Red Velvet Tiramisu Cups Recipe

This red velvet tiramisu swaps the ladyfingers for cubes of homemade red velvet cake, then layers them with whipped mascarpone cream and a light coffee syrup. One 8×8 inch cake bakes in 20 to 25 minutes and fills 6 to 8 small cups.

After at least 4 hours in the fridge the layers set and the coffee softens the cake without drowning it. The trick is a light hand with the syrup: 1 to 2 teaspoons per layer, not a full dip. I make these for Christmas because they are built the day before and only need their cream rosette and cocoa at the table.

Your Timing Plan

• Day before or morning: bake the 8×8 inch cake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes and cool it completely, about 1 hour
• Cream: 10 minutes; set aside about 1 cup for the tops
• Syrup: ½ cup cooled strong coffee or espresso, 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur and 1 tablespoon sugar, both optional
• Assemble: 2 or 3 layers per cup, 1 to 2 teaspoons syrup on each cake layer
• Chill: at least 4 hours, or overnight; assemble up to 24 hours ahead
• Cups: small glasses or jars of roughly 6 to 8 ounces; the batch fills 6 to 8

---

Red Velvet Cake Cubes or Ladyfingers?

This recipe does not use ladyfingers at all. Cubes of red velvet cake take their place, and that changes the dessert. Ladyfingers are dry and crisp, so classic tiramisu dips them in coffee until they soften. Red velvet cake is already moist with a soft, slightly tangy crumb from the buttermilk and vinegar, so it needs only a drizzle and keeps its shape in the glass.

If you would rather use plain ladyfingers, dip each one in the syrup for a second and layer them the same way. The tiramisu will taste closer to my easy tiramisu recipe, but the layers will be pale instead of red. Boxed red velvet cake mix also works when time is short, and so does a store-bought red velvet cake, though I find homemade has a moister crumb and you control the color.

---

Getting Clean Red Cake Cubes

The cake is mixed the creamed way: butter and sugar beaten until fluffy, then the egg, then the dry mix and the red buttermilk added in turns, starting and ending with the flour. Gel color gives a deep red with only a tablespoon, while liquid color can thin the batter and turn it more orange than red.

Cut the cake only when it is completely cool. Warm cake squashes under the knife and crumbles into the cream. I trim off the darker crust on the top and sides so every ½ inch cube shows bright red through the glass. A cake baked the day before, wrapped, cubes even more cleanly and soaks up the syrup evenly.

---

Mascarpone Cream That Holds Its Layers

Whip the cold heavy cream in a chilled bowl to soft peaks, the point where the cream holds a peak that curls over at the tip. In a second bowl, beat the room temperature mascarpone with the powdered sugar and vanilla only until smooth. Then fold the two together by hand with a spatula until no white streaks remain.

Mascarpone is richer and silkier than cream cheese and less tangy, which is why it sits so well against the coffee. It is also fussy. Cold mascarpone leaves lumps, and beating it too long makes it grainy and can make it split.

• Cream is runny: chill the bowl for 15 minutes, then whisk by hand for a few strokes until it thickens again.
• Cream looks grainy: the mascarpone was overbeaten. Fold in a few spoonfuls of cold, unwhipped cream to smooth it.
• Little lumps: the mascarpone was too cold. Let it sit out 20 to 30 minutes next time before beating.

---

Coffee Syrup With or Without Liqueur

Stir ½ cup of cooled strong coffee or espresso with the coffee liqueur and the sugar if you are using them. The liqueur adds warmth that rounds out the mascarpone. Leave it out for children or a dry table, and add the tablespoon of sugar if your coffee is very bitter. Most times I keep the syrup unsweetened.

---

Building the Red Velvet Tiramisu Cups

Put a layer of cake cubes in the bottom of each glass and press them down lightly so there are no big gaps. Drizzle 1 to 2 teaspoons of syrup over them with a spoon. Too much and the cake turns soggy and the red bleeds into the cream. Spoon or pipe a thick layer of cream over the cake, all the way to the glass so the layers look clean from the side, and repeat until the glasses are nearly full. Tall tumblers take three layers; shallow cups look good with two.

Cover each cup with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Just before serving, pipe the reserved cream on top with a star or rose tip and dust with unsweetened cocoa powder. Do this at the last minute, because cocoa goes damp and blotchy in the fridge. Chocolate curls or edible flowers are optional. If you like this format, the tiramisu cookie cups use a baked cookie shell instead of cake.

---

As One Dish for a Crowd

For a red velvet tiramisu cake to scoop at the table, use the same cake, cream and syrup in an 8×8 inch dish or a small trifle bowl. Make two thick layers of cake and cream, with a slightly heavier drizzle of syrup on each because the layers are wider. Chill it overnight so it sets firmly, then pipe the tops and dust with cocoa before serving. It scoops into neat portions but will not slice like a baked cake.

---

Keeping and Serving

Covered in the fridge, the cups keep for up to 2 days. After that the cream starts to loosen and the cake gets too soft. I do not recommend freezing them, since the mascarpone cream weeps as it thaws. Serve them cold, straight from the fridge.

On a holiday dessert tray they sit well next to red velvet crinkle cookies and red velvet snowball cookies for a red and white theme. For a party dip with the same flavors, try my tiramisu dip, and if you have mascarpone left over, it makes a mascarpone frosting.

Pin this one to your Christmas or Valentine’s dessert board, and tell me in the comments if you made cups or one big dish.