Strawberry Tiramisu

Before starting this Strawberry Tiramisu recipe, organise all the necessary ingredients.

For the lady fingers: Place the egg yolks in the stand mixer bowl.

Add the castor sugar.

Beat the preparation until it reaches the ribbon stage. The egg yolks should be foamy, pale and doubled in volume. Set aside.

Place the egg whites in a separate bowl...

... and beat at full speed. When the egg whites have a foamy consistency, add the castor sugar in 3 or 4 batches.

Beat for a few more seconds...

... and add the rest of the sugar in 2 or 3 batches.

Place the beater at maximum speed and add the rest of castor sugar. Continue beating until stiff.

When the egg whites are beaten, pour the flour and potato starch in a fine sieve...

... and sift together.

Add the sifted ingredients to the beaten egg yolks...

... and fold gently with a rubber spatula, making sure the preparation doesn't collapse. Go right down the bottom of the bowl with the spatula with one hand while you rotate the bowl with the other hand.

The preparation should be homogeneous at this stage.

Add 1/4 of the meringue.

Combine carefully...

... until homogeneous.

Add the rest of the meringue...

... and fold gently with the spatula.

This preparation should be piped and baked immediately.

Transfer the preparation into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle Ø 12mm.

Grab a Vacherin ring Ø 18cm.

Using a pencil, draw the inside of the ring on a sheet of greaseproof paper.

The drawn circle has a diameter of 18cm. Repeat the operation on a second sheet of greaseproof paper. If your oven is big enough, draw two circles on the same sheet.

Flip the baking parchment and place it on a Silichef® perforated baking sheet.

Pipe the lady finger preparation into a spiral, starting from the centre of the drawing outwards.

The result should be as shown in the photo.

Drizzle icing sugar over the lady finger disc. Repeat the operation with the second disc.

Bake in a fan-assisted oven preheated to 180°C (gas 6) for about 12 minutes.

When cooked, remove from the oven...

... and place it on your kitchen worktop. Leave to cool at room temperature.

For the strawberry confit: Organise the necessary ingredients.

Place the stemmed strawberries and brown sugar into a saucepan.

Add the lemon juice (using a citrus press)...

... and grate the seeds of half a vanilla pod.

Add the vanilla to the saucepan (seeds only).

Place the pan over medium heat and let the strawberries candy slowly.

Using an Exoglass® spatula, combine the strawberries and sugar without crushing them.

Continue heating until the strawberries are cooked but still whole. The strawberries will release their moisture but will hold together.

After a few minutes, the confit should start forming. The consistency should be syrupy at this stage.

Take one strawberry to check whether they're ready. It should feel soft with a firm centre.

Continue cooking until the strawberries have released all their moisture. Cooking time can vary according to the variety and how ripe the strawberries are.
With good-quality, freshly picked strawberries, this should take about 10 minutes.

Check again until the consistency is very soft.

When pressing on the strawberry, it should feel soft without disintegrating.

Take the pan away from the heat and pass the strawberries through a fine sieve.

Strain without crushing the strawberries. Set aside.

Use a little strawberry juice to blend with the corn starch.

Combine well until completely dissolved.

Pour the mix into the remaining syrup.

Return the pan to the heat and combine constantly with a whisk. Unlike flour, corn starch will bind the preparation without giving it an opaque finish.

Bring to a boil then turn the heat off. Add the strawberries...

... and combine gently.

This strawberry confit with whole candied strawberries makes a delicious addition to cakes.

Transfer into a recipient and spread to a thin layer so it cools down faster.

Cover the surface of the preparation with cling film...

... and reserve in the fridge.

For the Tiramisu cream: Organise the necessary ingredients.

Pour the water in a saucepan.

Add the castor sugar...

... and bring to a boil.

Cook the syrup up to 118°C. The use of a probe thermometer is recommended for this operation.

In the meantime, pour 12 grams of water over the gelatine powder. Combine and set aside.

Place the egg yolks in the stand mixer bowl and start beating with the whisk.

When the syrup reaches 118°C, take the pan away from the heat and pour over the egg yolks carefully, along the inner side of the bowl.

Cut half a vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape the seeds out.

Add the vanilla seeds to the bowl and continue mixing until the preparation has cooled down a bit.

Place the mascarpone and the crème fraîche in a separate bowl...

... and combine with a whisk.

Melt the hydrated gelatine in the microwave for a few seconds.

When the gelatine has melted...

... pour over the egg yolk and sugar preparation. At this stage, the preparation should still be warm so the gelatine incorporates easily.

Whisk the preparation until cooled down completely and stop the beater.

Pour half of the preparation over the mascarpone and cream mix...

... and combine with a whisk until smooth and homogeneous.

Add the rest of the egg and sugar preparation...

... and fold gently with a rubber spatula. If there are still lumps, give it a couple of whisks...

... until smooth and homogeneous.

Beat 100 grams of whipping cream until you obtain a whipped cream...

... making sure it is not too firm.

Add the whipped cream to the mascarpone preparation...

... and combine gently with a rubber spatula.

Transfer the Tiramisu preparation in a piping bag. The use of a nozzle is not necessary.

Place a mousse ring Ø 18cm on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Place a cake board Ø 18cm at the bottom of the stainless steel ring.

Cut a strip of acetate (height 4.5cm) to line the inside of the stainless steel ring.

The ends of the acetate strip should overlap on 1 or 2cm. Cut any excess length.

Cut the first lady finger disc to the same diameter as the stainless steel ring (18cm), using the ring and a knife.

Place the biscuit disc at the bottom of the mould.

Prepare the syrup: flavour 30° Baumé syrup with strawberry liqueur.

Steep the whole surface of the biscuit with a pastry brush.

Scoop some strawberry confit over the biscuit...

... and spread over the whole surface. Scatter 4 or 5 candied strawberries.

Pipe the Tiramisu cream over the strawberry confit into a spiral, starting from the centre outwards.

Arrange fresh strawberries (cut into quarters) over the mascarpone cream in a regular pattern.

Bury the strawberry pieces in the Tiramisu cream with a small palette knife.

Steep the second biscuit disc cut to a diameter of 18cm.

Cover with strawberry confit...

... and add a few candied strawberries.

Flip the biscuit and place it over the mascarpone cream (the side with strawberries should be in contact with the cream)...

... and press with your fingers so the biscuit sticks to the mascarpone cream.

Steep the other side of the biscuit with the rest of the syrup. There should be a small gap of 2 or 3mm between the top of the biscuit and the rim of the stainless steel ring.

Fill the gap with mascarpone cream...

... and even the surface with a metallic cranked spatula.

The result should be as shown in the photo.

Transfer the rest of Tiramisu cream in a separate piping bag fitted with a stainless steel plain nozzle Ø 10mm. Pipe drops of mascarpone cream over the entremets, starting from the edge...

... and working your way towards the centre.

Refrigerate until the cream has set, for at least 2 hours. The use of gelatine is essential in this recipe to make sure the cream stays firm while slicing.

I am using strawberry concentrate flakes for the decoration of the Tiramisu.

Take the cake out of the freezer and slide the stainless steel ring upwards to release the cake. The ring should come off easily thanks to the acetate strip.

Carefully remove the acetate strip.

Pour the strawberry concentrate flakes in a small sieve...

... and sprinkle the surface of the cake with the strawberry powder.

The whole surface should be coated with strawberry flakes.

Arrange a few fresh redcurrants on the surface of the cream, using decorating tweezers.

Lift the Tiramisu with a large cranked spatula and arrange it over a serving dish.

The Tiramisu is ready. Leave in the fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy this delicious dessert!