Afternoon tea
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Strawberry tiramisu with Marsala
6–8
Easy
4 hours setting time
Ingredients
- 4 eggs, separated
- 4 T sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 400 g mascarpone
- approx 16 savoiardi (ladyfinger biscuits) For the strawberries:
- 500 g strawberries
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 T sweet Marsala
- 3 T sugar
Method
1. Hull the strawberries, then cut into quarters and place in a bowl. Dress with the lemon juice, Marsala and sugar. Cover and leave to macerate for at least 2 hours — or better still, overnight in the fridge — until the strawberries are sitting in a pool of sweet, slightly tangy crimson liquid.
2. Strain the strawberry liquid into a deep dish large enough to roll the biscuits in, and set the strawberries aside.
3. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and lemon zest using an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. No sugar grains should be felt if you rub the creamy mixture between your fingers. Gently mix in the mascarpone until smooth.
4. Using a clean whisk and a very clean bowl, whip the egg whites until white and stiff; adding a tablespoon of something acidic like lemon juice helps. In a circular movement, very delicately fold the egg whites into the mascarpone cream.
5. Set out six to eight nice-looking cups, or fancy little glasses. Add a dollop of the mascarpone cream into the bottom of each cup, then spoon in some strawberries. Roll a biscuit a few times in the strawberry juice and let it suck in the liquid at its leisure (unlike the method used with the coffee in the classic tiramisu above).
6. Break the biscuit into pieces so that it fits in the cup, pushing down a bit to fill any gaps. Add more strawberries, then a good dollop of mascarpone cream, and repeat. Before finishing with one last layer of mascarpone cream, gently tap each cup on your work surface to settle the ingredients, so that empty spaces are not left in the middle.
7. Cover each cup loosely with foil and chill in the fridge for about 4 hours before serving, so that the mascarpone cream sets. They are then best served straight away.
Cook's note: Note: The simple ratio for this recipe is 4 eggs, 4 tablespoons sugar and 400 g mascarpone.
This is an extract from Pomegranates + Artichokes: Recipes and memories of a journey from Iran to Italy by Saghar Setareh (Murdoch Books). Photography by Saghar Setareh.