TIRAMISU-ISH
It’s not traditional. But it is the very essence of summer.
By James Norton
What are we looking for when it comes to the perfect summer dessert? Whatever it is, this Strawberry Lemon Tiramisu from the upcoming Italianish by Danny Freeman probably has it covered.
This cake-like delight is light, supple, packs a big citrus kick, and isn't shy about the strawberries. This is much more of a (non-boozy) trifle than a proper tiramisu - syrup-soaked ladyfingers aside, there's not really much flavor resemblance between this and its namesake dish. Rather than celebrating the taste of sweet coffee, this is much more about the punch of lemon curd and the pleasure of enjoying thinly sliced strawberries in the context of a tender, yielding cake-like medium.
James Norton / Heavy Table
The biggest challenge you'll face with this recipe is sourcing the ladyfingers. Ordering online or hitting an Italian specialty shop like Cossetta or Brianno's might be the way to go, as the ladyfingers at Lunds are expensive (about $10 to make this recipe), hard to find (in the freezer section, of all places), and/or out of stock because someone bought the one or two packages they keep on hand. Good luck. Failing ladyfingers, however, you could make a simple spongecake or substitute sheets of angel food cake without doing too much damage to the concept. You just want something tender yet robust to drink up that strawberry syrup and help support the layers of cream and lemon curd that make up the dessert.
James Norton / Heavy Table
My only real adjustment to this recipe was knocking the mascarpone down from the originally called-for 16 ounces to 8 in order to yield a lighter, more delicate whipped filling. To be perfectly honest, you could make this cake with 4 oz. or 0 oz. of mascarpone and it would still be a success - the cheese lends a little body and tang to the filling but it's absolutely optional.
James Norton / Heavy Table
STRAWBERRY LEMON TIRAMISU
Lemon Curd
1 1/2 cups sugar
10 egg yolks
1 large egg
1 cup lemon juice
Zest of 3 lemons (about 3 Tbsp)
12 Tbsp butter
Syrup
1 pound of strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Filling
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz. mascarpone
To Assemble
35-40 ladyfinger cookies or two 9x13 in. sheets of angel food cake
10-15 strawberries, thinly sliced
CURD: Whisk together sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking frequently to prevent eggs from curdling. Sauce should thicken and coat the back of a spoon in about 10 minutes.
Remove pan from heat and add butter, stirring until the butter melts, about 3 minutes. Refrigerate lemon curd until it thickens, about 1 hour.
SYRUP: Combine strawberries, sugar, and water in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce to medium-low and cook until strawberries soften, about 5 minutes. Use an immersion blender or potato masher to blend any chunks of strawberries, and refrigerate until cool (about 30 minutes.)
FILLING: Combine cream, sugar, and vanilla in stand mixer bowl, and run whisk attachment on high speed until you obtain stiff peaks (about 5 minutes.) Stir in your mascarpone to combine.
ASSEMBLE: Dip half the ladyfingers into strawberry syrup and place in a single layer on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread half the cream filling over the ladyfingers, and then spread two thirds of the lemon curd on top.
Place a layer of sliced strawberries on the lemon curd, dip the remaining ladyfingers in strawberry syrup, and place atop the strawberries. Pour some of the remaining strawberry syrup over the top, add another layer of cream filling and finish with a layer of lemon curd. Refrigerate until ready to serve.