This gluten-free strawberry shortcake tiramisu combines two classic desserts to make one light, airy & perfectly dreamy summer dessert! It’s made with alternating layers of orange juice-soaked ladyfingers, a delicious strawberry compote and a silky, whipped mascarpone cream.
🍓Strawberry Tiramisu Highlights🍓
- Undetectably Gluten Free: Serve this to your picky eaters & gluten free skeptics – this is the kind of dessert that would win anyone over!
- Easy to make/prep ahead: This recipe comes together with simple layers and actually tastes better after a few hours in the fridge. You can make it the day before and just chill until ready to serve.
- A great summer dessert: It’s with an easy, fresh strawberry compote and served cold. This tiramisu is light, fruity, and refreshing. Overall it’s the perfect treat to enjoy in warm weather on a hot summer day.
How to Make this Strawberry Shortcake Tiramisu
What’s inside:
This tiramisu is made up of three different alternating layers:
Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients: Strawberries, orange juice, zest, sugar and vanilla extract
Basically you just need to gently simmer everything together for about 10-15 minutes then let the compote cool fully before assembling your tiramisu.
Orange Dipped Lady Fingers
If gluten free ladyfingers are tricky to get ahold of – I’ve got you covered! I’ve got a recipe so you can make your own homemade gluten free ladyfingers.
Bake and store your ladyfingers up to 2 weeks at room temperature or frozen for 2 months.
Steps:
- Mix together 1 cup orange juice with about 1/4 of your strawberry compote in a shallow dish or bowl.
- Dip the ladyfingers in the orange & strawberry mixture for a few seconds – flip to coat both sides.
- Transfer the dipped ladyfingers to the bottom of an 8-inch baking dish. Arrange in a single, even-layer.
Mascarpone Cream
Ingredients: Mascarpone cheese, white sugar, vanilla extract and heavy cream (or whipping cream).
Steps:
- Beat mascarpone and sugar on high an electric mixer or stand mixer until the sugar has mostly dissolved.
- On a low speed, add the vanilla and the heavy whipping cream. Mix until combined then increase the speed to high again.
- Keep mixing on high until it’s thick and airy.
Assemble
Once you’re ready, it’s time to assemble the cake:
- 1st Layer (bottom): ladyfingers dipped in orange juice & compote
- 2nd Layer: whipped mascarpone cream
- 3rd Layer (middle): strawberry compote
- 4th Layer: ladyfingers dipped in orange juice & compote
- 5th Layer (top): whipped mascarpone cream
- 6th Layer (optional): fresh sliced berries
Substitutions & Additions
- 🫐Berry Swap: Replace all of half of the strawberries with blueberries, raspberries or blackberries when making the compote and/or the fresh berries at the end.
- 🍓Use Jam Instead: Don’t feel like making the compote? No worries! Grab a jar of strawberry jam to use instead.
- Mix 1 cup jam + orange juice (1/4 cup | 60ml) together to make the middle berry layer. Without the added orange juice, the jam won’t spread as well or soak into the cake as well.
- 🍷Make it boozy: Add orange or berry liqueur.
- Replace 1/4 cup orange juice with 1/4 cup orange liqueur or berry liqueur for the ladyfingers.
- Use orange or berry liqueur instead of orange juice when making the strawberry compote.
- ❄️Freeze-Dried Strawberries (or Raspberries): Sprinkle over the top at the end for an extra pop of flavor and color. Totally optional, but it looks great and adds an extra fruity tang.
- FYI: freeze-dried raspberries are usually a brighter, more vibrant pink color. Freeze-dried strawberries are usually a slightly more muted red. Just keep that in mind in case the color/look matters to you!
Hungry for a More traditional tiramisu?
Hands down this is likely the easiest gluten free tiramisu recipe you’ll ever try! Ladyfingers in the coffee + liqueur then sandwiched between layers of the thick & creamy mascarpone filling. No raws eggs or pastry cream! Simply mix, layer, chill and enjoy.
More Gluten Free Summer Desserts
- Gluten Free No Bake Cheesecake
- Boozy Pineapple Mango Sorbet
- Coffee Granita (Granita di Caffè)
- Strawberry Rosé Sorbet
- Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream – Paleo + Vegan
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this homemade Strawberry Tiramisu recipe! I’d love to hear what you made with it and how it turned out! Please leave a comment and review with your thoughts and suggestions for me and future readers.
Strawberry Shortcake Tiramisu Recipe
Alternating layers of whipped mascarpone cream, homemade strawberry compote & orange-dipped gluten-free ladyfingers. Assemble, chill, serve & enjoy!
Ingredients
Strawberry Sauce
- 1 lb fresh strawberries (450g), hulled and quartered
- ¼ cup white sugar (50g)
- 1 tbsp orange juice (15ml)
- 1 tsp orange zest
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Cream
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese (240 g)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (70g)
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream [whipping cream in the UK] (360ml)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ladyfingers
- 1 cup orange juice (240ml)
- ¼ cup strawberry sauce - from above (65g)
- 18-20 gluten free ladyfingers
- ½ fresh strawberries, hulled & sliced
- 2-4 tbsp freeze dried strawberries or raspberries - optional
Instructions
Strawberry Sauce
- Add strawberries, sugar, juice, and zest (if using) to a medium saucepan. Stir until everything is fully mixed together. Bring to a simmer over a medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract if using. Transfer to a heat-safe container and fully cool before assembly.
Cream
- Add mascarpone and sugar to a stand mixer bowl with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer. Beat 1-2 minutes on a medium-high speed. Add the vanilla extract.
- With the mixer on a medium-low speed, slowly pour the heavy cream into the mascarpone mixture in a steady stream. Once added, increase to a high speed and beat another 1-2 minutes stiff peaks form. Make sure to stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl as needed. Set aside.
Ladyfingers & Assembly
- Whisk the orange juice and 1/4 cup of the cooled strawberry sauce together in a shallow bowl.
- Briefly dip the lady fingers in the mixture - just enough to get them wet, then lay them down in a single layer on the bottom of of an 8x8-inch square baking dish or similar size pan.
- Smooth about half of the whipped cream over the top of the ladyfingers then spread about 1 cup of the remaining strawberry sauce over the cream (save about 1/4 cup compote for serving at the end). Repeat with another layer of lady fingers followed by another even layer of cream.
- Cover & refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours or overnight to firm before slicing. Just before serving, spread fresh sliced strawberries (and freeze-dried strawberries - optional) over the top.
- Slice and serve with leftover compote poured on top if desired and enjoy.
Notes
Make Ahead Prep: I recommend you make the strawberry sauce and ladyfingers (unless using store bought biscuits) a day or two ahead of time so you can quickly assemble the cake when needed.
Storage: This tiramisu will keep well covered and kept in the fridge up to 3 days. I recommend making it a day in advance so the layers have time to firm up.
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