Key Lime Tiramisu

A No Bake Key Lime Silky Tiramisu: A multi-generation Florida Native takes the flavors of a key lime pie and turns it into layers of rum soaked lady fingers, tart custard and sweet mascarpone cream.

A plate with a slice of tiramisu and a silver fork

What is Key Lime and Rum Tiramisu?

If you are looking for a Key Lime dessert that isn’t key lime pie- look no further.

Key Lime Pie is easily my favorite dessert. I will pass on chocolate any day over Key Lime pie.

For this recipe, I wanted several things- a no bake/ make ahead dessert, key limes, but light, tart, sour and sweet. I started thinking about my favorite kinds of desserts and tiramisu kept popping into my mind. So I deconstructed a tiramisu and added Key Lime Pie components to come up with this amazing dessert. Instead of an espresso soaked lady finger, a drizzle of an amped up simple syrup with rum, ginger, sugar.

A bowl of limes, mascarpone cheese, lady fingers a blue jug of milk and a bottle of rum on a grey table
Rum soaked biscotti, creamy mascapone and limes!

Ingredients for No Bake Key Lime Tiramisu:

  • Key lime and Persian limes
  • sweetened condensed milk
  • white or light rum
  • lady fingers- I like Alessi Brand
  • heavy whipping cream
  • mascarpone cheese
  • egg yolks
  • fresh ginger
a measuring cup of lime juice, a can of sweentened milk and two eggs yolks on a grey table
For the custard: one cup of key lime juice, 2 fresh egg yolks and 28oz of sweetened condensed milk

How to assemble this recipe:

  • Allow the mascarpone cheese to come to room temperature. Juice the limes. Set aside.
  • Combine the juice, sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. Let chill and set up for 1 hour.
  • Whip part of the heavy cream and mascarpone cheese. Chill.
  • Make a simple syrup with water, sugar, lime zest, ginger and the rum. Let cool.
  • Dip each lady finger in the simple syrup and layer in an 8 x 8 dish.
  • Top lady fingers with key lime juice custard, a layer of mascarpone cream, and repeat.
  • Finish with a layer whipped cream and garnish with lime zest.
  • Chill overnight or for 8 hours.
A table with ingredients of a tiramisu recipe spread out

Tips:

  1. Read the entire recipe through and build out each component before trying to assemble.
  2. You can make the simple syrup, juice the limes and make the Key lime filing in advance.
  3. Do not add the final layer of whipped cream until just before serving for the freshest finish. top with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar and extra lime juice and cookie crumbs for a garnish.

Equipment needed for this recipe:

I highly recommend a juicer for the limes.

250ml of lime juice and a pile of limes that have been juiced

Commonly Asked Questions-

Can I make this without the rum?

Yes, just add the same amount of water as you would rum to increase your simple syrup.

Is it safe to eat raw eggs?

The lime juice basically cooks the eggs, just like in a Ceviche recipe. I always buy pasteurized eggs just to be safe. Make certain there are no cracks in your eggs and they are fresh.

How long will this last in the fridge?

IF you have any leftovers, they will last about 3 days. After that, the lady finger are too mushy and the whipped cream falls apart.

What if I cannot find Key Limes?

You can use standard limes from the grocery store. Commonly called Persian limes.

Can I make this dairy free?

There are many components in this dessert that have dairy: whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk and the mascarpone cheese. If you have low tolerance of lactose, you may want to skip this desert.

Can I use the soft lady fingers instead of the hard biscotti style cookie ?

The simple syrup and other components would soak right through h soft lady fingers making the dessert a bit of a mess to serve. Stick to the firm lady fingers. If you cannot find them try using these two cookies for your layers: Ines Rosales Sweet olive oil torta or Stella D’oro Cookies

a glass dish filled with a creamy custard surrounded by limes
Tart, sweet, sour light- yummy!

Other Citrus Desserts from Pine & Palm Kitchen

No Bake Silky Key Lime & Rum Tiramisu

Recipe by Meggen Wilson Course: Florida Kitchen, Game Day, MOST POPULAR RECIPES, Sweet ToothCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: moderate
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

10

hours 
Cooking time

0

minutes
Calories

434

kcal

No Bake Key Lime Rum Tiramisu. Sweet biscotti, creamy mascarpone, tart limes and a touch of rum, this dessert will have you asking for more! This dish requires a minimum of 8 hours to chill. Best overnight.

Ingredients

  • Key Lime custard
  • 1 cup Key Lime Juice

  • 14 oz sweetened condensed milk

  • 2 large egg yolks

  • Whipped Cream layer
  • 8 oz heavy whipping cream

  • 8 oz mascarpone cheese, softened

  • Simple syrup & cookies
  • 14 oz lady fingers- crisp style (2- 7oz packages)

  • 1 TBSP sugar

  • 1 cup water

  • 1 tsp lime zest

  • 1 fresh ginger, cut into a 2″ chunk, peeled

  • 3 TBSP light rum

  • Whipped cream topping
  • 6 oz heavy whipping cream, whipped

  • 1 TBSP Sugar

  • Garnish
  • 1 TBSP Confectioner’s sugar, sifted

  • 1 TBSP lime zest

  • 2 TBSP Lady finger crumbs

Directions

  • In a medium bowl, combine the key lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and pasteurized eggs yolks. Cover and chill for 1 hour until thick and firm.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form, whisk in the mascarpone until light and well combined. Cover and chill.
  • In a small saucepan, bring to a simmer the water, sugar, 1 tsp of lime zest and ginger. Off heat add rum. Return to the stove and let simmer until sugar is dissolved. Let cool. Pour into a shallow dish. Remove ginger.
  • Whip remaining heavy cream and add 1 TBSP of sugar until sugar dissolves. Keep chilled until time to assemble the tiramisu.
  • To Assemble: Place each cookie and gently dip it in the simple syrup for just a moment. Place in the bottom of an 8 x 8″ dish. You may need to break a few of the cookies to make them fit in a single layer.
  • With an offset spatula, spread the mascarpone cream mixture over the top of the rum-simple syrup soaked biscotti.
  • Add another layer of rum-simple syrup cookie on top of the mascarpone cream. Top with the Key Lime custard.
  • For the topping, spoon the sweetened whipped cream over the top.
  • Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.
  • To Serve: Dust with powdered sugar and sprinkle with lime zest and cookie crumbs. To serve, cut into squares and top each slice with a thinly sliced lime wedge.
a plate with a slice of lime tiramisu being sliced into with a sterling silver fork

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2 Comments

  1. Susan Ameling says:

    Looks delicious, can’t wait to try it! Would love to follow your page.

    1. Meggen Wilson says:

      Thanks Susan,
      Please subscribe to our blog and follow us on Instagram for more recipes.