A Recipe of Enticement: Strawberry Tiramisu

In June, strawberries will be in our garden – and strawberry tiramisu will often be dessert for dinner guests. In July, peaches come along and this dish is also buonissimo using peaches instead of strawberries. A main ingredient of traditional tiramisu is espresso coffee: might keep you awake at a night, but not this strawberry one!

TIRAMISU WITH STRAWBERRIES – for 8 persons

Ingredients:

• about 1-1/2 c. (more or less) of fresh ricotta
• about same (more or less) of mascarpone
• 6 – 8 eggs
• 1 quart very ripe strawberries or about 6- 8 very ripe peaches
• sugar……about 1 cup?
• lady fingers (savoiardi) – 400 g package – you’ll need about 20 cookies or more
• 1/2 pkg of amaretti cookies
• 1/2 qt approximately of orange juice or apricot or pear juice..or juice of mixed fruits (your call)
• cherries, a few (for decoration)
• optional ingredients : dark chocolate (a bar – 8 oz?), grated coconut

Dish needed: oval or rectangular. This will be a layered refrigerator dish serving about 8 persons. Sides of dish need only be about 4- 5 ins.

Cream together mascarpone and ricotta. Separate egg yolks from whites and whip each. Add yolks to cream mixture, then whites. Add sugar to taste. Slice strawberries – or peaches – (if possible the night before) into a bowl, pouring fruit juice over the fruit (you will be dipping the savoyards into the juices as you make the tiramisu). If desired, sprinkle fruit with a bit of sugar but note that the savoyards are quite sweet.

Dip cookies into fruit mixture. Layer on bottom of dish, then cover with cream mixture and spoonfuls of the fruit (leaving juice behind). If using strawberries, you may wish to add shaved chocolate (I do that with a knife as I like bits and chunks of the chocolate in the tiramisu) – which ties nicely with strawberries.

Repeat with another layer (try for 3 layers) and on top layer, spirnkle with crushed amaretti cookies. Decorate with slices of fruit. Suggestion: add dollops here and there of mascarpone mixed with sugar and plop a strawberry (or peach slice) onto it. Optional: f you like coconut, sprinkle on top. I also like to add a few ripe cherries.

NB other fruits may be used: blueberries, raspberries – you might add a few kiwi to strawberries (if using those).
I’ve never tried with pineapple but……..why not?
Note: having trouble finding savoiardi? Try this recipe with Graham crackers! Tasty….

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