Strawberry Tiramisù is a delicious and refreshing twist on the classic Italian dessert. It combines layers of ladyfingers, mascarpone cream, and juicy strawberries, creating a perfect balance of sweetness and tanginess. It's also a perfect kid-friendly dessert, as it contains no coffee or alcohol.
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This Strawberry Tiramisù is a delightful no bake dessert that is perfect for any occasion, whether it's a special dinner party or a casual summer barbecue. This spring version of the classic Tiramisù is easy to make and can be customized to suit any taste preferences, making it a favorite among dessert lovers of all ages.
It can be made into a large baking dish or it can be served in individual portions, layered in a glass, for a beautiful and delicious presentation. Like this Coffee Panna Cotta.
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Ingredients & Substitutions
This delicious strawberry tiramisu is a mix between strawberry shortcake and classic tiramisu. The delicious strawberry flavor is the perfect fruity twist for this summer dessert.
- Strawberries. They're the main ingredient for this dessert and I recommend using fresh strawberries when they're in season for the best taste. You can also add or substitute with any other berry of your choice.
- Mascarpone. Mascarpone cheese is also essential to make a Tiramisù. Mascarpone is similar to cream cheese but softer, less acidic, and with a creamier taste since it's made from whole cream rather than milk.
- Eggs. I prefer to make the classic mascarpone sauce with eggs and pasteurize the eggs with sugar syrup to make them safer (see below for the detailed process), but if you prefer, you can skip the eggs and substitute them with whipped cream.
- Sugar. Standard granulated sugar works best in this recipe. You can use powdered sugar if you use whipped cream and don't need to pasteurize the eggs.
- Ladyfingers. The traditional Tiramisù is made with Savoiardi Ladyfingers. But nowadays there are many different brands in stores and they will all work fine.
- Lemon. Lemon and strawberries go hand in hand. You can substitute the lemon juice with orange juice for a sweeter taste, or you can use Limoncello liqueur instead for a boozy alternative.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Variations
This Strawberry Tiramisù is delicious as it is, but you can make some variations to give it an extra flavor or to adapt it to your preferences.
- White Chocolate. You can add white chocolate chips layered on top of the mascarpone cream to give it an additional texture and taste that will work great with strawberries.
- Boozy. Use Limoncello liqueur or orange liqueur (like Grand Marnier or Cointreau) in place of the lemon juice for the strawberry sauce to dip the ladyfingers in for a delicious boozy twist.
- Egg-Free. If you don't feel comfortable eating raw eggs (even if pasteurized), or if you want to serve this to pregnant women or children, you can fully skip the eggs and make the cream with only mascarpone and whip cream.
- Semifreddo. If you use whipping cream in place of the eggs, you can also freeze the strawberry tiramisù to get a delicious Semifreddo.
- Extra Zing: Add some orange zest or a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to the strawberries for an extra zing.
Instructions with Photos
Step 1. Chop the strawberries in rounds or small chunks. Place them in a bowl and add sugar and lemon juice. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, better if overnight.
Step 2. In a saucepan, add the water and sugar and turn to medium heat. Bring it to 250°F (121°C). Start whisking the egg yolks in a large mixing bowl. Pour the syrup slowly on the yolks, whisking until they're light and foamy and until they're cooled down.
Step 3. Add a couple of tablespoons of Mascarpone cheese to the whipped eggs and mix, then add the remaining Mascarpone and mix again until fully incorporated.
Step 4. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form, then add it to the eggs and mascarpone, folding it in carefully with a spatula.
Step 5. Blend ⅓ of strawberries with their juices. Dip both sides of the ladyfingers in the strawberry syrup, then place an even layer of ladyfingers on the bottom of a baking dish.
Step 6. Spread a layer of Mascarpone cream with a spoon on top of the ladyfingers, then sprinkle the strawberry filling on top.
Step 7. Make more layers until you fill the container, ending with a layer of Mascarpone cream. Decorate the top of the tiramisu with a dusting of cocoa powder or more strawberries.
Equipment
You can make this delicious dessert without fancy equipment, but the below tools can be very handy to cut down time, make your life easier, and improve the presentation.
- Thermometer. It can be very handy to make sugar syrup to pasteurize the eggs. You can make it without but it's much more difficult and you risk cooking the eggs. A candy thermometer works best because you can clip it to the pot, but you can also use a meat thermometer if that's the one you have.
- Glass Pirex Dish. This glass dish is perfect to serve Tiramisù in a beautiful way and the glass will show all the pretty layers.
- Individual Trifle Bowls. Tiramisù and Trifle have so much in common. These footed glass bowls will be perfect to serve Tiramisù in gorgeous individual portions.
- Stand Mixer. To whip egg whites or whipping cream, a stand mixer will do the job quickly and effortlessly. KitchenAid of course, is the best you can find.
- Hand Mixer. If you don't want to invest in a stand mixer, then a hand mixer will be perfect. It does the job wonderfully and all you have to do is hold it.
Storage
You can store it in the fridge covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
💭 FAQ & Tips
Yes, you can skip the eggs, and water, and make the cream with the remaining ingredients. In this case, replace the granulated sugar with powdered sugar.
Against popular belief, in traditional tiramisu there isn't alcohol. You can add it if you like, in strawberry tiramisù you can add strawberry liquor or Limoncello for a boozy twist.
Using Philadelphia is not traditional and not common, but Mascarpone is part of the cream cheese family so technically you can use it in its place. Whip it until it becomes softer and creamier.
If you want to pasteurize the eggs (see below), a thermometer can be really useful, otherwise, you may not pasteurize them correctly. A candy thermometer is preferable because you can clip it to the pot and have a constant measurement. But you can also use any other kitchen/meat thermometer. If you don't have any, you can eyeball it (not recommended) and turn off the heat when you start seeing white bubbles on the surface.
Top tip
Although in Italy it has been done for many years, eating raw eggs is not safe due to the risk of Salmonella. Therefore it is always recommended to pasteurize the eggs. (Or buy pasteurized yolks.)
To pasteurize the eggs means to heat them up just enough to kill the bacteria, without cooking them. To do so, the best way is to use hot sugar syrup.
- In a saucepan add the sugar and water and turn the heat to medium. Use a candy or meat thermometer in the syrup and bring it to exactly 250°F (121°C ).
- Before it reaches the temperature, start whisking the egg yolks, then slowly pour the syrup over the yolks in a thin stream while keeping on whisking until light and foamy.
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📖 RECIPE
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- First, clean and chop the strawberries in rounds or small chunks. Place them in a bowl and add ¼ cup of sugar and lemon juice.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (better if overnight).
- Meanwhile, prepare the Mascarpone cream, starting by pasteurizing the eggs. In a saucepan, add the water and ½ cup of sugar and turn the heat to medium.
- Use a candy thermometer and bring it to 250°F (121°C). A few minutes before it reaches the temperature, start whisking the egg yolks in a bowl.
- When the sugar syrup reaches the right temperature, pour it slowly in a thin stream on the yolks, while keeping on whisking until they're light and foamy and until they're cooled down.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of Mascarpone cheese to the whipped eggs and mix, then add the remaining Mascarpone and mix again until fully incorporated.
- In another bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form, then add it to the eggs and mascarpone, folding it in carefully with a spatula.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge until ready to use.
- Take the strawberries out of the fridge, and blend ⅓ of them with their juices.
- Dip both sides of the ladyfingers in the strawberry juice, then layer them on the bottom of a baking dish or glass trifle cups. You can cut the ladyfingers to the size you need to fill the whole surface.
- Spread a layer of Mascarpone cream with a spoon on top of the ladyfingers, then sprinkle the chopped strawberries on top.
- Make more layers until you fill the container, ending with a layer of Mascarpone cream.
- Decorate the top with cocoa powder or with the remaining chopped strawberries.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Video
Notes
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