Single Serving Cottage Cheese Tiramisu (High Protein)
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This easy to make Single Serving Cottage Cheese Tiramisu is made with a creamy cottage cheese and dulce de leche filling and layers of espresso-soaked ladyfingers. Finished with a dusting of cocoa powder and fresh berries, this protein-packed dessert is the perfect sweet treat for occasions or any day of the week!
About This Recipe
If you’re looking for a healthier Valentine’s Day dessert, this Single Serving Cottage Cheese Tiramisu is for you! It’s creamy, packed with protein, and full of sweet caramel and toffee notes from the dulce de leche and has bold espresso flavors! Finish with a dusting of Dutch cocoa powder for a chocolatey flavor and you have yourself the ultimate decadent tasting better-for-you tiramisu dessert!
I came across Pinch of Yum’s Dulce De Leche Tiramisu and wanted to make it healthier. The answer was to replace the mascarpone with high protein cottage cheese. I also wanted to make just one serving so that I wouldn’t have so many servings to finish up!
This single serve dulce de leche tiramisu is now one of my all-time favorite high protein desserts! It’s quick, easy, convenient because you can make it anytime you’re craving tiramisu, not just for occasions. Also, it tastes divine and is simply SO GOOD!
For more high protein cottage cheese desserts, check out my Cottage Cheese Chocolate Mousse and Chocolate Cottage Cheese Muffins next!
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love It
- Quick and easy. All you need is ten minutes to prep it and then just let it chill for a few hours in the fridge.
- Low-calorie and high protein. Traditional tiramisu can have anywhere from 400-700 calories and just 4-10 grams of protein in each serving. This healthier cottage cheese tiramisu has just 255 calories and 17.6 grams protein!
- Make ahead friendly. You can make one or several servings 4-5 days in advance!
- Delicious dulce de leche tiramisu flavors! The espresso-soaked ladyfingers nestled in between the dulce de leche blended cottage cheese layers and a dusting of cocoa powder to finish makes this healthy-ish dessert simply exquisite.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutes
- Blended Low Fat Cottage Cheese: I used 3% low-fat cottage cheese but whole milk cottage cheese (4% milk fat) works well too and will be richer tasting and slightly thicker in texture.
- Dulce de Leche: A sweet, caramel like confection that has notes of toffee and butterscotch.
- Maple Syrup (or Pancake Syrup): I used Walden Farms Pancake Syrup which is sugar-free but regular or low-sugar/sugar-free maple syrup works too. Depending on how sweet you like your tiramisu, you can add more or less to taste.
- Lady Fingers: I like using authentic Italian ladyfingers – Pan Ducale Savoiardi – but any type of ladyfingers available easily to you will work.
- Espresso or Strong Coffee: Use a strong, bold and rich flavored espresso or coffee for the best flavor. Make sure to make it advance so that it’s lukewarm or at room temperature. I’ve used a Vietnamese instant espresso powder made from pure Arabica coffee beans by Trung Nguyên brand here. Their G7 espresso powder has an intense, rich and bold coffee flavor that I absolutely LOVE.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: I like Dutch Process cocoa for a richer, more chocolatey flavor but a natural unsweetened cocoa powder like Hershey’s works too.
- Optional toppings: I love topping this cottage cheese tiramisu with fresh raspberries but any berries you like such as blueberries, blackberries or strawberries will work too. You can also top with freshly shaved chocolate from a block to add a more chocolatey flavor for the topping.
Single Serving Cottage Cheese Tiramisu (High Protein)
This easy to make Single Serving Cottage Cheese Tiramisu is made with a creamy cottage cheese and dulce de leche filling and layers of espresso-soaked ladyfingers. Finished with a dusting of cocoa powder and fresh berries, this protein-packed dessert is the perfect sweet treat for occasions or any day of the week!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Chill Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 0 Minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: Italian-inspired
Ingredients
- ½ cup / 115 grams blended Low Fat Cottage Cheese (I used low-fat 3% milk fat, whole milk cottage cheese works too)
- 1 tablespoon / 20 grams Dulce de Leche
- 2 teaspoons / 10ml sugar-free or regular Maple Syrup (or Pancake Syrup, I used Walden Farms Pancake Syrup), more or less to taste
- 3 pieces / 25 grams Lady Fingers (I like Pan Ducale Savoiardi) – each piece broken in half
- 1 cup / 237ml Espresso or Strong Coffee (lukewarm or at room temperature)
- ⅓ teaspoon / 1 gram Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (I like Dutch Process but natural works too)
- Optional toppings: Fresh raspberries (or other fresh berries), chocolate shavings
Instructions
- Mix: Mix the blended cottage cheese, dulce de leche and maple syrup in a bowl until combined well. (Tip: Mashing the sticky dulce the leche with the back of a spoon helps break it down.) If you have cottage cheese that hasn’t been blended yet, you can process the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.)
- Layer: Quickly dip three half pieces of the lady finger biscuits in the espresso and layer in a small round dish or ramekin. (I used a 400ml/13.52-ounce capacity small glass dish.) Top with half of the blended cottage cheese dulce de leche mixture and smooth the top with the back of a spoon or small silicone spatula. Repeat with the remaining lady finger biscuits and cottage cheese mixture.
- Dust: Dust the top with cocoa powder and top with fresh raspberries. (You can also do this just before eating for a cleaner cocoa powder appearance.)
- Chill: Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight to set.
- Serve: Top with shaved chocolate if desired and enjoy chilled!
Equipment
Matilde Vicenzi Vicenzovo Ladyfingers
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Walden Farms Sugar-Free Pancake Syrup
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Buy Now → Notes
- Storing: Store covered in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. You can dust with cocoa powder and add other toppings just before eating if preferred.
- Nutritional information does not include any optional toppings.
- Be sure to check out the article for tips and variations!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 255
- Sugar: 24.9g
- Sodium: 412.5mg
- Fat: 4.6g
- Saturated Fat: 2.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 36.3g
- Fiber: 0.4g
- Protein: 17.6g
- Cholesterol: 15mg
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Cook’s Tips and Variations
- Use a strong flavored espresso or coffee. It’ll ensure that the coffee flavor still shines through in this chilled dessert and isn’t masked by the creamy cottage cheese flavor. A strong, bold espresso or high-quality strong coffee works best.
- Don’t dip the lady fingers in the espresso too long. Just briefly dunk for a second or two or they will get too soft and soggy and start to fall apart.
- Melt the dulce de leche. Although not absolutely necessary, it does help make it easier to mix and integrate with the blended cottage cheese. Heat 10-20 seconds on medium power in the microwave. Be careful not to heat for too long and make it hot.
- Use whole milk cottage cheese. For a richer flavor and texture. While low-fat cottage cheese works fine, the blended cottage cheese and dulce de leche mixture will be thicker and have a richer flavor with whole milk cottage cheese.
- Make it ahead! It actually tastes better after two days in the fridge and it gives ample time for the ladyfingers to absorb moisture and set.
- Use freshly blended cottage cheese. It’ll be more creamy and thick than cottage cheese that has been previously blended and sitting in the fridge for a few days. That said, previously blended cottage cheese is what I use most of the time and it still works! However, the texture is not as thick as when I use freshly blended cottage cheese.
- Don’t like dulce de leche? Try caramel sauce, strawberry syrup, salted caramel spread, Biscoff spread, peanut butter or other nut butter of your choice instead!
- Use strawberry ladyfingers. Make a strawberry tiramisu with Vicenzovo Strawberry ladyfingers by Matilde Vicenzi! They might be tricky to find locally but are available on Amazon. I can vouch that they are SO GOOD in this cottage cheese tiramisu recipe. Top with fresh strawberries for an absolute winner of a Valentine’s Day dessert!
How to Make High Protein Cottage Cheese Tiramisu – Step-By-Step
Note: I used a 400ml/13.52-ounce capacity small glass dish that came with a cover, which makes it perfect for covering and chilling. A small 7-ounce or 8-ounce ramekin would work too. If your dish/ramekin doesn’t come with a lid, use cling wrap or a small sheet of aluminum foil to cover the top before placing in the fridge to chill.
Tip: If you want a clean cocoa powder look and flavor, you can also dust with cocoa and top with the berries just before eating. I personally like dusting in advance because the chocolate gets absorbed a little and results in a delicious chocolatey flavor as a top layer!
Storing
- Storing: Store covered in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. You can dust with cocoa powder and add other toppings just before eating if preferred.
FAQs
Yes! You can use store-bought gluten-free ladyfingers or make them using this recipe for gluten-free ladyfingers.
Yes, you can! Though, the nutrition information will change and it won’t be as high in protein. However, it will still be a phenomenal tasting decadent tiramisu dessert!
Yes, you can. The flavor may be slightly more tangy but cream cheese is a more affordable alternative than mascarpone and depending on where you live, more affordable than cottage cheese too. You can also try using light cream cheese for a slightly healthier dessert but I haven’t tried it myself.
Target carries the Nestlé dulce de leche can. You can also opt for an Argentinian one such as the jarred Vacalin Dulce de Leche that I used in this recipe. It’s available on Amazon.
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