The main ingredients of classic tiramisu are fairly standard and straightforward: ladyfingers, eggs, sugar, mascarpone, espresso, an alcohol, and a cocoa powder topping. While some recipes may play around with the egg ratio, type of alcohol used, or the addition of heavy cream, the outcome of the final dessert doesn’t stray too far from the basics. While timeless and delicious, a traditional tiramisu can sometimes be heavy or repetitive. One easy way to brighten up tiramisu is to add berries for a delightful summery twist.
If you’re looking for the simplest route, adding plain berries as a layer of their own in the tiramisu is a viable option. A method that requires slightly more effort is to macerate the berries by cutting up larger fruits like strawberries and tossing them with granulated sugar. Normally, macerating berries uses a bit of acid as well, but you can opt to leave out the lemon juice as it may contrast strangely with the cocoa and espresso. Simply let the berries and sugar sit for at least an hour on the counter, stirring every so often, until the berries soften and release their juices. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the berries from their bowl when adding them to the tiramisu so that they don’t add too much excess liquid. We recommend adding the berries on top of the mascarpone layer rather than on top of the ladyfingers so that the cookies don’t get overly soggy.
Play around with the components of a berry tiramisu
A layer of raspberries (either fresh or macerated without acid) is an excellent pairing with tiramisu, as are strawberries. While chocolate and berries are a classic dessert combination, there are other ways to switch up a tiramisu and omit the cocoa and espresso entirely (just don’t tell the oldschool Italians). Instead of an espresso mix, dip the lady fingers in a lemon simple syrup spiked with limoncello, crème de casiss, or a raspberry liqueur like Chambord to make the liquid the proper consistency of a replacement for espresso and amaretto. If you’re making an non-alcoholic version, simply thin out the simple syrup with more water and a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice. No matter what liquid you use to dip the delicate cookies in, use Ina Garten’s ladyfinger tip to prevent soggy tiramisu. You could also fold lemon curd (either homemade or store bought) into the mascarpone mixture for an even brighter citrus punch.
If you feel like getting fancy, you could grind up freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries and sift the powder over the top in place of traditional cocoa powder. Berries would make an excellent addition to this decadent pistachio tiramisu, but you might want to swap the Marsala wine for limoncello, and substitute the black coffee with tea like chamomile or a citrusy blend.
