Strawberry tiramisù with Stracchino cream and pine nuts

AICI – Associazione Insegnanti di Cucina Italiana

Recipe by Paola Di Berardino

(for approximately 12 small glasses) FOR THE SPONGE : 6 medium-sized eggs 160 g sugar 160 g flour grated zest of one lemon 10 g white vinegar 1 pinch of salt FOR THE STRACCHINO CREAM : 400 g Stracchino 400 ml fresh cream 150 g icing sugar FOR THE STRAWBERRY COULIS : 450 g of fresh strawberries 150 g sugar 1 tbsp lemon juice 3.5 g gelatine sheets FOR THE DUSTED PINE NUTS : 70 g pine nuts 30 g sugar 1 small tbsp water FOR THE LIMONCELLO SYRUP : 100 ml water 100 g sugar 50 ml limoncello FOR THE DECORATION : 100 g strawberries some mint leaves

Prepare the sponge, whipping the eggs together with the sugar, salt, vinegar and the lemon zest for 15 minutes. Sift the flour and add a little at a time, mixing with a spatula using a bottom-up movement to avoid deflating the mixture.
Grease and flour the borders of a circular, 26 cm cake tin and cover the base with baking paper. Pour in the mixture and cook in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for around 30 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the cream: in a bowl, whisk the Stracchino until it becomes soft and creamy. Add the sugar and, a little at a time, the fresh liquid cream. Continue to whip until the cream becomes soft and fluffy.
To one side, prepare the strawberry purée by blending the strawberries with a mixer, after cleaning them and cutting them into pieces. Pass the blended strawberries through a sieve to get rid of any seeds. Soak the isinglass in cold water. In a small saucepan, heat up a third of the strawberry purée and melt in the sugar. Add the isinglass drained of any excess water.
Add the mixture to the remaining two thirds of the purée, add the lemon juice, mix and stir carefully and then leave to cool completely.
Prepare the dusted pine nuts: place the pine nuts, 30 g sugar and a small tablespoon of water in a pan and cook over a high heat until the water evaporates and the pine nuts caramelise.
Leave the pine nuts to cool on a sheet of baking paper and separate them.
Prepare the limoncello syrup: boil the water with the sugar. Add the limoncello and leave to cool.
Cut the sponge into slices around 1 cm thick and use a pastry cutter to make small disc shapes. Place a sponge disc at the base of each small glass.
With a pastry brush, moisten the sponge with the limoncello syrup.
Cover with a layer of strawberry coulis and, with the help of a piping bag, add a layer of Stracchino cream, trying to keep it well separated from the strawberry coulis.
Sprinkle a few dusted pine nuts over the cream.
Cover with another layer of sponge, limoncello syrup, strawberry coulis, Stracchino cream and dusted pine nuts.
Decorate with half a strawberry and a small mint leaf.
Store in the fridge. Serve at room temperature.