I tend to think of desserts in categories. For Thanksgiving or Christmas, I must bring 3/4 of these flavors:
Nuts
Apples
Pumpkin
Citrus or Berry*
*#4 is never up for debate -- it’s an essential ending to any long meal. You want something bright and fresh to cleanse the palate.
Keep in mind, I didn’t say “light”. I’m talking bright… but also rich, indulgent, and over-the-top.
So that’s how I came up with my raspberry tiramisu. I wanted to play with tiramisu flavors, but also felt coffee and cream wasn’t enough to jolt your burdened tastebuds. Raspberries were introduced. Then freeze-dried strawberries to boost the sweet-tart berry flavor. And then Chambord -- the raspberry liqueur -- to bring out the berry notes of the coffee.
The rest of the players are the same: ladyfingers, heavy whipping cream, mascarpone. And just one more thing for contrast. Heavy is to bright as creamy is to… crunchy!
Yes, I added Biscoff cookies, which everyone knows are amazing on their own, but really make this a crowd-pleaser. (Just watch people perk up when they hear, “Biscoff”!)
This is a dessert recipe for savory cooks. You can taste and improvise as you go. Feel free to add more or less sugar or condensed milk. Amp up the booze or add another type of crunch. Just do me a favor — if you don’t use coffee and mascarpone, call it a trifle instead of tiramisu.
RECIPE
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1.2 oz freeze-dried strawberries (I got mine from Trader Joe’s)
1/4 cup sugar
11 oz sweetened condensed milk
16 oz mascarpone
18 oz raspberries
20-30 ladyfingers (I used Casa Rinaldi brand)
3 tablespoons strong coffee or espresso
3 tablespoons Chambord
20 Biscoff cookies (also called speculoos)
Beat 2 cups heavy cream with a pinch of salt in an electric mixer on medium-high until you achieve stiff peaks. Use a spatula to transfer to another bowl (don’t worry about removing all the cream). To the same mixing bowl, add freeze-dried strawberries, sugar, condensed milk, mascarpone, and one third of the raspberries. Mix on medium until everything is well-incorporated. Gently add three quarters of the reserved whipped cream until mixed well. Swirl the rest of the whipped cream into the mixture, so you get some white streaks.
Mix coffee and Chambord in a small bowl. Crush Biscoff cookies in a large Ziploc bag, leaving some larger pieces for extra texture.
To assemble, spread whipped cream mixture on bottom of deep glass container. Add ladyfingers and soak with coffee/Chambord mixture with a silicone brush. Add raspberries, making sure to line the edge so we can see them. Sprinkle Biscoff crumbs on top. Start again with your layers until you finish all the components.
Cover and let sit in the refrigerator. Three hours will give you half-crunch, half-crunchy. Six+ hours will give you a more uniform bite.
