tiramisu rosa

Imagine it's summer in Italy, you're sitting on a terrace in Sorrento overlooking the vast, blue Meditteranean Sea with a book in one hand and an espresso in the other... That's what I wanted this dish to taste like and I'd say I got pretty dang close to it. I love Tiramisu, it's an all-time favorite dessert to eat and to make so this was a blast. It took me a bit to figure out what I was going to replace the espresso with but once it clicked, man was it clear how good this was going to be!

On the drive home from my brother's graduation in Lakeland, Florida we stopped at a produce stand in the middle of nowhere and picked up three packages of fresh strawberries and mini peaches. I knew I wanted to make something summery and light and it clicked, a summer-time tiramisu. The mascarpone cream is the same that you would find in any tiramisu, I got the base of my recipe from a cooking class we took in Italy and adjusted it to my preferences. The fruit on the inside adds texture that is new to tiramisu. The sweet orange milk that the ladyfingers are soaked in pays homage to one of my favorite cakes, Tres Leches, and the name Tiramisu Rosa, or Pink Tiramisu, comes from its pretty color on top with the freeze-dried strawberries (pink is also my favorite color).

When you make this at home, I highly encourage you to adjust the fruit choice to your personal preference. Personally, my next one will be a raspberry and blackberry filling, topped with a raspberry jam swirl!

Tiramisu Rosa

• 3 individual packages of Ladyfingers

• 4 eggs, separated

• 2 1/4 cups of mascarpone cheese (approximately 500g)

• 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons of sugar

• 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste

• 1 package of strawberries, sliced

• 3 peaches, cubed

• 1.5 cups of milk

• 1/3 cup of sweetened condensed milk

• half a capful of orange extract

• 1 cup of freeze-dried strawberries

1. Start by cutting the fruit, placing them in separate storage bowls, and mixing 1 tablespoon of sugar into each. Store in the refrigerator until they are needed later.

2. Separate the egg yolks from the whites into two mixing bowls. Using a hand mixer, combine the egg yolks, a 1/4 cup of sugar, and the vanilla bean paste until they become fluffy and pale yellow, almost white.

3. Wash the whisk attachments from the hand mixer and then begin whipping the egg whites on high speed with a 1/4 cup of sugar until they reach glossy, stiff peaks. Stiff peaks mean that when you turn off the mixer and lift the whisks out of the egg whites, they should hold their shape and not droop.

4. Add the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture and gently fold them together. Folding: using a rubber spatula gently stir the mixture in a circular motion until it is fully combined. Cover by placing the cling wrap directly on top of the mixture and store in the refrigerator.

5. In a large measuring cup or a wide bowl, whisk together the milk, sweetened condensed milk, and orange extract.

6. Set up your assembly line with the Ladyfingers, sweet orange milk, mascarpone cream, and the cut fruit with a 12 x 8 serving dish.
   

7. Dip the ladyfingers into the sweet orange milk one at a time and line them on the bottom of the serving dish, break the Ladyfingers in half to cover the entire pan. Spread a thin layer of the mascarpone cream over the ladyfingers and then place half of the strawberries and peaches over the cream.

8. Repeat this process twice and you should reach the top of the serving dish, the top layer should be the mascarpone cream.

9. Using a food processor, pulverize the strawberries until they are a fine powder. You can also crush them in a Ziploc bag.

10. Dust the strawberry powder over the top of the tiramisu or decorate with more fresh fruit.