Pumpkin Tiramisu

This festive pumpkin tiramisu is a no-bake fall dessert made with espresso-soaked ladyfingers, a silky spiced pumpkin pastry cream, and a light mascarpone cream, finished with a dusting of pumpkin spice. Every slice shows two beautiful layers: one pumpkin orange, one creamy white. It is perfect for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or any fall dinner party.

Best Pumpkin Tiramisu Recipe

This is not the usual pumpkin tiramisu. Instead of stirring pumpkin puree into the mascarpone, I cook it into a spiced pumpkin pastry cream. It is essentially a pumpkin pudding, and it becomes its own layer between the lady fingers.

The result is a tiramisu with two distinct layers you can see as you cut: a deep orange pumpkin custard and a white mascarpone cream on top. Every bite tastes like pumpkin pie, a pumpkin spice latte, and tiramisu all at once, and it is super delicious.

It is a no-bake recipe with no raw eggs. The egg yolks are fully cooked in the pastry cream, so it is safe to serve to everyone at the holiday table.

The pumpkin layer is a variation of my popular pastry cream, made with pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice.

Start with the Pumpkin Pastry Cream

Make the pumpkin pastry cream first, as it needs to cool slightly before you assemble the tiramisu, for about 30 minutes. Don't wait until it has fully set and cooled.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together with a hand whisk for one to two minutes until slightly thickened and pale. Sift in the cornstarch and flour, and whisk until you have a completely smooth paste with no lumps.

Meanwhile, heat the milk, cream, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin spice in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking, until it simmers.

Remove the pot from the heat and slowly pour it into the egg yolk mixture in a steady stream, whisking constantly. This is tempering: you gradually raise the temperature of the yolks without scrambling them.

Pour the tempered mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking continuously and scraping the bottom and corners of the pan. Once the cream comes to a boil and thickens, keep cooking and whisking for 1 more minute. This fully activates the starch so the pumpkin layer sets properly.

Remove from the heat, strain if needed, then add the room-temperature butter in three additions, mixing with a rubber spatula after each one. Transfer to a shallow container, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and let it cool slightly for about 30 minutes at room temperature.

Now make the Coffee Soak

Brew a strong cup of espresso and pour it into a shallow bowl. Let it cool to room temperature before dipping the lady fingers. Dipping them in hot coffee causes them to fall apart rather than absorb the liquid gradually, so this step is important.

You can use any coffee you enjoy drinking, made slightly stronger than usual. A moka pot, French press, or espresso machine all work well here.

This is how to make Mascarpone whipped Cream

Both the mascarpone cheese and heavy cream need to be very cold before use; otherwise, they will not emulsify properly. Use high-fat mascarpone cheese and heavy cream with at least 36% fat for the best results.

Place the cold mascarpone cheese in a large bowl and add the very cold heavy cream and sifted powdered sugar. Whip with an electric mixer, starting on medium speed, then on high speed for approximately 3 to 4 minutes until the cream reaches a fluffy, pipeable consistency with early stiff peaks. Stop there: soft peaks are too loose to hold the top layer, and overwhipping can break the cream.

This is a simple, plain mascarpone cream on purpose. The pumpkin layer brings all the flavor, and the white mascarpone cream layer adds a clean, classic tiramisu flavor alongside the coffee-soaked ladyfingers.

Assemble Your Pumpkin Tiramisu

I use a 7x9 inch (18x24 cm) dish to assemble the tiramisu. An 8x8 inch dish works equally well.

Working one at a time, dip the ladyfingers briefly in the shallow bowl of cooled coffee and place them side by side in a single layer in the bottom of the dish. For my dish, 12 fit on each layer. You can use store-bought savoiardi (Italian ladyfinger cookies) or make your own using my homemade ladyfingers recipe.

Spread all the pumpkin pastry cream over the ladyfingers in an even layer using an offset spatula. Add a second layer of dipped ladyfingers, then spread the mascarpone cream on top and smooth it out.

Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours. Overnight is even better for soft ladyfingers and deeper flavors.

Just before serving, dust the top with pumpkin spice through a fine sieve, exactly as you would dust cocoa powder over a traditional tiramisu.

Storage & Freezing

Store any leftovers covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days. Dust with fresh pumpkin spice before serving leftovers.

I do not recommend freezing it. Neither pastry cream nor mascarpone cream freezes well; both turn grainy and watery after thawing.

Flavor Variations

The pastry cream layer works with other fall purees too. Try sweet potato or butternut squash puree in place of the pumpkin.

For a boozy version, add a splash of dark rum, bourbon, or amaretto to the cooled coffee.

For other tiramisu flavors, check out my Pistachio Tiramisu, Strawberry Tiramisu, Raspberry Tiramisu, Matcha Tiramisu, and Chocolate Tiramisu.

Ingredient Substitutions

To make it gluten-free, replace the flour in the pastry cream with an equal weight of cornstarch and use gluten-free lady fingers.

No pumpkin pie spice? Mix your own from ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, and a pinch of cloves. Check my homemade pumpkin pie spice for exact ratios.

The mascarpone cheese is the heart of the top layer, and I do not recommend substituting it. Cream cheese will make it taste like cheesecake rather than tiramisu. If that is what you are after, make my No-bake Pumpkin Cheesecake instead.

Want to make this dessert caffeine-free? Use decaf coffee!

Expert Tips to Make Pumpkin Tiramisu

1. Make sure your spices are fresh. Ground spices lose most of their aroma after about six months, and a tired jar of pumpkin pie spice is the most common reason a pumpkin dessert tastes flat.
2. Use crisp Italian savoiardi. They absorb the coffee and hold their shape, while soft, cake-style ladyfingers turn to mush under two creams.
3. Pass the pumpkin pastry cream through a fine sieve before layering with the ladyfingers. It removes any fibers and gives you a silkier pumpkin layer.
4. If lumps appear while the pastry cream cooks, don't panic. Keep whisking firmly; the lumps smooth out as the starch thickens.
5. Break or trim the ladyfingers to fill any gaps in each layer. The cream covers them, and a gap-free layer gives you clean, even stripes when you cut.
6. Spread each cream right into the sides and corners of the dish with a rubber spatula before smoothing the top. This seals the ladyfingers in and keeps the layers neat at the edges.
7. Keep the tiramisu tightly covered in the fridge, both while it sets and for storage. Mascarpone easily absorbs strong odors from other foods.

What Equipment to Use

Measure all ingredients using a digital scale for the most accurate results.

A hand whisk and a medium saucepan with good heat distribution are needed for the pastry cream, plus a fine-mesh sieve for straining and dusting. An electric hand mixer is essential for whipping the mascarpone cream. An offset spatula helps smooth each layer evenly, and a rubber spatula is useful for mixing in the butter.

Try Some of My Other Fall Desserts

If you loved this pumpkin tiramisu, here are more fall desserts to try next:

• Pumpkin custard pie
• Pecan pie cheesecake
• Pumpkin turnovers
• Apple crumble cheesecake
• Pumpkin bread
• Apple Pie

Also, check out my roundup of the best ladyfinger desserts.

Have you tried this recipe?

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