How Long Does Tiramisu Last In The Fridge – An Easy Guide

While everyone has heard of it, a surprisingly small number of people have actually seen and tasted tiramisu. It is very comparable to a cake and, like all cakes, there is sometimes just far too much to eat in one go. Therefore, you are stuck with leftover food that you do not want to waste. Thankfully, you can store tiramisu and enjoy that creamy texture another day.

Table of Contents

• What Is Tiramisu?
• How Long Does Tiramisu Last?
  • In The Fridge
  • In The Freezer
  • On The Counter
• Can Kids Eat Tiramisu?
• How To Tell If Tiramisu Is Bad
• Tiramisu: Fickle Yet Delicious

What Is Tiramisu?

Tiramisu is an iconic Italian dessert that is a layered cake consisting of sponge cake and mascarpone cheese. It is also soaked in egg-based coffee and brandy liqueur. The top of the cake is often decorated with powdered chocolate, although sometimes it can be a bit more decorative with icing and other decorative toppings. This traditional Italian dessert has a slightly sour taste from the coffee, yet will also taste sweet at the same time. This airy and moist dish is in perfect balance between flavors and should be tried at least once in everyone’s lifetime.

There are many different ways of making tiramisu as the recipe has been adapted into many different variations. Typically, you would use ladyfingers as the cake part of the dessert. However, some people prefer making their own sponge cake instead. The main flavoring, the coffee, can also be changed partially as a lot of people enjoy just coffee whereas others will enjoy a mixture of coffee and brandy. Overall, the cake is very rich and flavorsome with a soft texture. It is synonymous with fine dining but is surprisingly not that fancy. Although, it is certainly hailed as more of a ‘special occasion’ type of dessert.

How Long Does Tiramisu Last?

While tiramisu is delicious and enjoyable, it is highly perishable when left at room temperature. Because the cake is soaked in coffee, it is prone to going very soggy if left at room temperature for too long. The cake is meant to be kept refrigerated from the moment of completion until the moment of consumption.

Tiramisu is also a very airy cake, which means it is easier for the air to get inside and make the sponge cake slightly stale.

In The Fridge

Tiramisu is very sensitive to different temperatures due to how moist it is. This means that it requires almost perfect storage. The best place to store it is in the fridge, on a plate, wrapped in foil. An airtight container would be ideal if it is large enough to accommodate the cake.

In the fridge, tiramisu will last around 4 days, assuming it is stored properly. The moisture of the cake from both the custard and the coffee will make it perish quicker and turn soggy and mushy in no time at all. On the fourth day of storage is when the cake will start to be saturated and soggy. Surprisingly, the egg custard is not to blame for this dish’s short shelf life.

In The Freezer

Despite being a seemingly fragile dish, tiramisu can be stored in the freezer and will act exceptionally. There is almost no loss in quality when frozen which is highly unusual as most foods will decrease in quality if frozen. If stored in an airtight container or a Ziploc bag, tiramisu can last for up to three months in the freezer.

The cold temperature of the freezer will increase the shelf life a lot as it halts bacterial growth. On top of this, freezing tiramisu will also solidify it and make it a bit sturdier, resulting in no negative effects on the texture of the cake. When it comes to eating the tiramisu, make sure you thaw it in the refrigerator overnight.

On The Counter

If left at room temperature for too long, the first thing to get ruined will be the texture of the cake. The tiramisu will be a mushy pile in no time. However, if you were to purely wonder if it is safe to eat after being stored at room temperature, the answer is no. Both the egg custards and the mascarpone cheese will spoil and grow bacteria if left at room temperature for too long. This will increase your chances of getting food poisoning.

If stored on the counter, not only would you be left with a sloppy tiramisu, but it would be covered in bacteria too.

Can Kids Eat Tiramisu?

This delicious dessert may scream ‘adults only’ due to the coffee and liquor used in it, but it is safe for kids to eat. It all comes down to how a parent feels about their kid eating the dessert. If it is a homemade tiramisu, the parent can control how much coffee is added to the dessert, or at least the strength of the coffee.

It is best that the dessert is not soaked in any type of alcohol if there are kids expecting to eat it. While they can eat it, some kids may not like this cake due to the coffee flavor which can be very strong, bitter, and off-putting to children who undoubtedly have a sweet tooth. Alongside this, the grated dark chocolate used to garnish the cake might also be too rich for a child.

How To Tell If Tiramisu Is Bad

As mentioned, tiramisu is very sensitive to both the temperature and the environment it is in. While it is meant to be served cold, a lot of people ignore this and think it is just for the pleasurable experience. It is not, it should be served cold so that it retains its shape and structure and does not perish.

While the majority of the ingredients used are not perishable, such as coffee, alcohol, and ladyfingers, the dish is still prone to spoiling due to the egg-based coffee mixture, cream cheese, and raw eggs in the custard.

While they may be pasteurized eggs, this is not enough to keep the dish from spoiling easily. Even though the mascarpone cheese is meant to prevent the development of bacteria, this is not the case, especially when at room temperature.

To see if your tiramisu has gone bad, you will want to look out for a few signs to indicate this.

The texture of tiramisu is arguably one of the most important aspects of it. If your tiramisu has been at room temperature long enough for it to lose its texture and be all mushy and soft, then the chances are that it has spoiled too and needs to be discarded.

Thanks to the high amount of dairy products in this special occasion dessert, it is prone to spoiling very quickly. However, when dairy products spoil, they tend to produce a very powerful and unpleasant odor. If you smell anything other than what the tiramisu is meant to smell like, then it is spoiled. The main scent to look out for is something sour or rotten.

The taste of the tiramisu can also change when it is spoiled. While it is easy to confuse the two, tiramisu is meant to taste bitter and not sour. The coffee flavoring will be very bitter, but should you taste anything sour, it is gone off and must be thrown away. The sweetness of the dairy products should be enough to stop the coffee from being overpoweringly bitter, so a strong unpleasant taste will be from spoilage,

The easiest way to know if tiramisu is spoiled or not is to check it for mold. Even when kept in the fridge or freezer, the tiramisu can be prone to air that contains mold spores. This is why it is so important to keep it in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. If you do see mold on your tiramisu, then you must get rid of it. Even if the mold is only on a tiny part of the cake, you cannot cut it off. The whole dessert is contaminated even if it does not look like it.

Tiramisu: Fickle Yet Delicious

While it is an insanely delicious dessert, tiramisu is very hard to store properly and look after. It is best to eat it all at once if you can, yet if you have leftover tiramisu, you should be careful and store it as well as you can. The best way to store it is to freeze tiramisu and thaw it overnight when you want to use it. This will ensure it is both structurally perfect and not at all spoiled.