Strawberry Beeramisu

Several friends have been asking for this recipe for the last YEAR.  >sigh<   Yes, I have procrastinated, forgotten, and put it off for that long.  The last time I actually made this dessert was two years ago, so it wasn’t much on my mind until the subject of strawberry beer arose recently.

My favorite Louisiana brewery, Abita, puts out a special edition, limited batch of strawberry beer each spring; and I use that specialty beer in a tiramisu recipe.  I can’t take credit for the “Beeramisu” name.  That comes from a basic recipe in Abita’s own cookbook that I took and tweaked just a bit to make it a little more my own.

It doesn’t hurt that this is the height of strawberry season here in Louisiana, either.

1 lb fresh strawberries, sliced

2 bottles Abita Strawberry Harvest Beer

1 cup heavy cream

8 oz marscapone cheese

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup strawberry jam

2 T vanilla extract

1/2 cup brewed coffee

lady fingers or vanilla wafers

In a shallow bowl, combine sliced strawberries and 3/4 bottle of Abita Strawberry Harvest beer.  {Drink the rest  }  Set aside while preparing other ingredients.

Mix together marscapone, confectioners’ sugar, strawberry jam and vanilla in a large bowl.

Using an electric mixer, whip heavy cream on high speed until thick and stiff peaks form.  Fold whipped cream into marscapone/jam mixture.

{How did I ever accomplish anything in the kitchen before this beautiful appliance?  It is a workhorse!}

In another shallow bowl, combine coffee and 1/2 of second bottle of beer.  {Drink the rest  }  Briefly dip wafers into beer/coffee mixture. {Do not allow to get soggy.}

Line wafers in a glass dish and then alternately layer whipped cream mixture and fresh strawberry slices, continuing until all components have been used up.

Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Voilá!  Enjoy….