Strawberry Tiramisu

Many years ago, my girlfriend Gabriella made a strawberry tiramisu, and I’ve never forgotten it. It was made in the same manner as a traditional tiramisu, but without the coffee element. Instead, it had layers of beautiful spring strawberries.

So I wanted to finally make this twist of the popular Italian dessert using traditional ingredients like Savoirdi biscuits and marscapone, plus strawberries. However, I pondered upon what liquid to use in which to dip the biscuits.

A million years ago, approximately, my husband and I went to a Food and Wine Tasting in Aspen, Colorado. It was the same week that O. J. Simpson “allegedly” killed two people. I remember the actual day that he was followed along highway 101 in the white Bronco because it was my younger daughter’s birthday – June 12th.

In any case, the festival itself was a bit crazy. I think they sold too many tickets! Being short, I was always being elbowed by tall men who’d obviously never tasted wine or food before. Even if I was in front of a vendor table, people were reaching past me, around me, and over me. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’m not much of a crowd lover, so it was a bit stressful and painful for me. The good parts were having Stephen Pyles sign my cookbook, even though I was accused of stealing it (I had already purchased the cookbook in Denver before heading to Aspen), seeing a demonstration with Patricia Wells, and then attending a demonstration with Julia Child. Even my husband really appreciated that.

So why am I bringing this all up? There was a new winery at the festival – Quady Winery. The representatives were serving small scoops of vanilla ice cream topped with a drizzle of Essencia, made from orange muscat grapes. It was fabulous. I personally think there’s a proper place for sweet and dessert wines, and these have since become award-winning wines.

There’s Electra as well, which is made from a black muscat grape. If you ever see them, give one a try. I actually have used both in making sangria, to replace the brandy element that’s too strong for me.

So back to the tiramisu. I thought an orange element, from the Essencia and from oranges themselves, along with the strawberries would create a perfectly delicious spring dessert! Here’s what I did.

Strawberry  Tiramisu

16 ounces Marscapone, at room temperature
16 ounces plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup powdered/confectioner’s sugar
3 oranges, juice and zest used
Strawberries, picked over, rinsed and dried
2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
Essencia
1 – 7 ounce box Savoirdi biscuits (I only used half)
Pearl sugar, optional

Begin by placing the marcapone and yogurt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until smooth. Add the powdered sugar.

Add the zest of three oranges, and beat again until well distributed.

Set aside the marscapone mixture, and begin with the berries. I had hoped to use my own garden strawberries in this dessert, but they’ve been attacked by some kind of creepy crawly.

Slice the strawberries into even slices; mine were approximately 1/4″ thick. Place in a medium bowl. Add the sugar, and the juice of 1/2 an orange.

Toss well and set aside.

Using a square baking dish 8″ in diameter, begin by placing a layer of half of the marscapone mixture onto the bottom of the dish. Using a spatula, spread smooth.

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Pour approximately 1 1/2 cups of Essencia into a flat baking dish. Add the juice of one orange and stir well. Taste the mixture. If you want it sweeter, add a little honey or agave syrup.

Place the biscuits in the wine mixture, then turn over. You don’t want them to fall apart, but you do want them softened. Work with only a few at a time.

Place them over the marscapone in the baking dish. Make them fit however you have to!

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Add half the strawberries, then cover with the remaining marscapone, and top it with the remaining strawberries. There is only one layer of the softened biscuits.

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Cover the dish tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight.

Slice and serve. I had mine still chilled with an espresso for breakfast!

But of course it’s perfect for dessert, warmed to room temperature, and served with Essencia or another dessert wine.

I put a few sprinkles of pearl sugar on the top for fun! It adds a sweet crunch.

This recipe doesn’t touch the traditional version of tiramisu, see note below, but it’s still really fun and highlights the sweet spring strawberries!

note: Traditional Italian tiramisu is typically made with a sabayon. My version is simpler, but not better. The sabayon makes the marscapone layer much lighter. Also, lady fingers and savoirdi biscuits have a similar shape, but that’s all they have in common. Lady fingers are light and soft, while savoirdi biscuits are hard and crisp. They should not be confused.

By Published On: May 26th, 201559 Comments on Strawberry Tiramisu

About the Author: Chef Mimi

As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!

59 Comments

  1. apuginthekitchen May 26, 2015 at 8:07 AM - Reply

    That is just gorgeous. I love it!!!

  2. thesinglegourmetandtraveller May 26, 2015 at 8:20 AM - Reply

    Lovely recipe! There’s a cafe in Rome where they serve different versions of tiramisu which is fun.

    • chef mimi May 26, 2015 at 4:26 PM - Reply

      That would be fun – especially if they offer a sampler plate!

  3. Julie is Hostess At Heart May 26, 2015 at 8:39 AM - Reply

    Delicious! I love the strawberry twist!

  4. Michelle May 26, 2015 at 8:39 AM - Reply

    What a lovely idea.

  5. sallybr May 26, 2015 at 8:49 AM - Reply

    Just sent your link to my youngest niece in Brazil who is a serious baker and loves this type of recipe!

    sounds sooo delish!

  6. Tasty Eats Ronit Penso May 26, 2015 at 1:41 PM - Reply

    Such an interesting addition to the classic! :)

  7. tinywhitecottage May 26, 2015 at 2:42 PM - Reply

    Tiramisu is my favorite dessert and I love strawberry shortcake. This just about covers both! Wonderful!

    • chef mimi May 26, 2015 at 4:27 PM - Reply

      You could really go crazy with different variations…

  8. Barbra & Jack Donachy May 26, 2015 at 4:10 PM - Reply

    What a delicious way to serve strawberries… thanks for posting this recipe!

  9. Zoale.com May 26, 2015 at 4:25 PM - Reply

    Looks delicious! Great idea to use Essencia and oranges, along with the strawberries. Yum :-)

  10. chef mimi May 26, 2015 at 4:28 PM - Reply

    Thanks for the lovely comment!

  11. ladyredspecs May 26, 2015 at 5:40 PM - Reply

    Nice twist on a classic. We have delicious “sticky” local liqueur muscat here that would be perfect!

  12. Laura @ Feast Wisely May 26, 2015 at 7:42 PM - Reply

    An amazing idea for a twist on tiramisu – now I just need to wait for strawberries to be back to reasonable prices (they currently $5-7 for a small punnet…..)

  13. Cecile May 26, 2015 at 8:01 PM - Reply

    I love how ‘spring-like’ this looks!! Of course, I’m ‘pinning’ this!! Question – do you think it would work if we used lady fingers? ++ I remember – when we lived in Malta – my Libyan/English friend laughing at me because of the way I pronounced ‘tiramisu’. It didn’t hurt my feelings anymore than being laughed at for the terrible way I pronounced ‘piccolo” in Italian !! Hey, when you’re wrong – you’re wrong! And, as I told my Maltese friends who were so amazingly fluent in Italian, I least I ‘got what I ordered’… which was a small carafe of red wine…. even if my accent was horrendous!! ; o )

    • chef mimi May 27, 2015 at 4:42 AM - Reply

      I think either work work – you might have to be more careful wetting the lady fingers because they’re already so soft and airy. It would be more strawberry short cake-y with the lady fingers! funny story story!

  14. Lina May 27, 2015 at 1:13 AM - Reply

    Looks really delicious

  15. chef mimi May 27, 2015 at 4:42 AM - Reply

    Thank you!

  16. spiceinthecity May 27, 2015 at 12:25 PM - Reply

    Love this summery version of tiramisu!

  17. chefjulianna May 28, 2015 at 1:58 AM - Reply

    How awesome! What a fresh, lovely twist on this delicious classic! :D

  18. eliotthecat May 28, 2015 at 7:06 AM - Reply

    What a great spring recipe. I’ve never been in love with the traditional version. I could learn to love this though.

    • chef mimi May 28, 2015 at 7:34 AM - Reply

      Interesting! I didn’t know anyone could dislike tiramisu, but maybe it’s the wet cookies? My daughter has an aversion to cakes like tres leches…

  19. dianeskitchentable May 28, 2015 at 9:20 AM - Reply

    I’ve never been one of those major tiramisu fans who go crazy over it but this could change my mind. I know for sure my husband would love this one.

    • chef mimi May 30, 2015 at 8:30 AM - Reply

      Interesting! I thought just about everybody loved tiramisu, but live and learn. I think what I like, besides the texture and flavor, is that you can make it the day before!!

  20. anotherfoodieblogger May 29, 2015 at 12:18 AM - Reply

    What a wonderful variation of tiramisu! I’m not a huge sweet fan but really enjoy light strawberry concoctions.

    • chef mimi May 30, 2015 at 8:32 AM - Reply

      Me neither. That’s why there’s very little sugar in this version. My strawberries weren’t really sweet, so I had to sweeten them a bit as well.

  21. aranislandgirl May 29, 2015 at 3:08 PM - Reply

    As always, beautiful!

  22. Sockmonkey's Kitchen June 1, 2015 at 1:35 PM - Reply

    oh my YES! Considering I am a Tiramisu fanatic…and I love strawberries…and I adore sweet wines… um, yeah. This is one definitely for me! Printing out this one as I type! Thanks Mimi =0)

  23. Sophie33 June 2, 2015 at 9:41 AM - Reply

    I made your delicious alternative recipe & my mom invented something similar like yours but used no mascarpone anymore in here,…the tecipecwill be soon on my blog! 😜

  24. Peri's Spice Ladle June 3, 2015 at 4:50 PM - Reply

    I like the combination of greek yogurt with mascarpone in your tiramisu:) Delicious combination!

    • chef mimi June 12, 2015 at 7:00 PM - Reply

      It could be lightened more with whipped cream, too. I might try that soon!

  25. Abbe Odenwalder June 3, 2015 at 7:39 PM - Reply

    We have several sweet wines we need to do something with and this sounds fabulous! I’ve always wanted to go to the Food and Wine festival and we live so close but have never made it! As far as OJ-I remember that chase. It was a long time ago because for some reason i associate it with when my twins were potty training. Why, I don’t know. But I believe they were!

  26. Chez @ Chez Moi June 4, 2015 at 4:32 PM - Reply

    I love the sound of this innovative take on traditional tiramisu. It looks beautiful on the plate too.

  27. The Gourmet Gourmand June 12, 2015 at 6:11 PM - Reply

    What a wonderful idea- the strawberries really freshen up the classic tiramisu :)

    • chef mimi June 12, 2015 at 7:02 PM - Reply

      Exactly! There’s no replacing the original!!!

  28. AppetiteDeluxe June 12, 2015 at 8:15 PM - Reply

    omg this looks amazing

  29. An Artsy Appetite June 15, 2015 at 1:21 AM - Reply

    I love Tiramisu and I love Strawberries..oh my! This has Got to be a match made in heaven! <3

    • chef mimi June 15, 2015 at 8:00 AM - Reply

      It was pretty darn wonderful – although there’s no touching the original!

  30. Shanna Koenigsdorf Ward October 17, 2015 at 1:43 PM - Reply

    I hope someone has a birthday soon – and I’ll have an excuse to make this.

  31. Vicky May 19, 2022 at 11:15 AM - Reply

    Delicious tiramisu. Fantastic pictures and presentation. Never tried with strawberries. This weekend will be a good time to prepare them for my children. They will love it. Thanks.

    • Chef Mimi May 19, 2022 at 5:02 PM - Reply

      Thank you! You really can’t go wrong with fresh strawberry desserts!

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