Becky: ICBC Strawberries

Strawberry Tiramisu

Ingredients:
-3/4 lb. (1 1/2 cups) Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
-3 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur, divided
-1/1/2 cups heavy cream
-1 pint strawberries, rinsed and hulled
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
-1/4 cup orange juice
24 sponge ladyfingers

Directions:
In medium bowl, whisk Mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, and 1 tablespoon of the orange liqueur until well blended. In large chilled bowl with electric mixer at medium speed, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form; gently fold whipped cream into Mascarpone misture until blended. In blender or food processor, blend together remaining liqueur, strawberries, sugar, and orange juice to a smooth puree. Pour strawberry mixture into shallow bowl.
Dip 12 ladyfingers in strawberry mixture to coat; arrange in a 9-inch square glass dish, side-by-side, in 2 rows touching. Spread 1/2 of the strawberry mixture evenly over rows. Spread 1/2 of the cream mixure on top. Repeat with remaining ladyfingers; arrange over cream layer. Spread with remaining strawberry mixture. Spread with remaining cream, smoothing top with spatula. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
To serve, cut into 9 squares. Place on dessert plates and dust each with cocoa powder; top with a sliced fanned strawberry.

Since this was my week to pick an ingredient, I decided to go a little all-out. This recipe was taken from the Best of the Best from Colorado Cookbook, by Gwen Mckee and Barbara Moseley. All in all, this recipe was a little pricey. For instance, the Mascarpone cheese, orange liqueur and the ladyfingers were all over $5, plus I had to go to a specialty Italian market to get the ladyfingers, but it was all well-worth it in the end because it was AMAZING, and it looked beautiful when it was all ensembled.
I did cut the recipe in half though, because I figured that if I didn't it would be way too much for me, my husband and daughter to eat and that too much of it would go to waste. If there was a party that we were going to, however, I would definitely make this to bring along. I also goofed up a little in making this. I realized too late, after I had already ensembled the whole thing, that I had forgotten to add the granulated sugar to the strawberry mixture. I was afraid that it wouldn't taste as good, but I really don't think it made that much of a difference because the whipped cream was already very sweet. Or if it did, it was still delicious. It tasted a lot like the strawberry shortcakes that my mom used to make when I was a kid. All in all, I definitely recommend this recipe to serve at a party if you want to go to a little bit of extra effort in getting all the ingredients. Putting it all together was very easy though. In my cookbook, it noted that this recipe should get rave reviews from guests, and I can definitely see (and taste) why!