Last Updated on July 6, 2024
Mascarpone, cream, chocolate and raspberries make this twist on traditional tiramisu
One of my all-time favourites when dining in an Italian restaurant, Tiramisu (which translates to ‘pick me up’) was first popularised in the 1960s in the Veneto region of Italy. It’s traditionally made from coffee-soaked sponge fingers layered with mascarpone cream and dusted with cocoa. For me, it’s best for colder weather and seems just a bit heavy in the summer months, at a time which coincides with a bountiful selection of soft fruits in the shops and markets. That’s where this Raspberry Tiramisu comes in.
Some years ago I made a raspberry tiramisu, with elements of recipes I’d used for the classic dessert including a simplified version of Heston Blumenthal’s famous soil (he has a tiramisu recipe that is topped with the soil and served in flowerpots). It was delicious – apart from anything else, I laced the raspberries and sponge fingers with a whisky liqueur. And, I added a little fresh mint as a garnish to the soil (although even then I didn’t bother with the flowerpots!).
On this occasion, I couldn’t find suitable dessert glasses, so I made the recipe in a heart-shaped baking dish. It meant only one layer of each mixture so was considerably quicker to put together. But, everyone loved it and, for me, simple is a game changer.
To make this tiramisu for 4-6 people you’ll need 200 grams of raspberries, the freshest local ones you can buy. The flavour of the fruit is really important, please don’t use frozen berries because they won’t have the same piquancy. If you can’t get good quality raspberries, I’d suggest looking for an alternative fruit – maybe fresh apricots, cherries or plums.
Mascarpone is another vital ingredient. An Italian cream cheese from Lombardy, Mascarpone is made from cream and citric acid and is like a thick, velvety smooth creme fraiche. It’s an ingredient I haven’t ever tried to substitute but I suspect that if you really couldn’t get hold of any, then full-fat Greek yoghurt might work (and be a little healthier too!). If for some reason you are using Greek yoghurt, I’d suggest leaving out the egg yolks too to help make a stiffer ‘cream’
Egg yolks are added to the Mascarpone to enrich it. In the past, I HAVE left these out altogether when making tiramisu for someone who couldn’t eat raw eggs and I honestly couldn’t tell the difference. If you don’t have really fresh eggs I’d advise giving these a miss.
You’ll be whipping the cream so whether you buy a classic double (heavy) cream or whipping cream doesn’t really matter.
I use a whisky liqueur with this Raspberry Tiramisu – this time Cotswold Amaro Number 1. You could substitute the alcohol of your choice or use a non-alcoholic fruit syrup instead. If you are using fruit syrup I’d suggest only using it to moisten the sponge fingers. And you may need to adjust the amount of icing sugar used accordingly.
Use the best quality chocolate you can for the chocolate crunch topping. It needs to be at least 60% chocolate. Once you’ve made it up, it will keep well for about a month in an airtight tin – and in my case, I found myself eating spoonfuls of the leftovers!
You can make most of the tiramisu in advance (indeed it needs at least 2 hours chilling in the fridge). It’s fine to make it up the night before, just don’t put the chocolate crunch topping on until just before serving.
This really isn’t a recipe that will freeze well though, so take that into consideration when you are menu planning.
You probably won’t need all of the chocolate crunch – so the calorie count is only an estimate and if you use half the crunch the portion calories should drop to around 500 calories.
If you are looking for a delicious dessert that will really hit the spot during the summer, why not try my Raspberry Tiramisu – you won’t regret it.
Raspberry Tiramisu
Ingredients
- 250 g raspberries
- 50 g icing sugar
- 300 ml cream
- 250 ml marscapone
- 2 egg yolks
- 14 sponge fingers enough to cover the base of your serving dish.
- 4 tablespoons whisky liqueur
- sprigs of fresh mint or lemon verbena
Chocolate crunch topping
- 200 g white caster sugar
- 80 g dark chocolate roughly chopped (minimum 60% cocoa solids)
Instructions
Chocolate crunch topping
- Put 35ml cold tap water and the sugar into a saucepan. Bring to the boil and continue to cook until the mixture starts to caramelize.
- Take the pan off the heat and using a small wire whisk, beat as hard as you can, as if you are making fudge, till you have a  crystalised mixture.
- Spread this onto a piece of baking parchment and break all the little bits off the whisk then allow to cool completely before breaking it up into little pieces so you have a chocolate fudge crunch. Â This can be kept in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Raspberry Tiramisu
- Put 200g of the raspberries in a small saucepan with the icing sugar and one tablespoon of whisky liqueur. Reserve the remaining raspberries to garnish.
- Heat gently till the raspberries start to go squidgy and all the icing sugar is dissolved.
- Put in the fridge to chill.
- Whip the fresh cream till it forms stiff peaks
- Beat the egg yolks and one tablespoon of whisky liqueur into the marscapone.
- Now fold the mascapone mixture gently into the fresh cream
- Take the sponge fingers and break up into the remaining whisky liqueur
- Spread the sponge finger mixture over the base of a pretty serving dish. You'll need something around 15cm square by 3cm deep
- Now add the raspberry mixture in one layer
- Top with the mascarpone cream mixture
- Put in the fridge and leave to chill for at least 2 hours.
- Just before serving, top the raspberry tiramisu with chocolate crunch and stud with raspberries and sprigs of fresh mint
One of the best tiramisu I’ve ever had! Thank you for this recipe!
The combination of luscious raspberries with the creamy, dreamy layers made each bite unforgettable. This dessert is a must-try for anyone looking to impress at their next gathering!
I love variations to tiramisu and this one is really tasty! The raspberries work perfectly with this creamy dessert!
WOW! WHat a creamy and delicious dessert recipe to try. Thanks a lot for sharing.
I had never had a raspberry tiramisu before and this was just delicious! Definitely making again!