Strawberry Tiramisu (Eggless and Without Coffee)

This Strawberry Tiramisu: What's so special?

• Intense flavor of fresh, strawberries paired with light tangyness of lemon.
• You'll also love how quickly and easily this strawberry tiramisu comes together with just a few simple ingredients.
• This is a 100% no cook tiramisu so you'll have the best reward with minimum effort. The only regret you'll have is that you haven't made it sooner.

Ingredients and Dish Size

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

• Savoiardi Cookies  - also known as ladyfingers. Choose the hard sugar coated lady fingers variety. They will soak up the most flavor without falling apart.
• Mascarpone Cheese - one of the key ingredients for authentic Italian tiramisu. Its soft creamy consistency gives the unique taste to the dessert.
• Whipping Cream - whipping cream makes strawberry tiramisu lighter and pairs perfectly with the strawberries.
• Condensed Milk - we use it as a sweetener but also to give texture to the mascarpone cream.
• Strawberries - use the fresh, preferably farmer's market strawberries that have the brightest color, aroma and flavor. In this recipe we'll be using them raw so it's essential to buy them when they're in season to have the most flavor. Flavorless strawberries will result in strawberry-less tiramisu.
• Lemon - organic lemon with edible zest. In this recipe we are using both lemon juice to macerate the strawberries and give a depth of flavor and lemon zest for mascarpone cream.
• Sugar -  to balance sweet and sour flavor in the macerated strawberries. Start with the amount indicated in the recipe below but feel free to add a tablespoon or few more if you like your desserts extra sweet.
• Mint Leaves - fresh mint leaves are perfect for garnishing but you can also tear a few in the strawberry mix and let infuse before filtering the mix.
• Strawberry Liqueur or Limoncello (optional) - for an extra kick of flavor. Omit completely if serving to the kids or alcohol-intollerant.
• Coconuts flakes or cocoa powder for decorating (optional).
  See 4 different ways to decorate strawberry tiramisu after the recipe).

You will also need a 9x13 inch ceramic pan or deep dish (22x33cm).

Alternatively you can use an 8x8 inch dish (20x20cm). In this case you might have some leftover strawberry mascarpone cream which you can turn into individual servings just like these individual Tiramisu Cups.

Whichever dish size you choose, it should be at least 2.5 inch (6.5cm) deep.

How To Make - Step By Step With Pictures

Strawberry Tiramisu comes together quickly and easily with minimal prep of the main ingredients: strawberry mascarpone cream and strawberry juice from lemon macerated strawberries.

Lemon Juice & Zest

Zest lemon and squeeze the juice. Keep juice and zest apart.

Macerate Strawberries

• Wash and pat dry the strawberries with paper towel. Cut in small pieces to help them release the most juice.
• Mix diced strawberries in a bowl with sugar and lemon juice (about ⅓ cup) and fresh mint leaves slightly rubbed between your fingers.
• Give everything a nice stir and let the strawberries macerate for at least 20-30 minutes. This time is necessary to help the sugar dissolve and let the strawberries release the most juice.

NOTE: If you have prepared macerated strawberries earlier, you can those.

Strawberry Juice & Strawberry Puree

• Strain the strawberries through a fine mesh strainer applying some pressure and mixing to get the most juice out. Ideally you can let them sit over a strainer for another 10 minutes.
• Remove mint leaves from the remaining strawberry pieces. Don't worry if you miss any. Blend strawberries until you get smooth strawberry puree. You can use it as is or do an optional step below.
  
  OPTIONAL: pass the strawberry puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove any seeds. This will give your strawberry cream even and smooth look.
  

As a final result you should have about 1 ½ cup strawberry juice and about the same amount of strawberry puree.

Mascarpone Cream

• In a large bowl add mascarpone cheese, whipping cream, condensed milk and lemon zest.
• Whip on low speed until it starts to thicken just slightly, then increase the speed and whip until soft to medium peaks.
  
  TOP TIP: Be careful not to overbeat the cream mix or the cream will be dense!!
  Stop frequently to check the consistency. Once the peaks curl when the whisks are lifted without falling off immediately mascarpone cream is ready.
  
• Using a spatula mix in the strawberry puree (sieved or unsieved to your choice). .

Assemble Strawberry Tiramisu

TOP TIP: Before you start assembling tiramisu place savoiardi cookies in the dish you’re planning to use to see how they fit. If needed cut the cookies to fit the dish. Do this before dipping them in the strawberry juice.

• Dip savoiardi cookies in strawberry juice. Let them soak for 2 seconds and quickly remove.

EXTRA: add a shot of homemade strawberry liqueur or limoncello to the strawberry juice for an extra kick of flavor.

• Cover the dish with a thin layer of strawberry mascarpone cream.
• Place a layer of soaked savoiardi cookies.
• Top with about half (or a little less) of all mascarpone cream.
  TOP TIP: use ice-cream scoop to distribute the cream. It helps create even layer and spread the cream easily.

• Add another layer of soaked savoiardi cookies.
  TOP TIP: if you have any leftover strawberry juice you can brush it onto the alst layer of savoiardi cookies or simple use it as a syrup to make homemade strawberry Italian Lemonade.
• Finish with a layer of strawberry mascarpone cream. You can simply spread it evenly with a spoon or a spatula or decorate your tiramisu using a pastry bag with a tip. I used large plain pastry tip by Ateco.

• If you opt-on for this fancy but actually very simply to execute decoration, first, spread 2 scoops of strawberry mascarpone cream into a thin layer.
• Put the rest of the cream in the pastry bag with a tip and pipe.
• If for some reason you're no happy with the decoration you did (maybe you've run out of cream) you can simply spread the cream with a spatula and dust it with coconut flakes or cocoa powder.
  
  TOP TIP: refrigerate your strawberry mascarpone cream before decorating so it holds its shape well.

NOTE: depending on the dish you've used you might have strawberry mascarpone cream left. You can serve it in a cup with fresh strawberries or make strawberry tiramisu in a cup (mini version).

• Cover with a piece of aluminium foil or parchment paper.
• Chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours or better yet overnight.

Top Tips For Success

• Make strawberry tiramisu only when strawberries are in season. For the best tasting tiramisu use brightly colored fresh strawberries from the farmers market.
• Use Italian hard sugar-coated savoiardi cookies. They will soak up the strawberry flavor without falling apart.
• Before you start assembling tiramisu, place savoiardi in a clean dish you're planning to use and see how they fit. Try placing them lengthwise and crosswise. If needed cut the cookies slightly to fit the dish. Do this before dipping them in the strawberry juice.
• Be careful to not overwhip the cream. Stop frequently to check the consistency. Once the peaks curl when the whisks are lifted without falling off immediately mascarpone cream is ready.
• Chill strawberry tiramisu for at least 8 hours before serving or better yet overnight. This will help all the layers set nicely.