Hey y'all! Summer is officially here which means I'm in full no-bake dessert mode. I have to be honest, I have a crappy kitchen. Any time that I cook or bake my whole house becomes insanely hot. Considering it's already almost 100 (or even higher) this time of year in Florida, I don't need all that extra heat in the house.
Tiramisu is one of my favorite classic Italian no-bake desserts. It is made up of coffee-soaked lady finger cookies, chocolate, whipped cream and creamy mascarpone cheese. Many people add a little dash of coffee flavored liqueur to elevate the dish. Mmm, it's heaven!
This dish takes the basic components of the classic tiramisu and as a fresh, summertime spin to it. It is creamy, refreshing and not sicky sweet like many desserts and is jam packed full of bright flavors such a strawberries, oranges and limoncello.
Ingredients: 1 cup heavy cream 8 oz mascarpone cheese 1/4 cup powdered sugar zest of 1 lemon 2 cups orange juice 3 tbsp limoncello 3 cups of strawberries, tops removed and sliced thin 24 ladyfinger cookies
Instructions:
1. Add heavy cream to a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium-high heat until soft peaks form. (I use a chilled metal bowl to help to process go a little quicker).
2. Add in powdered sugar and mascarpone cheese. Beat on medium until stiff.
3. Stir in the zest of 1 lemon. Set mixture aside.
4. Add orange juice and limoncello to a shallow dish. Stir.
5. Allow 4-5 ladyfingers to rest in the orange juice mixture for 10 seconds. Flip the ladyfingers over and let them sit for another 10 seconds before removing.
6. Place the ladyfingers in a 9x9 pan. Fill the pan with ladyfingers (you should have about 12 in your first layer).
7. Add half of the mascarpone mixture and spread it out evenly over the ladyfingers.
8. Add a layer of strawberries to the top of the mascarpone mixture. I layered mine so that I didn't have clumps of strawberries.
9. Repeat the previous layering steps to create a second layer of ladyfingers, mascarpone mixture, and strawberries.
10. Store in the fridge until you're ready to serve. I placed my summer tiramisu in the freezer 30 minutes prior to serving so that I had cleaner cuts.
This dish is so incredibly light and refreshing. I love how the citrus flavors of limoncello and oranges come together with the strawberries to create a bright, fun dessert perfect for summertime! If you're feeling super wild and crazy you could soak 1/2 of the strawberries on your top layer in the remaining orange juice and limoncello mixture. I tried it that way and it was good, but almost a little too boozy (as if that were a thing!).
