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Light, creamy and delicious Strawberry Tiramisu made with juicy strawberries, Cointreau liqueur, and shavings of white chocolate. It’s a fresh and fruity spin on the classic Italian dessert that’s just as delicious and easy to make.
If you love traditional Italian tiramisu then you’ll love this pretty, fruity twist. There’s no coffee or dark chocolate involved with this one, instead, it’s full of juicy strawberries, orange liqueur, and shavings of white chocolate.
It’s still made with light and creamy mascarpone cheese that’s folded together with whipped egg whites for a texture that’s super light but rich and decadent. The strawberries are fresh and sweet and there’s just enough booze in there to balance everything out. SO delicious!
Soaking the Biscuits (ladyfingers/Savoiardi)
The biscuits are soaked in a mixture of strawberry jam, water, and Cointreau. It’s the perfect way to add an extra sweet, strawberry flavour to the dessert.
I’ve noticed a huge difference between the ladyfingers/Savoiardi biscuits in Italy and the UK. In Italy they are wider and very absorbent, I mean you only need to dunk the biscuits in the liquid for a second whereas the ones in the UK are narrower and need more soaking (around 3 seconds each side).
If you can get your hands on an Italian brand like this one then I recommend you use them over ones branded lady’s fingers or sponge fingers because they are different.
Visual walk-through of the recipe
Add 3 large egg whites to a bowl and start whisking, one frothy gradually add in 3 tablespoons of sugar. Keep whisking until stiff peaks form (photos 1 and 2).
In a separate bowl whisk together 4 egg yolks and the remaining sugar until light, creamy and doubled in size (photos 3 and 4).
Top Tip: DO NOT let any egg yolk touch the egg whites as the fat will stop the whites from whipping and can cause them to collapse. It’s totally ok if there is a little egg white in with the yolks though.
Add the mascarpone in with the beaten egg yolks and whisk until incorporated with no lumps. Add the Cointreau or liqueur of choice and stir to combine (photos 5 & 6).
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Pin ItFold in the egg whites using a spatula or wooden spoon being careful not to knock too much air out. Fold gently until completely incorporated (photos 7 & 8).
Add strawberry jam, water, and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour into a shallow bowl and let cool. Dunk the biscuits into the cooled liquid and line the bottom of a baking dish, you might need to break a few biscuits or change direction to fit your dish (photos 9 & 10).
Once you have one layer top with the mascarpone mixture, use just under half because you want the top layer to have slightly more. Spread it all over evenly then top with sliced strawberries and grated white chocolate (photos 11 & 12).
Continue with another layer of biscuits followed by the rest of the mascarpone, sliced strawberries and grated white chocolate (photos 13-15).
Cover the strawberry tiramisu with cling film (plastic wrap) and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or 8 if possible. The longer you leave it the better because the biscuits get a chance to soak up all the extra flavour.
Different Liqueurs You Can Use
Although I love the orange liqueur in this you can swap it for something else; here are my recommendations:
- Chambord (blackberry liqueur)
- Marsala
- Brandy
- Vin Santo
- Amaretto
- Nut liqueur (hazelnut would be really nice)
Note: You can easily adjust the liqueur to your liking. You might want to cut it in half or omit it altogether if you’re serving it to children. If you omit it then replace it with a squeeze of orange juice (freshly squeezed).
I absolutely love traditional tiramisu it’s one of my all-time favourite Italian desserts so it makes sense to try out different flavours and experiment a bit. This twist is just as decadent and delicious and I love the fresh strawberries. It’s super pretty and looks so impressive, perfect for parties, Valentine’s Day or date night. I hope you love it just as much!
More Delicious Desserts You Might Like
- Tiramisu Ice Cream
- Chocolate Panna Cotta
- Italian Affogato – Ice Cream and Coffee
- Apple Olive Oil Cake
Step By Step Photos Above
Most of our recipes come with step by step photos, helpful tips and tricks to make it perfectly first time and even video!
Strawberry Tiramisu with White Chocolate
Ingredients
- 4 cups (400g) fresh strawberries, finely sliced
- 2 1/4 cups (500g) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- 3 large egg white
- 4 large egg yolks
- 6 tbsp light brown sugar
- 10.5 oz (200g) ladyfingers or Savoiardi biscuits
- 4 tbsp Cointreau liqueur
- 3 heaped tbsp strawberry jam
- 1 cup (250ml) water
- 2-3 square white chocolate, for grating
Instructions
- Add 3 large egg whites to a bowl and start whisking. Once frothy gradually add 3 tablespoons of sugar and whisk to stiff peaks.
- In a separate bowl whisk together 4 egg yolks and the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar until light, creamy and doubled in size.
- Top Tip: DO NOT let any egg yolk touch the egg whites as the fat will stop the whites from whipping and can cause them to collapse. It's ok if there is a little egg white in with the yolks though.
- Add the mascarpone in with the beaten egg yolks and whisk until incorporated with no lumps. Add 2 tablespoons Cointreau or liqueur of choice and stir to combine.
- Fold in the egg whites using a spatula or wooden spoon being careful not to knock too much air out. Fold gently until completely incorporated.
- Add strawberry jam and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour into a shallow bowl and let cool Once cooled add 2 tablespoons Cointreau and stir.
- Dunk the biscuits/cookies into the cooled liquid and line the bottom of a baking dish, you might need to break a few biscuits or change direction to fit your dish.
- Once you have one layer top with the mascarpone mixture, use just under half because you want the top layer to have slightly more. Spread it all over evenly then top with sliced strawberries and grated white chocolate.
- Continue with another layer of biscuits followed by the rest of the mascarpone, sliced strawberries and grated white chocolate.
- Cover with cling film (plastic wrap) and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or 8 if possible. The longer you leave it the better because the biscuits get a chance to soak up all the extra flavour.
Notes
Top Tips for Making Strawberry Tiramisu
- I used a 7×11 inch baking dish for this recipe
- You can use any berry or fruit for this dessert, try raspberries or even blood oranges
- Adjust the liqueur to your liking
- Make sure to soak the lady’s fingers for around 3 seconds each side otherwise they won’t soften so easily. If using an Italian brand this will be much less around 1 second each side as they are much more absorbent.
- Snap or cut the biscuits to fit your dish also try arranging them in different directions as I have in photo 10.
- Make sure the mascarpone is at room temperature before whisking into the egg yolks to avoid lumps.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi!Do you think Cinzano can be used in place of Cointreau?
Ciao, yes, you can use any liqueur you prefer 🙂
How decadent and delicious does this look! What a great twist in traditional tirimasu! Can’t wait to try this!
Thanks so much, Angela!
I don’t like mascarpone or cream cheese etc. Can I use ordinary cream instead like a double or whipping cream?
Hey, yes you can use double cream (heavy cream).
So the egg stays raw in this?
Hi Melanie, yes the egg is raw in this dessert. All traditional tiramisu are made this way but if you prefer you can whisk the egg yolks and sugar over a bain marie to cook the egg yolks but the whipped egg whites will still be raw.
Looks super delicious but do you have to use liquor ?
Thanks so much, no you can omit it altogether. I’d add a squeeze of fresh orange juice instead!
I absolutely LOVE the way this looks! Perfect spring dessert or a special Mother’s Day treat. This is very well organized too… nice job!
Thanks so much Catherine, this would be perfect for Mother’s Day!
YUM! This strawberry tiramisu looks like the perfect dessert to serve for our February supper club. I can’t wait to give it a try.
Oh wow, you have a supper club….wish I didn’t live so far away ha! Thanks Kelly!
I was reading the section about the HUGE difference between Italy’s Ladyfingers and the UK, if you think yours are hard you should see the American ones. Hideous compared. Your recipe looks wonderful and I bet our American-Italian family would love your spin on traditional Tiramisu. Yum’d for later.
Oh wow, really? I never knew that. It makes such a difference to the recipe, the Italian ones have much better flavour too. Thanks so much Heidy!
You had me at strawberry! ….and tiramisu 😉 this looks so delicious and I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks so much Tayler, hope you enjoy it!
This dessert was amazing. My family also liked it without the chocolate on top.
Hi Neli, so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for stopping by!