Tiramisu Gingerbread House Cake

Here’s my tiramisu gingerbread house cake! This delicious Christmas dessert features a simple tiramisu in the shape of a house, and decorated with gingerbread. The result is absolutely stunning and so delicious!

This tiramisu gingerbread house cake is like a fairy-tale. You will love the gingerbread door and windows, the roof made out of ladyfingers or dacquoise, the decadent chocolate walls and the creamy tiramisu inside. Every bite of the house cake is absolutely delicious!

Yes, the recipe requires a little bit of work, but I’m here to guide you through the steps and help you get organized along the way so you can make this dessert a fabulous project to bake together with your loved ones during the holidays. Believe me, it is worth the extra work!

Main components of the gingerbread house cake

Here’s the list o the main components of this tiramisu gingerbread house cake, including tips to make in advance and some tricks to make an even simpler version.

• Sponge cake for the inside layers of the house. The sponge cake can be made on D-day or the night before. If doing so, place it in the fridge overnight, covered with a damp cloth. You will also need to make the coffee “syrup”, as you would do for a tiramisu, but keep it for the last minute when assembling the house cake.
• Mascarpone cream to fill the inside layers of the house. Nothing fancy here, it’s probably the easiest part of the recipe. Make it either the day before or the D-day, and transfer to a piping bag, this will make your work easier for spreading.
• Homemade dacquoise or ladyfingers for the roof. Read the dedicated section for more information. This can be made the day before and stored at room temperature on a large plate covered with foil. If needed, dust with additional confectioners’ sugar before you use them.
• Chocolate ganache for the walls. It’s important to make it the same day, but well ahead of time to allow the chocolate to thicken as it cools down. This is the only way you can then spread the chocolate ganache on the walls without creating any mess.
• Gingerbread cookies. Any gingerbread cookie recipe would do, just pick your favorite, shape into squares for the windows, rectangle for the door, and decorate with icing.

The roof: ladyfingers vs dacquoise?

Ok, so let’s talk about the roof for a minute. Nope, this is not your regular gingerbread house roof. This one is made out of a dacquoise, i.e. a meringue containing ground nuts and shaped into ladyfingers. The recipe is pretty simple, with just 4 simple ingredients, and it turns out right easily.

That being said, you can also skip the extra effort and time, and use ladyfingers (savoiardi) instead. This will do the trick too! If doing so, you will need to apply them one by one on the roof, using a little bit of chocolate ganache on the flat side to help them stick to the roof. Note that ladyfingers won’t have this little nutty flavor you find in a dacquoise.

How to make tiramisu gingerbread house cake?

Now that we reviewed all the components that go into your gingerbread house cake, let’s make it together, shall we? Use it as a check-list to help you get organized. For more detailed instructions, go straight to the recipe card.

1. Ahead of time, make the gingerbread cookies, using your favorite recipe. You can make them up to 2-3 days in advance, cut into squares for the windows, into a rectangle for the door, and decorate with icing.
2. Prepare the sponge cake, then slice it into 5 sections, creating three 3-inch (8 cm) rectangles, one 2.5-inch (6 cm) rectangle, and one 0.7-inch (1,75 cm) rectangle. At the same time, you can prepare the coffee and set aside for later use.
3. Make the dacquoise, or skip this step and use ladyfingers instead.
4. Whip up the mascarpone cream. Super easy, all you need to do is whipping up cream, mascarpone and sugar, with a hint of vanilla, until fluffy. Transfer to a piping bag until ready to use.
5. Prepare the chocolate ganache, by simply pouring some boiling cream onto the chocolate, cut into pea-size. Let cool before using, to allow the ganache to thicken and stick to the walls.

Let’s assemble this house cake!

1. Start with the inside of the house, layering the rectangles, from the larger ones to the smaller ones, and brushing each of them with the coffee “syrup” before piping the mascarpone cream onto each of them up to the top. Spread the remaining cream onto the house roof and sides, keeping some leftovers to create the snow on the roof later on.
2. Cover the walls and the roof sides with the chocolate ganache.
3. Stick the dacquoise or ladyfinger roof to the chocolate ganache.
4. Add the gingerbread windows and door, and voilà!

More Christmas desserts for you to try:

• Vegan Caramel Gingerbread Naked Cake
• Chocolate Orange Cake Roll with Caramelized Nuts
• Lemon Meringue Roulade
• Chocolate Charlotte Cake
• Chocolate Profiteroles

For the coffee lovers:

• Chocolate Coffee Meringue Pie
• Coffee Brownie Cheesecake

Tiramisu Gingerbread House Cake

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• Author: Delphine Fortin
• Prep Time: 6 hours
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 6 hours 20 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Cakes and pies
• Diet: Vegetarian

Tiramisu gingerbread house cake features a simple tiramisu in the shape of a house decorated with gingerbread. The perfect Christmas dessert!

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the sponge cake (the house layers):

• 4 eggs, whites and yolks apart
• ½ cup (100g) sugar
• ¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour, sifted
• 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon brewed coffee
• For the coffee “syrup”: 1 Tablespoon coffee granules + 1 Tablespoon sugar + ¼ cup (60 ml) boiling water*

Homemade dacquoise (the roof) or use ready-to-use ladyfingers:

• 2 egg whites
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) sugar
• ½ cup (50g) almond meal
• ⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon (50g) confectioners’ sugar, and more for dusting

For the mascarpone cream (the filling):

• 1 ¼ cups (300g) heavy whipping cream
• 7 ounces (200g) mascarpone cheese
• ¼ cup (50g) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate ganache (the house walls):

• 5.3 ounces (150g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
• ½ cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream

For decoration:

• Gingerbread cookies**
• Icing, to decorate the cookies
• Confectioners’ sugar

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Instructions

For the sponge cake (the house layers):

1. Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C) and line a 13×9.5-inch (33×24 cm) baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. With an electric mixer or a stand mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. While the mixer is still on, slowly pour in the sugar and egg yolks. Slowly add one teaspoon brewed coffer, then fold in the sifted flour and cornstarch.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared baking sheet and smooth out the surface. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. The sponge cake must be supple and moist. Remove from the oven, cover with a damp towel and invert the sponge cake so it sits on the towel.

For the dacquoise (the roof):

Again, note that you can skip this step and go for ready-to-use ladyfingers (savoiardi) for a quicker version instead. Homemade dacquoise is a little different as it has a subtle nutty flavor.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Sift confectioners’ sugar and almond meal together in a bowl.
3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, then slowly pour the sugar and keep beating. Add the almond-confectioners’ sugar. Transfer to a piping bag.
4. Draw two 3×10-inch (8×26 cm) rectangles onto a piece of parchment paper, then pipe the batter into parallel lines on both rectangles (you should have about ten parallel lines). Dust with confectioners’ sugar and let sit for 2 minutes. Dust with additional confectioners’ sugar, and bake for about 15 minutes or until very slightly golden. Let cool.

For assembling the house cake:

1. Slice the sponge cake into three 3-inch (8 cm) rectangles, one 2.5-inch (6 cm) rectangle, and one 0.7-inch (1,75 cm) rectangle.
2. For the mascarpone cream, beat the heavy liquid cream with the mascarpone, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer until it turns to a chantilly. Transfer to a piping bag.
3. Place one of the three largest rectangles onto a dish, then brush with the coffee “syrup”, and pipe mascarpone cream on top. Repeat with the two other same size rectangles, the medium one and the small one. Smooth out the sides of the roof and the house with the mascarpone.
4. Prepare the chocolate ganache. Bring the cream to a boil, then pour onto bite size chocolate, and stir until smooth. Let cool, so it thickens a little bit, then spread over the walls and the roof of the house. Lastly, cover the roof with the dacquoise, and decorate by adding gingerbread windows and door. Let cool for 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

Notes

* You can replace with ¼ cup (60 ml) brewed coffee instead. Also, for an adult version, feel free to add a splash of rum too. It will make your dessert absolutely fabulous!

** Use any gingerbread cookie recipe you like, shape into squares for the windows, rectangle for the door, and decorate with icing.

Cakes, Christmas

Did you make this recipe?

Lastly, if you make this Tiramisu Gingerbread House Cake, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!