Back in July I wrote about making [lemon tirimasu](@stuartcturnbull/lemon-tirimasu.
It had been a success, but not a recipe I repeated due to the health and time constraints, it being a process to make limincello and lemon curd.
Last weekend I made an amended version. Again, I'm pretty sure some Italians will be having conniptions at me labeling this tirimasu, but it is the closest thing.
Firstly, I made things easy on myself by using store bought Limoncello and Lemon Curd. I mixed a limoncello and lemon curd together to get the flavour s working together.
I also added in something you cant see in the picture (We forgot to take any when it was served up, and I hadn't thought to take any in process) I soaked raspeberries in limoncello and usee them as well.
so, the ingredients:
2 tubs full fat mascarpone (not light or reduced fat)
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 tub double cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar
2 drops vanilla essence
2 drops lemon essence
Limoncelo
1 jar lemoncurd
savoiardi (ladyfinger) biscuits
(Some folks may balk at the idea of raw egg in the recipe. If you live in a country with poor health standards, or are pregnant, then leaving the egg out and adding more cornflour may work. I don't have measures for this, but you can probably find one easily.)
A day or so before making the dessert:
mix 50ml or so of limoncelo with the lemon curd until you have an even consistency, cover, and refrigerate;
dust the raspberries with sugar, put in a container and add limoncelo. I fyou have enough liquor to cover the fruit that is ideal, if not then giving them a periodic turn will help all the fruit get infused.
Preparation:
In a mixing bowl add the mascarpone, egg yolks, cornflour, lemon curd, and lemon essence. Blend until a smooth even consistency is achieved.
In another mixing bowl add the cream, icing sugar, and vanilla essence and whip until there are firm peaks. Drain the raspberries and, using a gentle folding tecnique, add the raspberries to the cream until they are evenly distributed.
In a serving bowl place a complete layer of savoiardi. dribble a little limoncelo over each one (the liquor used to soak the raspberries is ideal for this).
Add a layer of the mascarpone/curd mix.
Add a layer of the cream/raspberry mix.
Repeat.
Depending on your bowl size you may get two or three layers, but don't finish with a lyer of biscuit.
Another option is making individual portions in seperate bowls.
We had some family round for dinner Sunday and this was served as dessert. There was universal acclaim. It is a very rich dessert, so smaller portion sizes are recommended.
For me the addition of the raspberry was a good impromptu decision (they were on reduced when I went to get the curd and limoncelo). The sharpness of fresh raspberry added a different flavor profile which worked well with the lemon.
When I make it again, I'll try to take more pictures. I may even try to produce a more elegant version of the dish, though there is a certain appeal to the rustic Sunday Lunch version shown here.
words and picture by stuartcturnbull