Ingredients :

• The strawberries — They are the soul of the dessert, so you might as well get good ones. A Gariguette or Ciflorette in season changes everything — sweeter and more fragrant than a supermarket strawberry picked in November. If you have no choice, leave them for an hour at room temperature before using them: they’ll regain some flavor.
• The mascarpone — Dense and slightly acidic, it gives the cream body where simple whipped cream would collapse. Get the full-fat version, not light — the 0% version won’t hold and the taste is flat. The brand doesn’t matter much here.
• The heavy liquid cream — It must be very cold to whip properly. Thirty minutes in the freezer if you forgot to put it in the fridge. Minimum 30% fat content — “light” cream simply won’t whip.
• The ladyfingers — Boudoirs or real ladyfingers (biscuits à la cuillère), depending on what you find. Boudoirs are a bit harder and absorb less quickly — easier to control. Dip them for one second in the milk, not three: left too long, they turn into mush between your fingers.