Recipe: Strawberry Tiramisù

Who wouldn’t love to sit in the sun at an outdoor café in Italy sipping a chilled glass of wine and eating a favorite Italian meal? Coleen Kirnan, the owner, and host of Tuscan Women Cook, the unique and popular culinary vacation located in the heart of Tuscany, bring the cuisine and culture of Italy to home kitchens with her new cookbook, Tuscan Women Cook: Nonnas ▪ Memories ▪ Recipes. Each recipe will transport you to the sun-dappled Tuscan fields where farm-to-table cuisine is commonplace. Check out this recipe below for a new take on Tiramisu.

Tiramisù alle Fragole

Strawberry Tiramisù

Serve it in summer when fresh strawberries are at their peak.

Serves 8

For the strawberries

2½ cups of strawberries, chopped

₁⁄₃ cup Alchermes*, Fragoli, or Chambord liqueur 

1 tablespoon sugar

2-3 tablespoons rum 1 cup orange juice 

For the cream

5 egg yolks

¾ cups granulated sugar

2¼ cups mascarpone cheese, room temperature

2¼ cups heavy cream

1 package dry ladyfingers (Pavesini brand preferred, available online) 

Fresh strawberries

Powdered sugar

* Alchermes is a scarlet colored Italian liqueur made by infusing neutral spirits with sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla, and other herbs, and kermes, a small parasitic insect used as a red dye. Fragoli is made from wild strawberries. Chambord is made from raspberries.

Put the strawberries, liqueur, sugar, rum, and orange juice in a bowl. Set aside while preparing the cream.

Beat the egg yolks, sugar, mascarpone, and heavy cream with a hand or stand mixer on medium speed until creamy, for 5-10 minutes.

Strain the strawberries over a small bowl to capture the juice. So that it doesn’t become soggy, quickly dip a ladyfinger in the juice. Place it on the bottom of a baking dish. Continue dipping ladyfingers and arranging them in the baking dish until the bottom is covered. Spread half of the cream mixture over the ladyfingers, then cover with the chopped strawberries. Make another layer of dipped ladyfingers and cover with remaining cream mixture.

Chill for 2-3 hours before serving. Just before serving decorate the tiramisù with strawberries and dust with powdered sugar. Refrigerated it will keep for up to 2 days.