Peach Crumble Tiramisu
Ripe, sweet, soft summertime peaches are a true goldmine when it comes to summertime eats, especially when said peaches come off the trees in Palisade, Colorado where they can grow to be as big as your fist.
While you could simply eat the peaches as they are, I wanted to figure out how to convert them into a unique, tasty dessert based on my favorite Italian dessert of all time, tiramisu.
Here is the thought process I came up with. Classic tiramisu consists of ladyfinger sponges dipped in coffee and liquor before being layered in a creamy mascarpone filling and then dusted with cocoa.
Immediately, I knew I needed to get rid of the coffee and the chocolate, as I felt that they were too strong of flavors for the light, delicate flavors of the peaches.
The peaches themselves will be macerated in a bit of sugar to enhance their sweetness and pull out their juice to make the final dessert more stable, and to that very peach juice, I will add some peach-flavored liquor which I will dip my ladyfingers into as I want to get as much peachy goodness into this dessert as I possibly can.
For the cream, I will do as normal, but I will also be adding a quick baked crumb topping to add texture and give it a peach crumble vibe, because let’s face it, while tiramisu is great, it really is soft on top of soft.
I say there’s nothing to it but to get right to it!
Peach Crumble Tiramisu
Serves 4
For the Peaches:
3-4 ripe peaches
2 tablespoons of sugar
For the Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of rolled oats
1 tablespoon of cinnamon, plus more for dusting.
For the Tiramisu:
1 cup of cold heavy cream
1/4 cup of sugar
4 ounces of cream cheese or mascarpone, softened
2 teaspoons of vanilla bean pasta
1/4 cup of peach-flavored liquor
16-20 ladyfinger sponges
Step 1: Macerate the Peaches
Peel, pit, and finely chop the peaches, then place them into a bowl. You should have about 2 cups of chopped peaches.
Sprinkle the peaches with sugar, then leave for at least 1 hour, or until the peaches become very soft and enough liquid has been pulled out to cover.
Step 2: Make the Crumb Topping
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C)
Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the flour, brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon and stir to combine.
Spread and press the mixture into a thin sheet on a parchment-lined sheet pan, then bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden on the top and very brown on the edges. It will become crispy as it cools.
Leave it to cool for 15-20 minutes, before using a spatula to break the crumble into small pieces. Set aside to cool completely.
Step 3: Make the cream
In a medium bowl, whisk the cream with the sugar with an electric mixer or a whisk until soft peaks form. Add the cream cheese, a tablespoon at a time and beat well after each addition, then continue to whip into firm peaks. Be careful not to overwhip the cream, as it will separate.
Whisk in the vanilla paste, then set aside until you’re ready to assemble.
Step 4: Soak the Ladyfingers and Assemble
Strain the peaches and reserve their liquid. To the peach liquid, stir in the peach liquor and pour into a shallow dish or plate.
Dip each of the ladyfingers into the peach liquid for 1-2 seconds, then arrange on the bottom of 4 wine glasses or small drinking cups. Top with some of the cream mixture, then some of the prepared peaches.
Repeat this step 2 more times until you have 3 layers of ladyfingers and cream but only 2 layers of peaches. Top with the cooled crumble mixture, then chill for at least 1 hour, overnight would be best.
Dust with more cinnamon before serving.
Is it Tiramisu? Is it a peach crumble? Is it a trifle? Do I care? Not at all!
This dessert is full of peach flavor from both the macerated peaches and that bit of peach liquor used to soak the sponges, there’s also a nice creaminess form the cream mixture and that cinnamon-oat crumb topping hits all the right spots for me.
