Ingredients :

• Fresh strawberries — The only ingredient you really shouldn’t compromise on. Pick them bright red all the way to the hull — if the base is still white, they will be acidic and mealy. Seasonal local berries are unbeatable, but supermarket strawberries work if they smell like something when you put your nose to the container.
• Mascarpone — This is what gives that velvety texture you don’t get with ordinary cream. A spoonful of honey and it transforms into something elegant. If you don’t have any, 40% fat Greek yogurt or fromage blanc works — the result will be lighter and slightly more acidic.
• Honey — A few grams are enough. Acacia honey for its neutral sweetness that doesn’t mask the strawberries, or chestnut honey if you want a slightly woody and more complex finish. Avoid whitish industrial honeys that taste like sugar and nothing else.
• Vanilla extract — Just a few drops — not the powdered packets that smell chemical. Liquid extract in a small brown bottle costs barely more and really changes the whole thing. Vanilla rounds out the cream and binds the two layers.