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    Home > Desserts and Cakes > Sweet Tea Tiramisu Trifle for Two

    Sweet Tea Tiramisu Trifle for Two

    Published: Aug 25, 2020 · Modified: Jan 29, 2024 by Kathleen · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See full disclosure

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    Sweet Tea Tiramisu Trifle for Two is my Southern shortcut skinny version of the classic Italian dessert. Less than 160 calories and ready in 15 minutes!

    Tiramisu means "pick me up" or "cheer me up". It's typically made with espresso and/or rum soaked ladyfingers and layered with mascarpone cheese and whipped cream. Well, here in the South, sweet tea is what cheers us up! The calories from sweet tea... not-so-much. I use pre-sweetened tea bags to make this easy dessert in minutes.

    layered Tiramisu in two glass dessert dishes with raspberries and chocolate shavings on a pink plate with tea spoons

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    I'm a "tea"totaler, so no rum in this recipe! The classic version of Tiramisu is loaded with fat and calories (and oh so good!) and makes at least 8 servings that might hang out in my fridge tempting me to overeat.

    My shortcut version (also, oh so good!) is made with pre-sweetened sweet tea bags (or your homemade sweet tea made with an extra tea bag) and only makes 2 servings-just enough for my husband and me. It's half the calories with all the YUM!

    Only spending 15 minutes to make a romantic dessert for my husband and me (while not having a pan of leftovers tempting me to eat the whole thing) cheers me up, too!

    For this special occasion, I don't need to make a dessert that serves more than two servings. I know I will end up eating it all and that cancels out the entire week at the gym, right?

    To top it off, I don't have to make a whole pitcher of sweet tea just to make this show-stopping dessert. You can use tea bags that are cold brew so no waiting for the hot water to cool down before soaking the angel food cake cubes.

    How to make Sweet Tea Tiramisu Trifle for Two

    Ingredients f: Southern Breeze Sweet Tea, Sugar Free Cool Whip, angel food cake, Neufchatel, bittersweet chocolate, raspberries

    I wanted to make this with traditional Ladyfingers. Turns out, they tend to be a seasonal item for the standard grocery store.

    No worries! Angel food cake is fat-free and cholesterol-free. It's a great substitute and readily available all year round. Score! Sometimes you can find it sold in "half-cake" size on the day-old bakery cart (which is perfect for soaking up tea) and also in the smaller loaf size at Walmart.

    The first step to make Sweet Tea Tiramisu Trifle is to steep 2 individual serving size bags of pre-sweetened sweet tea bags in ½ cup water for 10 minutes. That is twice the amount of tea bags and half the amount of water for a regular glass of iced tea to create a strong tea mixture.

    Can I make my own strong sweet tea for this recipe?

    You can make this concentrated mixture with any tea bag that is pre-sweetened such as Southern Breeze. Just follow the package directions by reducing the amount of water by half and doubling the number of tea bags. You just want to end up with ½ cup strong sweet tea. You can also just use strong tea that is sweetened with Splenda.

    This is a concentrated sweet tea mixture because the Italian Tiramisu is made with espresso or strong coffee so I am going for a strong tea flavor, here.

    White bowl of angel food cake cubes soaked in sweet tea with pastry brush on measuring cup

    Brush or drizzle the concentrated tea mixture over the cubed angel food cake. The cake will absorb it very quickly.

    Neufchatel and sugar free Coo Whip stirred together with a wire whisk on wooden cutting board

    No mixer needed here. Neufchatel is soft like Mascarpone cheese that is typically used in classic Tiramisu. Just stir together Neufchatel and sugar-free Cool Whip with a wire whisk to create a creamy mixture to layer between sweet tea-soaked angel food cake cubes.

    Layer sweet tea soaked cake cubes in small dessert dishescreamy Neufchatel mixture on wooden cutting board

    Layer half of the soaked cake cubes in small dessert dishes, then half of the creamy mixture; repeat with remaining cake and creamy mixture, dolloping the creamy mixture on top. Then, sprinkle with grated bittersweet chocolate. Simply use a vegetable peeler to scrape the side of the chocolate baking bar to create shavings.

    Options:

    Cocoa powder is traditionally sprinkled on top of Tiramisu and would work fine on my recipe, but the bittersweet chocolate adds very few calories and is a perfect pairing with the fresh raspberries. Strawberries can be traded out for the raspberries.

    Lite Cool Whip can be used in place of sugar-free Cool Whip. If you are on the Keto diet and fat is not an issue, go for the mascarpone cheese and whipping cream instead of Neufchatel and Cool Whip!

    So many options in this recipe. So few calories. How sweet it is!

    layered Tiramisu in two glass dessert dishes with raspberries and chocolate shavings on a pink plate with tea spoons

    I served it with two antique Woolworth ice tea spoons my mom gave me from my Grandma's estate. They may be soda fountain spoons, but they look like iced sweet tea spoons to me.

    Garnishes

    I garnished with fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings. Chocolate shavings look really fancy but these couldn't be easier to make. I just used my vegetable peeler to scrape down the narrow sides of the bittersweet chocolate baking bar.

    Shave the chocolate directly onto the dessert because they are fragile and actually melt on your fingertips. You can also shave them onto a paper plate, then sprinkle them on when you are ready to serve.

    Two parfait glasses layered with tea soaked cake, whipped cream, and topped with raspberries and grated chocolate

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    Leave a comment below the printable recipe if you have questions or want to tell me how you liked the recipe. Don't forget to give the recipe a rating of 5 stars if you love it!

    layered Tiramisu in two glass dessert dishes with raspberries and chocolate shavings on a pink plate with tea spoons

    Sweet Tea Tiramisu Trifle for Two

    Kathleen Phillips: GritsAndGouda.com
    This is my Southern shortcut skinny version of the Italian dessert, Tiramisu. It's typically made with espresso and/or rum soaked ladyfingers and layered with mascarpone cheese and whipped cream. My sweet tea version is ready to eat in 15 minutes.
    5 from 4 votes
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    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Total Time 15 minutes mins
    Servings 2 servings
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    Ingredients
      

    • ½ cup cold water
    • 2 single serve pre-sweetened tea bags or ½ cup strong sweet tea sweetend with Splenda
    • 1.5 ounces angel food cake, cut into ½" cubes (about 1 ½ cups)
    • ½ cup sugar-free or lite non dairy whipped topping, thawed
    • 2 ounces Neufchatel cheese (¼ cup)
    • 1 tablespoon bittersweet chocolate shavings
    • Fresh raspberries

    Instructions
     

    • Pour water over tea bags and let steep for 10 minutes. Remove the tea bag.
    • Place the cake cubes in a shallow bowl or rimmed plate. Brush the cake cubes with the strong tea or drizzle it over them and toss well to coat.
    • Combine Neufchatel and whipped topping in a bowl with a wire whisk until smooth. 
    • Arrange half the soaked cake cubes evenly in the bottom of two dessert dishes. (Half pint jars work well, too!) Spoon half of the whipped topping mixture evenly in the two dessert dishes. Arrange the remaining half of cake cubes evenly in the dishes. Dollop the remaining whipped topping mixture on top of cake cubes. 
    • Sprinkle with chocolate shavings and garnish with fresh raspberries. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1gCalories: 157kcal
    Did you make this recipe?If you love it, share it! Comment below before you go!

    Updated 1/2021

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    Hi y'all! I’m Kathleen. I share Southern shortcut recipes! I’m a food stylist, cookbook author, and former test kitchen director in Alabama. I take traditional Southern recipes you know and love (and a few new ones) and make them with shortcuts so you can enjoy them faster.

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    Hi y'all! I’m Kathleen. I share Southern shortcut recipes! I’m a food stylist, cookbook author, and former test kitchen director in Alabama. I take traditional Southern recipes you know and love (and a few new ones) and make them with shortcuts so you can enjoy them faster.

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