Tiramisù is a velvety mélange of savoiardi cookies dipped in an espresso, layered with delicately sweetened whipped eggs and mascarpone cheese, and topped with a dusting of cocoa powder. Its name, tirami sù, means “pick me up,” perhaps a reference to the stimulating effects of the caffeine in the recipe’s espresso and chocolate.
Tiramisù, although of relatively recent origin, is one of Italy’s most iconic confections and invariably comes up at the top of internet searches for the most popular Italian desserts. The word has made its way into at least 23 languages, and the dish is served in restaurants around the world. Every year there’s a Guinness World Record event for the world’s biggest tiramisù. In the 1993 movie Sleepless in Seattle, Tom Hanks famously refers to tiramisù as something mysterious that women seem to like. That reference sparked huge interest in the dessert in the States. Tiramisù has become so popular that in 2017 it even received an international food holiday: World Tiramisù Day, celebrated on March 21st, the first day of spring, as an homage to the restorative, renewing characteristics of the dessert.
Variations & Origins
There are hundreds of variations of Tiramisù and while there are countless riffs nowadays, the basic idea of a dessert of soaked savoiardi cookies in creamy layers has existed for centuries. According to one colorful – but likely apocryphal – story, a version of the dessert was invented in the 19th century by a maîtresse, “the owner of a brothel,” in Treviso as a sort of an aphrodisiac and restorative for customers. Other legends trace the dessert’s origins back to the 18th century aristocratic Italian banquets or compare it to a sweet called Dolce del Principe or Zuppa del Duca that was served in celebration of Cosimo III de’Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany’s late 17th-century visit to Siena.
Italy’s famed 1890s cookbook, Science in the Kitchen and The Art of Eating Well, by Pellegrino Artusi, lists one recipe with savoiardi dipped in peach preserves and layered with whipped ricotta. Another, called Dolce Torino, dips the savoiardi in alchermes, a spicy red liqueur, and layers them in creamy chocolate. Modern incarnations of this ubiquitous dessert vary the types of dipping liquids, cookies, and creamy layers. Savoiardi (ladyfingers), pavesini, or sponge cake are dipped in liquids like Marsala, limoncello, amaretto, brandy, rum, or fruit juices layered with creamy alternatives to mascarpone like ricotta, yogurt, or flavored whipped cream. Some omit the espresso and include fruit instead, others use grated chocolate instead of cocoa powder. There is even a version in Italy referred to as “tiramisù for pregnant women,” like that served by Chef Fabrizio Sepe in Le Tre Zucche in Rome, made without the usual raw eggs. Instead, he whips the eggs with hot sugar syrup, which not only cooks the eggs but also makes the custard stay light and fluffy for up to two days in the fridge.
The origin of modern Tiramisù is highly disputed, with a long and rather controversial backstory. Authorship is asserted by both the Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto regions of Italy. At least three claims have been made for its invention in the Veneto city of Treviso: one attributed to the baker Carminantonio Iannoccone, believed to have invented it in 1969, another to chef Roberto Linguonotto the pastry chef of Le Beccherie (now closed) and a third to Alfredo Beltrame, owner of El Toulá restaurant.
Gigi and Clara Padovani, authors of the meticulously researched Tiramisù - History, curiosity, interpretations of the most loved Italian dessert (Giunti, 2016), conclude that while it was technically invented in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region it became famous because of its Veneto connection. Gigi Padovani explains, “In researching our book we discovered that the first dessert with this name was born in Friuli at the Il Vetturino restaurant by chef Mario Cosolo in around 1950. Although the recipe is different – cream instead of mascarpone, sponge cake instead of ladyfingers, which are soaked in Marsala, not in coffee. The classic version we know today was first created at Hotel Roma in the Friuli town of Tolmezzo. We even uncovered an unpublished recipe by the chef, Norma Pielli, who modified Pellegrino Artusi's recipe Dolce Torino, which is the true ancestor to this now-classic dessert. In August 2017 Tiramisù was officially added to the list of traditional regional dishes for Friuli-Venezia-Giulia. “However,” continues Padovani, “it’s important to note that the first published recipe for this classic dessert was written in 1981 for the magazine “Vin Veneto” associating it with Treviso in the Veneto. It is the Veneto that spread Tiramisù’s fame internationally. Sadly, Friuli had sort of forgotten about it”.