So the inspiration for this came from an episode of Lidia Bastianich’s cooking show. She was making this tiramisu, which looked delicious! But there were a couple of things she did with hers that I was like, “why would you do that???” Needless to say I’ve modified it extensively. It is really good, especially in the summer, when you want something light and refreshing. You could, I suppose, make it without the Limoncello but why bother? It’s also a little more complicated than most of the recipes I like to make as it requires several different components. So heads up, each one has it’s own list of ingredients; so you’ll want to compile them all together before you go grocery shopping. Enjoy!

Lemon Sponge

• 5 large eggs yokes
• ¼ cup of sugar
• ½ cup Limoncello

Directions

Using a double boiler (aka in my house a glass bowl on top of a medium pot of simmering water) whisk the egg yokes, sugar, and Limoncello until well blended. Bring the water to a simmer and whisk constantly, frequently scraping the whisk around the sides and bottom of the bowl. Do this for about 5 minutes until it thickens, it will kind of start to look like mayonnaise.

Let the mixture cool.

Lemon Simple Syrup

• 2 to 3 lemons
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup Limoncello

Directions

Take 2 to 3 lemons and using a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off (try to get as little of the white as possible). Juice the lemons after zesting until you have about 1/2 cup of juice (more doesn’t hurt but you definitely don’t want less).

In a small pan bring the lemon peel, the lemon juice, water and sugar to a boil. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Turn it down to a simmer and let it gently steep for about 30 minutes. Add the limoncello and allow it to cool slightly. It works better if it’s still warm when you soak the ladyfingers in it but it can be completely cool as well.

Lemon Curd:

• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ¾ cup lemon juice
• Zest of 2 lemons (or 3 if it takes that many to get ¾ a cup of juice)
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter (melted)

Directions

Whisk together the sugar & eggs in a sauce pan. Add juice, lemon zest & melted butter. Cook on Med Hi heat. Stir until thick, mixture should coat the back of a metal spoon. What does this mean? When you can dip a spoon in, run your finger down the back, turn it sideways, and it doesn’t run back down the spoon erasing your swipe. Cool on counter, whisking occasionally, for about an hour. Finish cooling in fridge.

Custard

• 1 lbs (2 cups) Mascarpone at room temp
• Lemon Sponge
• Lemon Curd
• ¼ cup Limoncello

Directions

In a large bowl, again I like my KitchenAid Stand Mixer, beat the mascarpone until soft and smooth. Add lemon sponge and lemon curd and beat until smooth. Add a ¼ cup of limoncello and beat again until smooth.

Whipped Cream

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ¼ cup Limoncello

Directions

Chill a metal bowl and beaters in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.  Really this does make a difference. Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks start to form. Slowly add in powdered sugar and beat until peaks form. Add ¼ cup of limoncello and beat until stiff peaks form.

Assemble the tiramisu

• 40 Ladyfinger cookies
• Custard
• Lemon simple syrup
• Whipped Cream

Directions

Using a 9 x 13 inch pan, dip the ladyfingers into the lemon simple syrup. Don’t let them become soggy or they’ll fall apart but you want them to be somewhat moistened. Arrange them in the pan, should take about 20.

Cover the ladyfingers with ½ of the finished custard. Dip the remaining ladyfingers in the simple syrup and arrange them in a layer on top of the custard. Cover with the remaining custard. Smooth the whipped cream on the top and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.