Tiramisu with Coffee Cream and Pavesini

Recipe by
Luisa Orizio

Tiramisu with Pavesini swaps the traditional savoiardi for lighter, smaller Pavesini biscuits and builds the filling from mascarpone and whipped cream alone—no eggs, no custard. Each portion comes together in a Martini glass, layering coffee-soaked biscuits with a smooth, intensely coffee-flavored cream that stays airy rather than dense. The single-serving format makes it a natural choice when guests show up unannounced: quick to assemble, elegant to set down, and genuinely impressive without much effort. It sits firmly in the tradition of Italian spoon desserts while leaning into a more modern, individual presentation.

Leaving the eggs out does more than simplify the process—it lets the coffee flavor come through cleanly without the richness of a yolk-based custard softening it. The mascarpone gives the cream enough body to hold its shape in the glass, while the whipped cream keeps it light. Because there is no custard to prepare and chill, the whole dessert moves fast, and the Martini glass turns each serving into something that looks considered rather than thrown together at the last minute. The Pavesini, being thinner and more delicate than savoiardi, absorb the coffee quickly and meld into the cream in a way that feels deliberately refined rather than simply substituted.

You might also like:

• Tiramisù