Tallulah’s Kitchen… Strawberry Tiramisu
Hello and welcome to July’s edition of The Listing.
This month we should still be enjoying plenty of fresh strawberries, and although I personally think they are best simply served with lashings of fresh cream, Strawberry Tiramisu comes a close second in our house. Now, if you wish to make a more child-friendly version then swap the Pimms for a berry-based fruit juice.
Strawberry Tiramisu
200g Caster sugar
100g Pecan nuts pieces
100g Sponge finger
50ml Elderflower cordial
200mls Pimms
600g Strawberries
2x 250g Mascarpone
85g Condensed milk
Seeds from 1 vanilla pod
Serves approx 6-8
I used a 23cm x 17cm x 5cm deep serving dish
1. Let’s begin by making the caramel nut crunchy topping. This can be done a few days in advance and stored in an airtight container.
2, So, line a baking tray with parchment. Add the caster sugar to a frying pan, now heat this until the sugar turns to a deep amber coloured liquid. Do not be tempted to stir (this causes crystallisation – that way trouble lies!) instead gently tilt the pan if you find you have hot spots.
3. Remove from the heat immediately when you have the desired colour then carefully add the pecan pieces, stir to cover all the nuts then pour onto the lined tray and leave to cool completely. Once cooled, break up the caramel and blitz in a blender until you have a coarse “sand” texture. Store until ready to use.
4. Next, wash and cut the strawberries to approximately the same sized pieces, I prefer chunky pieces, but you do “you!” Set these aside for later. In a large bowl whisk together the Mascarpone, the condensed milk and the vanilla seeds until all ingredients are combined and the mixture is lighter in texture. Set this aside for later. In a separate bowl mix together the Pimms and the elderflower cordial in a bowl, and now we are ready to begin to assemble the dessert.
5. Take each sponge finger and dip it into the Pimms/elderflower liquid, then arrange a layer on the bottom of your serving dish. Now spoon on top of the sponge half the strawberries, followed by half of the mascarpone, then the remaining strawberries, finishing up with the remaining mascarpone mix and spread to a smooth finish. Then generously cover with a layer of the crushed nut caramel and chill down the dessert for 2 hours to allow the flavours to develop, and to firm up.
6. All that remains is for you to serve up to your lucky guests when you are ready. The dessert will keep up to two days but in my experience, it doesn’t hang around that long!
Until next time my fellow foodies….
Tallulah Le Fey
