Small glass dessert cup with layered cream and green matcha

Matcha Tiramisu Cups

Recipe Card
Prep Time 25 minutes
Chill Time 4 hours minimum (overnight preferred)
Total Time 4 hours 25 minutes
Servings 4 cups
Difficulty Medium
Dietary Vegetarian; dairy-free and vegan versions included

Ingredients

Matcha Soaking Liquid - 1.5 teaspoons (3g) BENBU Ceremonial Grade Matcha - 1 cup (240ml) hot water at 175F / 80C - 1 tablespoon maple syrup or sugar

Mascarpone Cream Layer - 250g mascarpone cheese, room temperature - 200ml heavy cream, cold - 3 tablespoons powdered sugar (icing sugar), sifted - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract - Pinch of salt

Sponge Layer - 12-16 savoiardi (ladyfinger) biscuits, broken to fit cups - (or substitute: 1 cup (120g) crushed digestive biscuits for a firmer base)

Topping - 1/2 teaspoon BENBU Ceremonial Grade Matcha for dusting - Optional: fresh raspberries or thin slices of strawberry

Steps

  1. Make the matcha soaking liquid. Sift 1.5 teaspoons of BENBU matcha into a wide, shallow bowl or dish. Add hot water at 175F / 80C (not boiling). Whisk until smooth and no clumps remain. Add maple syrup and stir. Set aside to cool to room temperature. This is what you'll dip the ladyfingers in - it replaces the espresso in traditional tiramisu.

  2. Make the mascarpone cream. In a large mixing bowl, beat the mascarpone with a spatula or hand mixer on low until smooth and lump-free. In a separate cold bowl, beat the cold heavy cream with powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until it reaches soft peaks - floppy but not stiff, similar to soft-serve. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone in three additions, gently folding from the bottom. Stop when fully combined and smooth. Do not over-mix.

  3. Set up your cups. Use 4 wide glasses, ramekins, or small jars (approximately 200ml / 7oz each).

  4. First layer - soaked ladyfingers. Briefly dip each ladyfinger into the cooled matcha liquid - 1-2 seconds per side. They should be moist but not soggy. They continue absorbing moisture in the fridge, so err on the side of under-soaking. Break to fit and lay in the bottom of each cup. This is your first layer.

  5. First cream layer. Spoon a layer of mascarpone cream on top of the soaked ladyfingers, about 1.5-2 cm deep. Smooth with the back of a spoon.

  6. Repeat. Add a second layer of soaked ladyfingers on top of the cream. Follow with the remaining cream divided evenly between the four cups.

  7. Smooth the tops. Use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to smooth the top cream layer flat. This is the surface that gets dusted.

  8. Cover and chill. Cover each cup with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Overnight is strongly recommended - the ladyfingers soften completely, the cream firms up, and the matcha flavor deepens and distributes through all the layers.

  9. Dust before serving. Just before serving, sift a thin, even layer of BENBU matcha over the surface of each cup. Use the fine sieve from close range for a clean, even dusting. Add fresh raspberries or strawberries if using.

  10. Serve cold. Matcha tiramisu is best served cold, straight from the fridge.

Notes

  • Room temperature mascarpone is important. Cold mascarpone creates lumps when beaten that are almost impossible to remove. Take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you start.
  • Do not over-soak the ladyfingers. They keep absorbing liquid in the fridge for hours. A 1-second dip per side is sufficient. Mushy ladyfingers after overnight chilling are the most common mistake.
  • Ceremonial grade matcha gives both the soaking liquid and the dusting a vivid, deep green color that's dramatically different from culinary grade. The visual payoff is significant. Learn how to choose the right matcha grade.

How This Differs From Traditional Tiramisu

Classic tiramisu is built on coffee-soaked ladyfingers, mascarpone cream, and a cocoa dusting. This version swaps the espresso for a matcha liquid and the cocoa for a matcha dusting. The structure stays exactly the same.

What changes is the flavor profile. Coffee tiramisu is bold, bitter, and dark. Matcha tiramisu is lighter, more floral, and slightly grassy - with the umami depth that good matcha brings. The mascarpone softens matcha's vegetal notes. The powdered sugar in the cream and the natural sweetness of the ladyfingers give the whole thing a gentle sweetness that balances without being cloying.

BENBU matcha is stone-milled from first-harvest, shade-grown leaves sourced primarily from Kagoshima, Japan. The stone-milling process preserves delicate aromatic compounds that high-heat industrial milling destroys. In a dessert where matcha is the only flavor you're tasting, that quality difference is obvious. Learn more about what makes matcha different from green tea.

The cup format, rather than a traditional tray, serves two practical purposes: built-in portion control, and easier gifting or serving at gatherings.

Tips for Perfect Matcha Tiramisu

Cold cream, room temperature mascarpone. Two different temperatures. Cold cream whips; cold mascarpone lumps. Get both to the right temperature before you start.

Fold, don't stir. When combining whipped cream with mascarpone, folding preserves the air you've whipped into the cream. Stirring collapses it. Use a large spatula, cut through the center, and fold from the bottom. Slow, deliberate movements.

Overnight is better than 4 hours. At 4 hours, the ladyfingers are partially softened. At 8-12 hours, they've fully absorbed moisture from the matcha and cream and transformed into a soft, cake-like layer. The texture difference is noticeable.

Control the soak. Different brands of ladyfingers absorb liquid at different rates - some are denser, some are more porous. The first time you make this, test one ladyfinger and check it after 30 minutes. You'll quickly learn the right dip time for your brand.

Chill the glasses before serving. Like smoothie bowls, a quick 10 minutes in the freezer makes the cups colder and keeps the cream firmer while you photograph or serve.

Dusting last. Matcha oxidizes and can turn dull green over time, especially when exposed to air and moisture. Dust just before serving, not during assembly. If you're making these ahead by several days, hold back the dusting entirely until the day of.

Variations

Vegan Matcha Tiramisu Replace mascarpone with 250g of well-drained cashew cream cheese or vegan cream cheese. Replace heavy cream with 200ml of full-fat coconut cream, chilled overnight in the fridge and whipped until stiff. The result is slightly less rich but fully vegan. Maple syrup replaces the honey/sugar in the soaking liquid.

Dairy-Free Matcha Tiramisu As above - cashew-based cream cheese and coconut cream whipped cream. Check that your ladyfingers are also dairy-free (many traditional savoiardi contain dairy). Substitute with a dairy-free sponge finger or digestive biscuit if needed.

Matcha White Chocolate Tiramisu Melt 50g of good white chocolate and let it cool to room temperature. Fold into the mascarpone cream before adding the whipped cream. The white chocolate adds richness and slight sweetness. The flavor combination of matcha, white chocolate, and mascarpone is particularly good.

Matcha Strawberry Tiramisu Add a thin layer of sliced fresh strawberries on top of the first cream layer, before the second ladyfinger layer. The strawberry juice lightly bleeds into the cream during chilling. Top with a fresh strawberry on each cup at serving.

Alcohol-Free vs. Classic Traditional tiramisu often contains a splash of marsala or Kahlua. This matcha version is intentionally non-alcoholic. If you want to add a small amount of sake or mirin to the matcha soaking liquid, it adds authenticity to the Japanese flavor profile. Keep it to 1-2 teaspoons per recipe.

Mini Tiramisu Shots Assemble in shot glasses or small 60ml cups for an appetizer-sized dessert. Use a teaspoon of crushed ladyfinger crumbs per glass instead of full biscuits. Builds faster and serves more guests. Good for dinner parties.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make 1-3 days ahead. This is one of the better make-ahead desserts in any repertoire. The texture actually improves after 24-48 hours. The ladyfingers soften fully and the matcha flavor permeates the cream. Make it Friday for a Saturday dinner.

Maximum storage: 3-4 days in the fridge, covered. After that, the cream starts to weep slightly and the ladyfingers can become too soft.

Do not freeze. Dairy-based creams do not freeze well - they separate and become grainy. If you made a vegan version using coconut cream, freezing is marginally better but still not ideal.

Assembled vs. components: You can make the mascarpone cream up to 24 hours ahead and store it in the fridge, tightly covered. The matcha soaking liquid can be made ahead and kept refrigerated. Assemble when ready.

Hold the matcha dusting until serving day. Matcha powder on a moist surface will absorb moisture from the cream within a few hours and can lose its bright green color. Dust at the last possible moment for best appearance.

BENBU matcha storage: Seal the tin or pouch immediately after measuring. Matcha oxidizes quickly when exposed to air. The nitrogen-sealed BENBU packaging is effective at preserving freshness - use it. Learn more about how to store matcha.

FAQ

Can I make matcha tiramisu in a tray instead of individual cups? Yes. Use an 8x8 inch (20x20 cm) square baking dish. Lay whole ladyfingers across the bottom, soaked briefly in the matcha liquid. Spread half the cream evenly. Repeat with a second ladyfinger layer, then the remaining cream. Cover and chill. Slice into portions. The tray format is easier to make; the cup format is better for serving and gifting.

Do I need a hand mixer to make this? Not strictly - you can whip the cream by hand with a balloon whisk. It takes 4-5 minutes of vigorous whisking versus 90 seconds with a hand mixer. Use a very cold bowl (chill it in the freezer for 5 minutes first) and cold cream. Both methods reach soft peaks.

Can I use regular green tea instead of matcha? No, not as a substitute. Brewed green tea is primarily water with extracted compounds. Matcha is the entire ground leaf, which gives it the deep green color, the thick consistency when whisked, and the concentrated flavor needed for both the soaking liquid and the dusting. Brewed green tea would make a pale, weakly flavored soaking liquid and can't be used for dusting at all.

How do I know if the cream is at the right consistency? Soft peaks: when you lift the whisk and hold it up, the cream forms a peak that folds over at the tip. Not stiff and firm (that's over-whipped). Not runny (that's under-whipped). The fold-over tip is the target. Soft peaks fold into mascarpone without deflating the whole mixture.

Can I make this without mascarpone? Mascarpone is hard to fully replicate. Full-fat cream cheese is the closest substitute - it's slightly more sour and dense. Soften it with a tablespoon of heavy cream before using. The result is less rich but structurally similar. Soft ricotta also works but gives a grainier texture.

Why use ceremonial grade matcha instead of culinary grade? In this dessert, matcha appears in two roles: as the soaking liquid (flavor) and as the topping (color and flavor). Ceremonial grade gives a vibrant green dusting and a clean, smooth soaking flavor. Culinary grade is more oxidized and often yellowish-green - the topping looks duller and the liquid tastes slightly more bitter. Since this dessert is built to showcase matcha, the quality of the powder directly affects how it looks and tastes. Learn how to choose the right matcha grade.

Is matcha tiramisu less sweet than regular tiramisu? Roughly the same. The sweetness comes from the powdered sugar in the cream and the ladyfinger biscuits. The matcha is not sweet on its own, though high-quality ceremonial grade has a natural gentle sweetness from L-Theanine. If anything, matcha tiramisu feels slightly lighter than coffee tiramisu because matcha lacks the deep bitterness of espresso, which often demands more sugar to balance.

Make this recipe with BENBU Ceremonial Grade Matcha for the most vibrant color and smoothest flavor. Also available in USDA Organic.

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