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.

Lady Fingers

I love playing off the idea of tiramisu by adding seasonal ingredients and using ladyfingers for my base. I was excited to see that Epicurious has a recipe for homemade ladyfingers, as they are not terribly cheap. The recipe takes a little bit, but the result is worth the effort.

Ingredients: (from Epicurious.com)
5 large eggs, separated, at room temperature 30 minutes
2/3 cup sugar, divided
7/8 cup all-purpose flour
Confectioners sugar for dusting
Equipment: a pastry bag with 3/4-inch opening

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Beat yolks with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale yellow, then gradually beat in all but 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar.

Beat at medium-high speed until pale yellow, tripled in volume, and thick enough to form a ribbon that takes 5 seconds to dissolve when beater is lifted, 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir until just combined (batter will be very stiff).

Beat egg whites with cleaned beaters until they just hold soft peaks.

Add remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar in a slow stream, then beat until whites hold stiff peaks.

Stir one third of whites into yolk mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Spoon batter into pastry bag.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment, piping a dab of batter under each corner to secure. Pipe 2 rows of (3 1/2-inch-long) ladyfingers (12 to 16 per row) onto sheet, piping them so they almost touch. Dust with confectioners sugar.

Bake until pale golden, dry, and soft but springy to the touch, 14 to 16 minutes. Cool completely on baking sheet.