THE SPLIT PLATE / RECIPE

Protein Tiramisu

Sunday-night build. 4 servings, overnight chill, 24g protein per ramekin.

YIELD4 servings
TOTAL TIME15 min prep + overnight chill
COOK METHODSee method
EST. / SERVING~236 cal | ~24g protein

Ingredients

CREAM LAYER (makes 4 servings)

  • 150g Fage Total 0% Greek Yogurt (1 small container)
  • 150g Daisy 2% Cottage Cheese (1 small container)
  • 84g Philadelphia Neufchâtel Cheese (3 portions of an 8 oz block)
  • 2 scoops PEScience Select Protein, Vanilla (62g total)
  • 3 tbsp Whole Earth Allulose + Monk Fruit sweetener blend (36g)

LAYER

  • 28 HighKey Vanilla Wafers (7 per ramekin × 4 ramekins, ~70g total)
  • About 1/2 cup black coffee (brewed strong, room temp) — for dipping the wafers only

FINISH

  • 1/2 tbsp Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder (for the snowfall on top)

You want a make-ahead Sunday dessert that builds once and eats over four days — same recipe for the whole family, 24g protein per serving, ~10g net carbs, MacroFactor-verified macros.

Method

  1. 1.BLEND COTTAGE CHEESE ALONE. This is the most important step. Add the full 150g Daisy 2% to a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth — no visible curds. If you skip this and blend everything together, surviving curds wreck the mousse texture and you'll taste them all week. Non-negotiable.
  2. 2.ADD THE REST OF THE CREAM. Once cottage cheese is silky, add the Fage 0%, Neufchâtel (cut into chunks so it blends), 2 scoops PEScience Vanilla, and 3 tbsp Whole Earth sweetener. No coffee goes in the cream — all the coffee is in the wafer dip. Blend until thick, smooth, mousse-like — should hold a soft peak, not pour. If too thick, add a splash of milk or water.
  3. 3.BREW THE DIP COFFEE. Brew about 1/2 cup strong black coffee and cool it to room temp. Pour into a shallow bowl wide enough to lay a wafer flat. This is the only coffee in the recipe.
  4. 4.DIP, DON'T SOAK. One wafer at a time — quick in, quick out. Roughly one second per side. The wafer should still feel structural when you place it. Soaked wafers turn into wet sludge by morning. This is where most home tiramisus die.
  5. 5.LAYER. In each of 4 ramekins or 6 oz meal-prep containers — 3-4 dipped wafers on the bottom (snap if needed to fit), generous spoonful of cream (~1/4 of cream total ÷ 2 layers = ~1/8 per layer), 3-4 more dipped wafers, another generous spoonful of cream on top (7 wafers per ramekin × 4 ramekins = 28 wafers total). Smooth flat. Repeat for all 4 containers.
  6. 6.CHILL OVERNIGHT — NOT 4 HOURS, OVERNIGHT. This is the second non-negotiable step. The protein powder needs to hydrate, the wafers need to soften from the coffee dip, and the flavors need to meld. Day 2 tastes dramatically better than fresh — the coffee bitterness smooths out and the cream sets like real tiramisu cream.
  7. 7.COCOA DUST RIGHT BEFORE EATING. Don't dust ahead of time — cocoa absorbs moisture and goes patchy. Divide the listed 1/2 tbsp Ghirardelli cocoa among the four containers, dusting each only when you eat it. Use a fine mesh strainer for an even snowfall. The cocoa carries the tiramisu perception harder than anything else in the recipe.

SPLIT PLATE SERVING

Adult: Serve the adult portion as described above.

Kid: Serve the kid portion as described above.

If something fails

Cream is grainy / has curds: You skipped step 1. The cottage cheese MUST be blended alone first until silky. Once you mix it with the yogurt and Neufchâtel, the curds won't break down further. No fix after the fact — start over.

Wafers are mushy / wet by morning: You soaked them. The dip is one second per side, not five. Quick in, quick out. Some wafer integrity should remain when you place it.

Tastes like protein powder: You ate it before overnight chill. Don't. The chill is what hydrates the protein and mellows the flavor. Fresh, this tastes like a protein hack. After 8+ hours, it tastes like dessert.

Cream tastes flat / one-note: Add 1 tsp vanilla extract + a pinch of salt to the cream blend next time. Optional but worth it — salt makes the sweetness feel real and vanilla adds depth.

Wafers stayed crunchy after chill: Coffee dip too quick or coffee not strong enough. Bump dip to 1.5 seconds and use strong-brewed coffee (not weak instant). Wafers should be soft-but-structured by morning, like real ladyfingers.

Top went patchy and weird: You dusted the cocoa ahead of time. Cocoa absorbs cream moisture and clumps. Dust right before eating, one container at a time.

Storage and reheating

Store: Cover each container tightly (lid or plastic wrap) and refrigerate. Don't dust cocoa until right before eating — pre-dusted cocoa absorbs cream moisture and goes patchy.

Reheat: None. Eat cold straight from the fridge — that's the format.

Lasts: 4 days refrigerated. Texture peaks on Day 2 and stays excellent through Day 4. Don't freeze — wafers turn weird on thaw.

Estimated nutrition

~236 cal | ~24g protein.

thesplitplate.com/cookbook/protein-tiramisu

Protein Tiramisu
Split Cook Method™Dessert

Protein Tiramisu

Sunday-night build. 4 servings, overnight chill, 24g protein per ramekin.

Make this when

You want a make-ahead Sunday dessert that builds once and eats over four days — same recipe for the whole family, 24g protein per serving, ~10g net carbs, MacroFactor-verified macros.

Total time
15 min prep + overnight chill
Yield
4 servings
Protein / serving
~24g
Cal / serving
~236

Ingredients

Batch cookYields 4 servings — quantities below are the full batch.

CREAM LAYER (makes 4 servings)

LAYER

FINISH

Method

  1. 1
    BLEND COTTAGE CHEESE ALONE

    This is the most important step. Add the full 150g Daisy 2% to a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth — no visible curds. If you skip this and blend everything together, surviving curds wreck the mousse texture and you'll taste them all week. Non-negotiable.

  2. 2
    ADD THE REST OF THE CREAM

    Once cottage cheese is silky, add the Fage 0%, Neufchâtel (cut into chunks so it blends), 2 scoops PEScience Vanilla, and 3 tbsp Whole Earth sweetener. No coffee goes in the cream — all the coffee is in the wafer dip. Blend until thick, smooth, mousse-like — should hold a soft peak, not pour. If too thick, add a splash of milk or water.

  3. 3
    BREW THE DIP COFFEE

    Brew about 1/2 cup strong black coffee and cool it to room temp. Pour into a shallow bowl wide enough to lay a wafer flat. This is the only coffee in the recipe.

  4. 4
    DIP, DON'T SOAK

    One wafer at a time — quick in, quick out. Roughly one second per side. The wafer should still feel structural when you place it. Soaked wafers turn into wet sludge by morning. This is where most home tiramisus die.

  5. 5
    LAYER

    In each of 4 ramekins or 6 oz meal-prep containers — 3-4 dipped wafers on the bottom (snap if needed to fit), generous spoonful of cream (~1/4 of cream total ÷ 2 layers = ~1/8 per layer), 3-4 more dipped wafers, another generous spoonful of cream on top (7 wafers per ramekin × 4 ramekins = 28 wafers total). Smooth flat. Repeat for all 4 containers.

  6. 6

    CHILL OVERNIGHT — NOT 4 HOURS, OVERNIGHT: This is the second non-negotiable step. The protein powder needs to hydrate, the wafers need to soften from the coffee dip, and the flavors need to meld. Day 2 tastes dramatically better than fresh — the coffee bitterness smooths out and the cream sets like real tiramisu cream.

  7. 7

    COCOA DUST RIGHT BEFORE EATING: Don't dust ahead of time — cocoa absorbs moisture and goes patchy. Divide the listed 1/2 tbsp Ghirardelli cocoa among the four containers, dusting each only when you eat it. Use a fine mesh strainer for an even snowfall. The cocoa carries the tiramisu perception harder than anything else in the recipe.

Adult plate | Kid plate

Adult plate

Adult

Full serving — 7 wafers, full cream layer, cocoa dust. Meal-prep into 4 containers and pull one per night.

Kid plate

Kid

Same recipe works for the whole family. Coffee is only in the wafer dip, never in the cream — so the cream layer is completely coffee-free. If you want zero coffee for kids, dip THEIR wafers in plain Fairlife milk instead of black coffee — same cream layer, same cocoa top.

Go deeper

Storage and nutrition

Storage: Cover each container tightly (lid or plastic wrap) and refrigerate. Don't dust cocoa until right before eating — pre-dusted cocoa absorbs cream moisture and goes patchy.

Reheat: None. Eat cold straight from the fridge — that's the format.

Lasts: 4 days refrigerated. Texture peaks on Day 2 and stays excellent through Day 4. Don't freeze — wafers turn weird on thaw.

Watch the full cook

Brands I use

HighKey
HighKey
Vanilla Wafer Cookies (12-wafer serving = 120 cal)
Low-carb wafer that holds the coffee dip without dissolving. Most diet cookies turn to mush — these stay structural overnight.
PEScience
PEScience
Select Protein (Vanilla)
Whey+casein blend thickens better than pure isolate. Isolate goes chalky in dairy. The blend is why this tastes like cheesecake, not a shake.
Fage
Fage
Total 0% Greek Yogurt
The 0% yogurt is intentional — it lets Neufchâtel do all the fat work. Full-fat yogurt pushes the dessert over the macro budget.
Daisy
Daisy
2% Reduced Fat Cottage Cheese
The 2% is the right fat ratio for mouthfeel — 0% tastes hollow, 4% pushes calories. Daisy specifically because the curd is small enough to blend silky.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Neufchâtel Cheese (1/3 less fat than cream cheese)
The fat carrier. Real cream cheese is over-budget; 1/3-less-fat has the wrong texture. Neufchâtel is the goldilocks — 65 cal per ounce, real richness, dessert-correct mouthfeel.
Whole Earth
Whole Earth
Allulose + Monk Fruit Sweetener
Allulose dissolves clean and won't crystallize overnight in the chilled cream. Monk fruit adds sweetness without the bitter aftertaste of pure stevia.
Ghirardelli
Ghirardelli
Premium Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Heavy cocoa dust on top is doing psychological work — it's what makes the dessert read 'tiramisu' instead of 'protein parfait'. Don't skip it, don't go light.
Nescafé
Nescafé
Taster's Choice House Blend Instant Coffee
The wafer dip. Coffee lives only in the dip here, not the cream — dissolve it strong in hot water, cool it, and dip quick. Deep roast, dissolves instant.
#Make-ahead#Dessert#Family-friendly#Cutting-friendly#Meal-prep