This berrymisu is made with a classic mascarpone mouse and ladyfingers dipped in a sweet, tart berry sauce. This gourmet dessert can be made in under 15 minutes— making it the perfect dessert for special occasions or entertaining.
What you’ll need:
For the berry sauce:
Frozen mixed berries: I used frozen berries for convenience, but feel free to use fresh berries.
Water: as the liquid agent in my berry sauce.
Sugar: if your berries are tart, adding sugar helps balance the tartness.
Berry preserves: this is optional, but it helps thicken the sauce a bit.
For the mascarpone mousse:
Whipping cream: for making the classic fluffy mouse.
Mascarpone: this is an Italian cream cheese, it’s mild in flavor but so decadent. You can substitute it with Creme Fraiche as well.
Vanilla extract: to add a hint of vanilla flavor, vanilla paste would be even better if you have it on hand!
Ladyfingers: these cookies can be found in the international aisle of most grocery stores.
For dusting:
Freeze-dried berries: I crushed freeze-dried raspberries to create a powder for dusting before serving. Freeze-dried berries can be found online or at your local Target.
8 oz. mascarpone cheese, softened at room temperature
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
For dusting:
2 oz. freeze-dried raspberries, crushed
Instructions
First, make the berry sauce for dipping the ladyfingers. In a pot, combine the frozen berries, water, sugar, and berry preserves. Bring the berry sauce to a boil on high heat, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the frozen berries have thawed and all the sugar is dissolved. The sauce should be thicker in consistency, almost like a syrup.
In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form. Add the mascarpone and continue to whip to stiff peaks. Set it aside.
Briefly each ladyfinger into the berry sauce and place into an 8x10 dish in a single layer. Brush a bit more of the berry sauce on top of the layer of ladyfingers.
Spoon half of the mascarpone mousse onto the ladyfingers and spread evenly using a spatula. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the remaining ladyfingers and mascarpone mousse. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight for best results.
Before serving, dust with freeze-dried raspberry powder and top with fresh berries.
