This Strawberry Tiramisu is like strawberry ice cream in dessert form, and better than any strawberry cake can ever be! Instead of adding sliced strawberries in a regular tiramisu, this recipe packs strawberries in every single layer: a strawberry mascarpone cream, ladyfingers soaked in a strawberry syrup, and a dusting of crushed freeze dried strawberries on top. The secret? A strawberry concentrate made with 2 full pounds of strawberries. It is a beautiful pink color, berry-forward, and perfect for strawberry season.
A strawberry concentrate does the heavy-lifting
To start this recipe, you make a strawberry concentrate with 2 pounds of strawberries. It sounds fancy, but it's really just blending strawberries and cooking them down on low heat until they turn into a thick, jammy syrup. This concentrate is added to the tiramisu in three ways:
- Strawberry mascarpone cream: Most of the concentrate is mixed into a creamy and light mascarpone cream, just like the one I use in my classic Italian tiramisu
- Strawberry syrup: Instead of coffee, you soak the ladyfingers in a strawberry syrup made with water and strawberry concentrate
- Layered directly: Any remaining concentrate is spread directly on top of the ladyfingers to ensure we don't lose any of the strawberry flavor we've worked so hard for
You can even layer sliced strawberries inside this tiramisu to make it feel like a mix between a tiramisu and a Berry Chantilly Cake.
Why I use freeze dried strawberries in this recipe
You might be wondering, if we get so much strawberry flavor from the concentrate, why still use freeze dried strawberries? Well - it's simple! I feel like the tiramisu needs a powdery dusting on top to resemble cocoa powder. Freeze dried strawberries blend up into a beautiful pink powder and make for the perfect garnish - and they add a beautiful strawberry punch. You can easily find them at most grocery stores or on Amazon here. However, if you'd rather not use them, don't worry. You can make extra concentrate using 2.5 lb strawberries instead of 2, and spread that on top.
Step by step photos
Let's quickly go over the steps with photos to help you visualize this recipe!
Slice, serve and enjoy!
A note on texture
Hopefully this doesn't come as a surprise, but just like a strawberry jam, strawberry concentrate has some texture to it which can be felt in the tiramisu. Most strawberry lovers won't mind this at all (in fact, I like texture in my jams!), but if you're worried, you can strain the concentrate before use. Do this after cooking and before cooling it.
Zoha's tips to perfect this strawberry tiramisu
Some quick tips that will help you perfect this recipe:
- Use good quality mascarpone cheese. I can't stress this enough, and the only one I can recommend confidently is Galbani. I do a deep dive on this in my classic tiramisu recipe
- Keep an eye on the concentrate, especially towards the end. At the start, you can stir it every 5-10 minutes, but as it cooks down, it's going to stick and burn more easily
- Give the ladyfingers a thorough soak. Unlike coffee, strawberry syrup doesn't penetrate ladyfingers as quickly. I recommend 2 seconds per side, but you should always do a test ladyfinger first. Dip it, then wait 2-3 minutes and cut it in half to see how well the syrup has penetrated
- If you're a stickler for perfection like me, use this tiramisu dish! It's glass, with perfectly straight edges and gives the perfect tiramisu slices
- Work fast with freeze dried strawberries! They get moist and clumpy quickly, so I recommend sifting them onto the tiramisu right after blending/crushing
Triple Strawberry Tiramisu
- Total Time: 5 hours, 30 minutes (includes chilling time)
- Yield: 10 servings
Description
Strawberry Tiramisu made with 2 pounds of strawberries! Made with a strawberry mascarpone cream, strawberry-soaked ladyfingers, and freeze dried strawberries on top
Ingredients
Strawberry concentrate:
- 2 lb strawberries (907g)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (113g)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
Mascarpone cream:
- 16 oz mascarpone cheese, cold from the fridge (450g) - I recommend Galbani
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup strawberry concentrate from above (200g)
- 1 ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream, chilled (320g)
Strawberry syrup:
- ½ cup strawberry concentrate from above (130g)
- 1 cup water (240g)
Assembly:
- 30-36 ladyfingers
- ½ oz freeze dried strawberries (14g)*
- Fresh sliced strawberries for garnish
Instructions
Strawberry concentrate:
- Add the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and salt to a blender and blend until smooth
- Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook on the lowest heat, stirring every 10 minutes, until the mixture reduces to about a quarter of its original volume and becomes thick and jammy. This can take 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the width and depth of your pan. Watch closely in the last 10 minutes as it can burn easily once it thickens. You should end up with a little over 1 ½ cups (400g) of concentrate
- Optionally, pass the concentrate through a fine sieve mesh to remove any strawberry seeds. Then let it cool completely
Strawberry mascarpone cream:
- Whisk the mascarpone cheese on medium speed for ~60 seconds until creamy. Scrape the bowl and set aside
- In a separate heat-proof bowl, add the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and salt. Boil 1-2 inches of water in a saucepan and reduce heat to the lowest setting. Place the bowl on top of the saucepan so the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl but gets steam from it - this is your double boiler. Whisk the egg yolk mixture on medium-high speed for exactly 2 minutes, then remove from heat. The mixture should become light and fluffy. Don't over-mix or overheat as it can become grainy
- Pour the egg yolk mixture onto the mascarpone cheese. Whisk on medium speed just until combined and smooth, scraping the bowl halfway through. Don't over-mix
- Add ¾ cups (200g) of the strawberry concentrate and mix on low speed to combine
- In a separate bowl, whip the cold heavy cream until it reaches medium peaks (it should just start to hold its shape)
- Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture in 2-3 additions, using a rubber spatula and taking care not to knock out the air. You'll have a light, creamy, pale pink mixture
Strawberry syrup:
- Make the strawberry syrup by mixing ½ cup of the concentrate with 1 cup water. You will have some concentrate left over
Assembly:
- Dip each ladyfinger into the syrup for about 1-2 seconds per side. I recommend doing a test ladyfinger first: dip it, wait 2-3 minutes, then cut it in half to check how well the syrup has soaked in
- Arrange a layer of soaked ladyfingers in the bottom of an 8x9.5" rectangular dish
- Spread on half of the remaining strawberry concentrate, then half of the strawberry mascarpone cream
- Repeat with another layer of soaked ladyfingers, the rest of the concentrate, and the rest of the mascarpone cream
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or ideally overnight
- Once chilled, blend the freeze dried strawberries into a fine powder and sift evenly over the top of the tiramisu - work quickly once blended, as they clump in humidity
- Garnish with strawberry slices, serve and enjoy!
Video tutorial:
Notes
- Sweetness: This tiramisu has a mild sweetness and lets the natural flavor of strawberry comes through. If your strawberries are more on the tart side, you can add more sugar to the concentrate. Simple taste the blended strawberry and sugar mixture to determine if you want to add more sugar or not
- Freeze dried strawberries: If not using freeze dried strawberries to decorate, you can make more concentrate and add a layer of that on top of the tiramisu. In this case, increase the concentrate to 2.5 lb strawberries and ⅓ cup sugar
- Make ahead and storage: You can prepare this tiramisu ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. Because it doesn't have fresh sliced strawberries in it (they're all cooked), it stays good for longer. However, I do recommend saving the final garnish (freeze dried strawberries and sliced strawberries) for right before serving
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Chilling Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake, Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American, Italian
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