Strawberry Tiramisu – No-bake
An easy, no-bake, child-friendly dessert and when you are hosting friends or family but don’t want too much to do on the day, you can make this ahead and just finish it with the topping right before serving. Serves: 4-6
INGREDIENTS
Strawberry syrup
300g strawberries
265ml (1.25 cups) water
250g (1.25 cups) white sugar
sterilized glass bottle
Mascarpone filling
2 large eggs plus 1 egg white (room temp)
3 Tabs white sugar
125g Mascarpone
Layers
Savoiardi biscuits (i used 14 but this will vary depending on the size of your dish)
Strawberry syrup
70g diced strawberries plus extra for the final topping
Strawberries
Wash them then carefully rinse at least 2 times, NOT mashing them!
Sort them into those that are ripe but firm – to be used for the layering and topping.
And those that are ripe & bruised – which will be used for the syrup
Hull and cut the syrup strawberries into halves or quarters
Make the strawberry syrup
1. Carefully tip those strawberries into hot water (265ml), bring to a boil then reduce the heat and let them simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Set a strainer over a bowl & pour the strawberries over it. Lift up the strainer and give it a little wiggle, do not try to mash the strawberries to squeeze out the water.
3. Carefully pour the strawberry water back into the pot. There will most likely be some dark residue at the bottom of the bowl that you should avoid adding to the pot.
4. Set stove over high heat & pour sugar into the strawberry water. Stir and let come to a boil then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 18 minutes.
5. Give it a few minutes to cool down before pouring it into a sterilized glass bottle. Do this before it completely cools as it thickens some more as it cools.
Store any leftover syrup in the fridge and try to use it within 2 weeks.
Prepare the layering ingredients
1. Dice some ripe & firm strawberries into small pieces and set those on the side.
2. Eggs at room temperature form faster. Separate the egg whites from the yolks.
Whip the egg whites and once they start to froth up, tip the sugar into the bowl and whip until they form stiff peaks, this should take about 5 minutes or so.
3. Whisk them until thickened and leave a ribbon trail when you lift the whisk.
4. Add the mascarpone to the yolks and whisk until they are well incorporated with as few bits of mascarpone globules as possible. The mixture should be thick.
5. Drizzle about 2 Tabs strawberry syrup into the egg yolk mixture and whisk it in before adding 1/4 of the egg whites to the yolk mixture and folding it in using a spatula.
6. Then add the rest of the egg whites and quickly but gently fold, do not overmix: a few streaks of egg whites is okay, we do need the mixture to retain some structure including the whipped air for lightness.
7. Drizzle about 1T syrup over the diced strawberries, and mix to coat. We just want them coated in the sweet syrup and not drenched, so avoid using too much syrup at this point.
Layering the strawberry tiramisu
Lay the savoiardi biscuits sugar side down. Then lightly drizzle some syrup over them.
Thereafter, scoop half of the mascarpone mixture over biscuits and using the spatula, try to evenly spread it to every crevice of the dish.
Then dollop the diced & syruped strawberries over this in a way that somewhat ensures every bite has some. You can add a drizzle of the syrup now, if you like.
Top that with a layer of the biscuits, followed by the syrup, then the mascarpone mixture.
Cover the tiramisu with cling film and set it in the fridge to set for no less than 4 hours if you are in a hurry, otherwise leave it in the fridge overnight.
When you are ready to serve, slice the remaining firm strawberries and top your tiramisu with them right before serving (with a drizzle of the syrup).
NOTES
Storage: Keep it in the fridge and eat within 2 days
How to make it even more child-friendly: Reduce the amount of syrup used between layers. Make sure the strawberries are cut to child-friendly bite sizes.
