Strawberry and Lemon Tiramisu

For Cake:
36 Fresh ladyfingers

For Strawberry Cream & Topping:
2 1/2 cups fresh strawberries
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar (+ 1 teaspoon to garnish)

For Lemon Syrup:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

For Curd:
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 3/4 sticks (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces

To Make Curd: Whisk together zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and a pinch of salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter all at once and cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 10 minutes. Immediately pour curd through a fine sieve into a bowl, then chill, covered.

To Make Strawberry Cream:
Use hand mixer to whip cream with sugar and mascarpone to soft peaks. Add 1/2 cup mashed strawberries and continue to mix until cream forms hard peaks.

To Make Lemon Syrup: Stir ingredients until dissolved.

Spread lemon curd over bottom of 9 by 13 pan. Line up 18 ladyfingers over curd, covering bottom completely. Sprinkle 1/2 lemon syrup over ladyfingers. Spread 1/2 of strawberry cream over ladyfingers, covering them completely.

Line remaining ladyfingers over cream. Sprinkle remaining syrup over fingers. Top with remaining cream.

Wash strawberries and remove stems. Slice vertically and arrange on top of cream to serve.

*Lemon syrup and curd can be made the night before assembling the tiramisu.