Superabundant recipe: Greet Oregon strawberry season with this glorious tiramisu

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This was supposed to be a basic non-recipe recipe.

I was originally planning an easy-yet-elegant alternative to classic strawberry shortcake — the first precious, local strawberries grown under protection (they deserve it!) tossed with just a sprinkle of sugar, topped with a dollop of mascarpone whipped cream and a crumbled amaretti cookie.

I was going to serve it in vintage punch glasses; it was going to be just lovely.

But then I smelled the perfectly ripe Albions at the fancy grocery store — the pulchritude! The olfactory poetry!

Ripe strawberries are transcendent, all at once offering sweetness, umami, and bright acidity, like a slightly tropical rose with a hint of burnt sugar.

They aren’t even a true berry!

(Strawberries are technically an aggregate accessory fruit; the fleshy part grows from the flower’s receptacle instead of the ovaries, which makes the exterior “seeds” the actual fruits.)

Anyway, my original idea was already edging toward tiramisu territory, so I figured I may as well just make a whole casserole pan of the stuff.

To try and keep this simple enough to let the fruit shine, I did resist the urge to add cardamom to the strawberries, and I took a few shortcuts like spooning the pureed fruit over the lady’s fingers instead of dipping the cookies.

(This recipe also skips the marsala wine, but if you wanted to take this to the next level, you could dunk the lady’s fingers in strawberry lambic before arranging them in the pan). Serves 12

Notes: To make the strawberry “shortcake” I’d originally planned: Instead of neatly layering the components in a pan, just spoon the diced, macerated strawberries into little serving bowls, add dollops of the mascarpone mixture, and sprinkle a coarsely crumbled amaretti or lady’s finger (the crispy kind) over the top.

You can leave out the egg yolk if you want, or use pasteurized eggs if you’re concerned about food safety.

Save the egg whites, and you can make your own amaretti from scratch!

Try popping this in the freezer for a couple of hours before serving — it’ll be easier to slice into neat portions, but also just tastes really good semi-frozen.

Ingredients

2 pints fresh strawberries (or 2 10-ounce bags of frozen strawberries)

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

1 8-ounce tub mascarpone, slightly softened

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

7 ounces of lady’s finger cookies

1 snack-sized bag (about ½ cup) freeze-dried strawberries

Instructions

1. Hull and roughly chop the strawberries. If you’re using frozen berries, let them thaw first (no need to chop) and reserve the juices. Toss them with 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a bowl and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and the vanilla until firm peaks form, about 4 to 4 ½ minutes if you’re using an electric mixer. You want the whipped cream to be stiff enough to stand up on its own, but spoonable.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks (see note) with the remaining sugar until it’s lightened in color and texture, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mascarpone and salt and continue beating until the mixture is smooth and creamy, another 2 or 3 minutes. Fold the mascarpone mixture into the whipped cream until fully combined.
4. Blend the macerated strawberries into a rough, slightly chunky puree, then spread an even layer of the puree in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Lay the lady’s fingers into the puree until the entire bottom of the pan is covered (you might need to break some to fit), then spread another thin, even layer of the strawberry puree over the top. Follow with half of the mascarpone mixture, spreading it evenly across the juiced-up lady’s fingers.
5. Repeat this process of strawberry puree, lady’s fingers, and more puree, then finish by spreading the other half of the mascarpone mixture across the top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, but overnight is better.
6. When you’re ready to serve, grind the freeze-dried strawberries into a powder, then sift the powder over the top of the tiramisu (straining out any seeds in the process). You’ll have to work fairly quickly, especially if it’s a rainy day — humidity will cause the powder to get sticky and harder to sift.

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