Tiramisu

Tiramisu is an Italian dessert built from ladyfingers (savoiardi) soaked in coffee and layered with a cream made from egg yolks, sugar, mascarpone, and cocoa powder. Its roots lie in northeastern Italy, and it gained widespread popularity in restaurants starting in the late 1960s. Today, it ranks among the most recognized Italian desserts globally, and both home cooks and professional chefs have created countless variations. The name derives from the Italian phrase *tirami su*, which translates to "pick me up" or "cheer me up."

The dessert’s exact origin remains uncertain, though it appears to have been invented in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Some trace it back to *sbatudin*, a simpler egg yolk and sugar dessert, while others link it to *dolce Torino*. No cookbook from before the 1960s includes a tiramisu recipe. The first known mention in print came from a 1978 restaurant column in the *Sydney Morning Herald*. It did not appear in Italian dictionaries until 1980, and in English until 1982. A 1983 cookbook focused on the Veneto region included it. Obituaries for restaurateur Ado Campeol (1928–2021) claimed the dish was invented at his restaurant Le Beccherie in Treviso on 24 December 1969 by his wife Alba di Pillo (1929–2021) and pastry chef Roberto Linguanotto (1943–2024). It was added to the menu in 1972. At the time of Linguanotto’s death in July 2024, Le Beccherie credited him as the creator. Another story, promoted by the Accademia Del Tiramisù, suggests a 19th-century Treviso brothel madam concocted it as an aphrodisiac to help clients with "conjugal duties" upon returning to their wives. There is also evidence of a *tiremesù* semi-frozen dessert served at the Vetturino restaurant in Pieris, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, since 1938, which may have inspired the name, while the recipe itself might be a variation of *zuppa inglese*. Others claim it was created in Siena in the late 17th century for Grand Duke Cosimo III. In 2017, the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies added tiramisu to the list of traditional Friulian and Giulian agri-food products. In 2013, Luca Zaia, President of Veneto, sought EU protected status for the dessert based on its 1970 ingredients, aiming to prevent substitutes like strawberries from being used in a dish called tiramisu.

Traditional tiramisu relies on ladyfingers, egg yolks, sugar, coffee, mascarpone, and cocoa powder. Many of these components were already common in Italian home cooking. Ladyfingers appeared in traditional desserts and spoon cakes, while egg-based creams like zabaglione have a long history in northern Italy. Coffee combined with egg-based creams was used in Italian pastry by the late 19th century, as seen in Sorbiatti’s 1873 recipes. Cocoa powder was also used in northern Italian home pastry by that time. Mascarpone, however, is the more recent addition that defines the modern dessert. The stabilized version of mascarpone became widely available in northern Italy only in the early 20th century, with documented industrial production in the province of Treviso as early as 1933 under the Mascherpone Valmarino trademark. Earlier uses of the term "mascarpone" may have referred to a different product.

The original tiramisu at Le Beccherie was round, but modern versions are often made in rectangular or square pans for easier biscuit arrangement. A common twist involves adding alcohol to the coffee used for soaking the ladyfingers—options include coffee liqueurs like Tia Maria and Kahlúa, Marsala wine, amaretto, dark rum, Madeira, port, brandy, Malibu, or Irish cream. Some modern recipes incorporate whipped cream or whipped egg whites (or both) into the mascarpone mixture, resulting in a lighter, thicker, foamy texture. Another variation heats the eggs just enough to pasteurize them without scrambling. The dessert is typically served cold. Countless other variations exist, replacing coffee with chocolate, amaretto, lemon, strawberry, pineapple, yogurt, banana, raspberry, or coconut. Some cooks substitute ladyfingers with other cakes or sweet yeasted breads, such as panettone. Bakers in different Italian regions often debate the merits of using other cookies, like pavesini, in the recipe.