Marsala cream pudding with strawberries, a spring version of Tiramisù

Do you know how to prepare a Marsala cream pudding? I sometimes like to post recipes that are not necessary of the strict regional tradition (we obviously eat Italian dishes too!!!) but sometimes I do like to experiment introducing a Sicilian ingredient or product in a popular recipe.

This is the case of this kind of "Spring Tiramisù" as I like to call it, because has strawberries (and strawberry juice) instead of coffee and above all it has a delicious cream made of mascarpone cheese plus the unmistakable flavor of Sicilian Marsala wine.


Ingredients & preparation for 8 people:
- a classic sponge cake cut in four thin layers**
- fresh strawberries (3 small baskets)
- 3 eggs
- 10 ts of sugar
- 500 gr. mascarpone cheese
- 4-5 ts of Marsala wine (more if you like a stronger taste)
- cocoa powder


For the cream: 
1. In a large bowl mix the eggs with the sugar until they become homogeneous.

2. Add the mascarpone and the Marsala wine and mix well the ingredients together until the cream become light and fluffy, then place it in the fridge.


For the dessert:
1. Gently wash the strawberries. Remove the leaves on top and select the ones that are riper and squashier.
2. Blend these last ones with a 1/4 cup of water to make it less dense. You will use this juice with a kitchen brush to moisten the sponge.

3. Cut the rest of the strawberries into pieces, but leave aside 2 or 3 strawberries for the final decoration. 

4. As soon as you finish with the strawberries, take a bowl or a deep plate with high rims and start making the tiramisù.

5. First put a thin layer of cream mix, then the first layer of sponge cake, then moisten with some strawberry juice, using a kitchen brush (because it cannot be too much), then 2-3 spoons full of cream to cover all the sponge surface and finally the pieces of fresh strawberries. Keep doing the same thing for the second layer and the third one.


6. Cover with the last layer of sponge, moistening again with the strawberry juice and finish all the cream. It has to be all covered in cream in the end. Sprinkle abundant cocoa on top and decorate as you like with 2 or 3 strawberries. Put in the fridge for at least one hour and serve cold. 


It is not a local dessert but it definetely has a lovely Sicilian flavor. I am sure you will go crazy for it!!!


**Sponge cake is very similar to our "Pan di Spagna" the basic recipe we use for many cakes and desserts in Sicily, the only difference is that we make it with starch instead of normal flour.