Strawberry Tiramisu

 Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits and are a staple in my fridge all year round. With strawberry season just around the corner, there have been some early crops resulting in lots of strawberries on sale lately. I wanted to create a light and refreshing dessert for my child's homecoming dinner to make use of the strawberries I picked up. This recipe I came across for Strawberry Tiramisu was a perfect ending to our delicious and special meal...

Tiramisu is a popular dessert made with layers of ladyfingers cookies, sweetened mascarpone cheese, espresso and cocoa. The traditional recipe is delicious but for a different twist, this version incorporates plump fresh strawberries, strawberry preserves and orange juice concentrate. The original recipe calls for Cointreau, an orange liqueur and orange juice, however I substituted both these ingredients with frozen orange juice concentrate instead. The concentrate really gives a defined orange flavor to the dish and is a great substitute if you don't want to use Cointreau. I definitely recommend making this dish at least a day in advance in order for the flavors to meld and for the crisp ladyfingers to fully soften.

Strawberry Tiramisu
recipe adapted from Giada DeLaurentis

1 1/4 cups strawberry preserves
2/3 cup frozen orange juice from concentrate plus 4 tablespoons, thawed & divided
1 pound mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 1/3 cups chilled whipping cream (also known as heavy cream)
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

52 (about) crisp ladyfingers (boudoirs or Savoiardi)
1 1/2 pounds strawberries, divided

Whisk preserves and 2/3 cup orange juice in 2-cup measuring cup.

Place mascarpone cheese and 2 tablespoons of orange juice in large bowl; fold just to blend.

Using electric mixer, beat whipping cream, sugar, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons orange juice in another large bowl to soft peaks.

Stir 1/4 of whipped cream mixture into mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whipped cream.

Hull and slice half of strawberries. Spread 1/2 cup preserve mixture over bottom of 3-quart oblong serving dish or a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange enough ladyfingers over strawberry mixture to cover bottom of dish. Spoon 3/4 cup preserve mixture over ladyfingers, then spread 2 1/2 cups mascarpone mixture over.

Arrange 2 cups sliced strawberries over mascarpone mixture. Repeat layering with remaining lady fingers, preserve mixture, and mascarpone mixture. Cover with plastic and chill at least 8 hours or overnight.

Slice remaining strawberries. Arrange over tiramasù and serve.