In June, strawberries are in our Umbrian garden – and strawberry tiramisu will often be dessert for dinner guests. In July, peaches come along and this dish is also buonissimo substituting peaches for the strawberries. A main ingredient of traditional tiramisu is espresso coffee which might keep you awake at a night, but not this strawberry one will not!

Ingredients (for 8 persons):
1 ½ C. Fresh ricotta
1 ½ C. Mascarpone
6-8 Eggs
1 Qt. Very ripe strawberries or about 6- 8 very ripe peaches
1 C. (approx.) Sugar
400 g. Package of Lady fingers (savoiardi),
you’ll need about 20 cookies or more
½ Package of amaretti cookies
½ Qt. Orange juice or apricot or pear juice
Cherries, for decoration
Optional ingredients: 8 oz. Bar dark chocolate, grated coconut

Directions:
Use an oval or rectangular dish. Sides of dish need to be about 4-5 in. high. Cream together mascarpone and ricotta. Separate egg yolks from whites and whip each. Add yolks to cream mixture, then whites. Add sugar to taste. Slice strawberries or peaches (if possible the night before) into a bowl, pouring fruit juice over the fruit. If desired, sprinkle fruit with a bit of sugar but note that the savoiardi are quite sweet.
Dip cookies into fruit mixture. Layer on bottom of dish, then cover with cream mixture and spoonfuls of the fruit (leaving juice behind). If using strawberries, you may wish to add shaved chocolate (I do that with a knife as I like bits and chunks of the chocolate in the tiramisu). Repeat with three layers and on top layer, sprinkle with crushed amaretti cookies. Decorate with slices of fruit. Suggestion: add dollops here and there of mascarpone mixed with sugar and plop a strawberry (or peach slice) onto it. Optional: If you like coconut, sprinkle on top. I also like to add a few ripe cherries.