Here's What You Can Substitute For The Wine In Tiramisu

The scenario: You're about to make the best tiramisu you've created yet; you can feel it in your bones — this one is going to be transcendent. You're taking one last glance down at your ingredients before getting started. You've got the egg yolks, mascarpone, espresso, cocoa powder, heavy cream, ladyfingers, sugar — everything looks great until you realize you forgot one crucial ingredient: the Marsala wine.

It happens to the best of us. Or maybe you just don't like the flavor of wine and want to opt for something else. Whatever the reason that led you to read this today, we're here to let you know that you can, in fact, make tiramisu sans wine — and yes, it's still just as delicious. While Marsala wine might be a key ingredient in the traditional Italian version of this dessert, there are actually tons of other wine-free ways to make it.

Depending on what kind of flavor you're going for, you can substitute Marsala wine for dark rum, brandy, or coffee-flavored liqueur in your tiramisu mixture, according to Inspired Taste. Although if you're using stronger-tasting alcohol, like rum, they suggest adding about half the amount you'd normally use with wine. If you want to ditch the alcohol altogether, Inspired Taste suggests using 1 ½ tablespoon of rum extract.

Not a fan of those substitutes? My Halal Kitchen has you covered. Instead of wine, rum, brandy, or liquor, add vanilla extract or vanilla bakery emulsion. If you don't have one of those, My Halal Kitchen explains that you can mix apple juice with the cream as a replacement for brandy. Many recipes note that adding the vanilla extract (or alcohol) is optional, so if you don't have any of those ingredients, you can just roll with the basics and still end up with a deliciously creamy dessert.