Saturday's Kitchen: Lemon Hazelnut Tiramisu

For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you probably saw this picture and might of expected a different recipe today!

Humongous Yellow Crooked Neck Squash, fresh from our garden!

We did make a summer vegetarian red curry, and it was good, but not spectacular, so I thought I'd share a dessert that I made over the weekend for some visiting friends.

Lemon Hazelnut Tiramisu

Ingredients

Lemon Syrup:

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup sugar

Tiramisu:

• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1 (15-ounce) container mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup hazelnut liqueur (like Frangelico)
• 48 soft or hard ladyfinger cookies
• 1 1/4 cups lightly chopped (about 5 ounces) toasted and skinned hazelnuts
• 1 lemon, zested

Directions

For the Lemon Syrup:

In a small saucepan, combine lemon juice, water and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Take the pan off the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

For the Tiramisu:

Whip the cream in a large bowl until thick. Add the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and continue to whip until the cream holds soft peaks. In another bowl, cream together remaining sugar and mascarpone cheese for 30 seconds. Mix 1/4 of the cream into the mascarpone. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the remaining whipped cream. Set aside.

Place the hazelnut liqueur in a small shallow bowl. Dip 16 of the ladyfinger cookies in the hazelnut liquor and line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch serving dish or other decorative serving dish. Spoon any remaining hazelnut liqueur over the dipped cookies. Spread 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture over the cookies. Top with 1/3 of the hazelnuts.

Place the lemon syrup in a small shallow bowl. Dip 16 of the ladyfinger cookies in the syrup and place on top of the hazelnuts. Spread 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture over the cookies. Top with 1/3 hazelnuts. Dip remaining cookies in remaining syrup and place on top. Spoon any remaining syrup over the dipped cookies. Spread with remaining mascarpone and top with remaining hazelnuts and lemonzest.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. Remove the tiramisu from the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

Cook's Note:

This recipe is not for the faint of heart - it took me over 2 hours from start to finish! Of course, if you can find peeled and roasted hazelnuts you'll cut out a great chunk of time!

But if you are looking for a lighter, summer version of your traditional tiramisu - this is your new go to recipe!

As always, if you try it and like it, please do let me know!

Until next time,