is dessert enough after the prime rib — trust it
Per serving (est.)
calories 435 · proteing 5 · carbsg 38 · fatg 30
Approximate per square — mascarpone and cream carry it; the espresso keeps the sweetness honest.
Shop the Kitchen
Everything used in this recipe · Amazon Associate links
Hand mixer or stand mixer
essentialMascarpone cream must be whipped to soft peaks; by hand is 15 minutes of forearm and patchy results.
9x13 glass baking dish
essentialDeep enough for three layers, and glass shows off the strata through the side.
Fine-mesh sieve
essentialEven cocoa-cinnamon dusting with zero clumps — clumped cocoa is instant sad tiramisu.
Offset spatula
nice-to-haveSpreads mascarpone without dragging up the cookie layer beneath.
Espresso maker or moka pot
nice-to-haveReal espresso (not drip) gives the soak its intensity — and it is an excuse to keep drinking it.
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