This cold coconut cake with a coffee-soaked ladyfinger base is a dessert you can whip up in no time. It is one of those recipes to make when you don’t have time to bake a cake in the oven, or time to make decorations, or don’t have jam at home to make one of those tarts that often solve the sudden dessert dilemma for me.

In short, this cold coconut and coffee cake is one of those recipes that can save us… the invitation, the celebration, the impromptu gift, or the simple desire to quickly enjoy a homemade dessert.

In the end, for me, it’s always the improvised recipes that give me the most satisfaction, doesn’t the same happen to you? Like this improvised cold coconut cake which then became a dessert to repeat on many occasions.

I made it for the first time for Valentine’s Day, then for a birthday and three times in a row to celebrate my children’s last three exams. Each time with some small variation and each time it was liked by everyone, and everyone asked me to make it again. And it’s so quick and easy to make, that I’m happy to oblige them. 😊

The starting idea was to make a new cheesecake but with a different base, that is, not to make the classic cookie and butter base (precisely to avoid butter). And then because I wanted the coffee flavor, and the quickest idea at that first moment was to borrow the idea of coffee-soaked ladyfingers from tiramisu.

For the ricotta cream, I varied each time. I tried the version of ricotta + cream mixed together, I tried the version of a layer of ricotta + a layer of cream, I also tried the double layer (of both cookies and cream) and a heart-shaped version. The result in the final taste doesn’t change, it’s always very successful. 😊

Try this cold coconut and coffee cake, I’m sure you will like it!

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Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Cheap
Rest time: 1 Hour
Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Portions: 8
Cooking methods: No cooking
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients for a 9.5-inch cake pan

9 oz ricotta
7 oz fresh whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
20 ladyfingers
4 espresso cups coffee
2 tablespoons rum (or cognac or brandy)
1.8 oz shredded coconut
1.8 oz dark chocolate chips
vanilla extract (optional)

Tools

Cake Pan

Steps

Preliminary Clarification:
You can use a springform pan or any kind of dish or plate. I’ve made this dessert in different containers each time and I can assure you they all work.
☝ One thing I recommend against: it’s better not to use parchment paper. I discovered that it makes it difficult to lift a slice from underneath (in short, it hinders the spatula and you risk picking up the paper with the slice). I decided to use parchment paper to protect a Teflon pan, assuming that, cutting the frozen dessert, the pan might get scratched with a knife. Correct assumption but wrong application, because parchment paper gets in the way. And if the dessert is served soft, it gets soggy.
Procedure:
Moisten the ladyfingers with coffee – optionally spiked with rum or other liqueur – and arrange them on the bottom of the pan (and on the edges, if you want to create a border).
Fill any small gaps with pieces of ladyfinger.
Place in the fridge, or freezer, while you prepare the ricotta cream.
Prepare the ricotta cream:
Mix the ricotta well with the powdered sugar (except for one tablespoon to use with the cream).
Add the vanilla extract (optional, sometimes I added it and sometimes I didn’t).
👉 The vanilla flavor I’m currently using, as you see in the photo, is a homemade maceration (produced by my sister-in-law, who as you know is great in the kitchen) similar to this.
Add the shredded coconut and mix.
👉 If the ricotta cream turns out too thick, you can soften it with a tablespoon of milk or liquid cream, or slightly reduce the amount of coconut.
Whip the cream, sweetened with the tablespoon of powdered sugar.
At this point, you can decide to mix all the whipped cream with the ricotta cream, or you can add half, and use the other half as a layer of just cream. Or you can decide to make the dessert with a smaller amount of cream than indicated in the ingredients. I also tried a version with just ricotta, without cream, which is much lighter, and it’s not bad at all.
😉 In fact, the very first time I made this dessert I used only a small amount of whipped cream, which was left over from a previous preparation. There are many variations, all valid.
Cover the coffee-soaked ladyfinger base with the ricotta and cream mixture.
Sprinkle with chocolate chips as desired.
Cover with a layer of whipped cream.
Decorate with more chocolate chips.
In a (more or less 😁) imaginative way.
Put it in the fridge for at least an hour (or more), or in the freezer for half an hour.
If left to freeze, it becomes a great semifreddo. But it gives its best when served soft (but cold), so I recommend thawing it in the fridge and enjoying it when it has softened, but is still well chilled.
It’s delicious!