Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
An easy cream dessert made the tiramisu way – with sponge fingers soaked in coffee-baileys mixture,
and Baileys creme diplomat instead of mascarpone cream mixture.
A few days back, I wanted to try making some tiramisu, but I just couldn’t get hold of any mascarpone cheese! It seems like both mascarpone and cream cheese are the highly sought after ingredients these days.
So, not giving up, I wondered about how to still make a dessert that is similar to the tiramisu. Then I remembered the creme diplomat, which turned out so delicious that I was so glad I gave it a try!
若想阅读中文版本,请在网页的右边 “Google Translate” 点击选择 中文简体 (Chinese Simplified)或 繁体 (Chinese Traditional) 翻译。可能食谱读起来会怪怪的,所以如果有疑问都可以问哦!
How to Make This Dessert?
This is a simple, no-bake dessert. You can make it with just sponge fingers biscuit, coffee, Baileys, pastry cream and (dairy) whipping cream!
The sponge fingers biscuit can be bought from supermarkets or baking supplies store. You can make the pastry cream in under 10 mins with just eggs, sugar, flour and milk.
The steps are quite easy, but you just have to be careful while whipping the dairy cream. Make sure you don’t over-whip the cream. You will know that you over-whipped the cream when it separates and curdles. If that happens, you will have to whip a new batch of cream again.
>> MORE NO-BAKE DESSERTS:
How Does This Taste Like?
To be honest, I have never eaten or made Tiramisu before! Haha!
So I let my colleague tried this, and she said that the texture is quite close to the real Tiramisu.
The texture of the cream is not too heavy. I do like this slightly dense mouthfeel, spiked with Baileys! Probably this has a custard taste compared to the real Tiramisu. So do not skip the Baileys, as I think that it will enhance the taste.
Okay, I’ll be honest – I placed a small tub of this in my workplace’s fridge and in between stressful work, I sneaked a few mouthfuls of the cream dessert! LOL! SO NICE!
Is This Dessert Easy To Make?
I made this dessert all in one night! You will just need about an hour or so, from the start to the end.
If you want it to be quicker, you can certainly prepare the pastry cream a day before making of this dessert.
If you’re new to whipping up dairy cream, take a look at the Notes in the recipe for some tips 🙂
What Is Creme Diplomat?
It is a simple cream mixture, which uses pastry cream as the base, lightened with whipped cream. It is often used to fill French cakes or entremets. Some bakers also use cream diplomat to fill cream puffs or eclairs.
The ratio for this recipe uses slightly lesser cream, and I like the slightly denser mouthfeel here. If you prefer otherwise, you can certainly use 120-150g of whipping cream instead of 90g. You will then have a softer and lighter cream mixture. (There will be extra cream left)

Baileys Cream Dessert
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 3 Adults 1x
Description
A simple cream dessert made the tiramisu way – sponge fingers soaked in coffee-Baileys mixture, layered with Baileys creme diplomat, and finished with dusting of cocoa powder on top.
Ingredients
Baileys Pastry Cream
- 200 ml whole milk
- 1 eggs
- 50 g sugar
- 15 g top or cake flour
- 10 g butter
- 1 tbsp Baileys
Cream Dessert
- 1/2 Packet sponge fingers biscuits
- 90 g whipping cream (dairy, at least 35%)
- 280 g pastry cream
- 1 tbsp Baileys (optional)
- Cocoa powder (for dusting)
Coffee-Baileys Soak
- 3 tbsp instant coffee*
- 9 tbsp hot water
- 1.5 tbsp Baileys
Instructions
Baileys Pastry Cream
- Place egg into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add in sugar and mix well. Sift in top flour and mix well till no lumps.
- Place milk into a saucepan and heat gently till warm, just before boiling.
- Off heat and pour 1/2 portion of milk, in a steady stream, into the egg mixture from Step (1). Ensure you stir constantly while pouring the milk in.
- Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan. With medium-low heat on the stove, stir constantly as the pastry cream cooks. It will start to thicken after a few mins. Make sure you stir constantly until the cream comes together into a thick mixture.
- Off heat and pour the pastry cream through a heat-proof sieve. This step will remove lumps and make the pastry cream smoother.
- Add in butter and Baileys to strained pastry cream. Stir to incorporate well. Place a piece of cling wrap over the surface of the pastry cream. Set aside to cool down.
- Once the pastry cream is cool, you can place it in the fridge until you need to use it. You can also prepare the pastry cream 1 day before making of this cream dessert.
Baileys Creme Diplomat
- Place whipping cream into a metal mixing bowl. Using handheld mixer, whip up the cream at high speed. (I used Kenwood handmixer, speed 4). It will take a couple of mins to whip up. Continue whipping till nearly stiff peak. Take note not to overbeat it.
- Take about 260-280g of pastry cream that was set aside. Add in 1/2 portion of the pastry cream to the whipped cream and fold well. Add in Baileys (optional) and remaining pastry cream and fold to incorporate well.
Baileys Cream Dessert
- Prepare the coffee soak by mixing the hot water with instant coffee. Stir in Baileys.
- Dip sponge finger biscuit into the coffee soak, back and front. Arrange the sponge finger biscuit into container preferred. Try to fill in any gaps in the container – you might need to cut the sponge finger biscuits to fit in.
- Add in half portion of the creme diplomat and smooth out using the back of a spoon or spatula.
- Arrange another layer of sponge finger biscuits, dipped in coffee soak, on the creme diplomat.
- Top with remaining creme diplomat. Dust with cocoa powder. (I used a mini sieve for this)
- Chill cream dessert in fridge for at least 5 hours, or preferably overnight. Serve chilled.
Notes
Container Size: 17cm x 12cm
If you prefer lesser cream mixture ratio, you can fill lesser cream mixture in each layer, and add 1 more layer of sponge finger biscuits and cream mixture.
1) If you are new to whipping up dairy cream, measure the amount of cream in a metal mixing bowl. Place mixing bowl and mixer whisk into the fridge to chill for 1 hour. The dairy cream will whip up better when it is cold. Always use high speed to beat it.
2) Whipping cream will separate when overbeaten. I find it useful to be more cautious after the cream come together. It will be quite soft when the cream first come together. You will see that the cream is not able to hold itself up. Mix on high speed in between short bursts to check constantly.
3) When dipping the sponge finger biscuit, ensure that you do not leave the biscuit in the soak. Rather, dip them quickly by flipping to the front and back in the soak. I did it twice for each biscuit.
4) If you are not finishing the dessert in one seating, simply use a clean spoon to scoop out the amount you prefer each time. This will ensure food safety.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Mixing
Disclosure: Baileys was sent to me complimentary, to experiment with bakes and desserts. Some of the links contain affiliate links, meaning, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Leave a Reply