Why ‘to get tiramisu right you have to get it wrong’ – plus 8 untraditional tiramisus to try
Food writer Dianne Bortoletto has family history in Veneto’s Treviso, where tiramisu – the world’s favourite Italian dessert – originated, and where she once spent a weekend sampling every version in town. But what’s her definitive recipe? She shares what her tiramisu research has taught her… Plus: we share eight fun takes on tiramisu for those that are down to embrace a bit of inauthenticity, from fruity twists to cocktail-inspired indulgence.
Curious to discover what other beloved Italian delicacies have their roots in the Veneto? Consult our full food lover’s guide to the region.
First of all, let’s establish my tiramisu creds. My father, my grandfather and generations of previous Bortolettos were born in Treviso, the birthplace of the world-famous dessert. I’ve been making and perfecting tiramisu for decades. On my most recent visit to the Venetian town, my niece and I tasted 14 different examples over two days, including at Le Beccherie, the restaurant that claims to be the first to have put it on a menu, back in 1972.
Armed with those credentials, it was my intention in this article to smugly explain to you why you’re doing tiramisu wrong. To inform you that ‘traditional’ tiramisu is made with only six specific ingredients: bitter cocoa, coffee, mascarpone, savoiardi (aka ladyfinger) biscuits, egg yolks (no whites) and granulated sugar.
I planned to quote no less an authority than Aristotle, explaining that with tiramisu, ‘the sum of the whole is greater than its parts’. And that those parts all need to be high quality, which means never, ever, ever using instant coffee. It’s disrespectful, I had planned to say. It’s un-Italian and, quite frankly, it’s disgusting.
I was going to reprimand you for using cream. Tiramisu has never contained and never should contain cream, I would patronisingly explain. No whipped cream, no thickened cream, no clotted or any other sort of cream. The only thing allowed to give tiramisu its lusciousness, I was all ready to stipulate, is mascarpone.
It was my intention to make fun of those cooks who have the temerity to add fruit and other weird flavourings. Please go and make trifle instead, I’d advise, and leave tiramisu alone. Then I’d shock those nodding along in agreement by ruling out the addition of alcohol, too. Were they not aware that the dish originated to feed pregnant women, nursing mothers and sick children?
I was going to say all that. But then I got my hands on the original recipe for tiramisu and made it… To sum up the general reaction, I’ll choose my husband’s succinct “Yuck!”. It was dense, rich and a far cry from my own version, regularly hailed as “the best in the world” by the people sitting around my table.
“It was my intention to make fun of cooks who have the temerity to add fruit and other weird flavourings. Please go and make trifle instead, I’d advise, and leave tiramisu alone”
And okay, I’ll admit it: in my recipe I add beaten, fluffy egg whites, folding them through the mix of whipped, sweetened egg yolk and mascarpone, which makes it ever so light. And while I enjoyed the versions of tiramisu I tasted in Treviso, mine is better, frankly, because it’s pillowy, luscious and (full disclosure) – I add a generous hit of sweet marsala wine.
After all, eating dessert is meant to be about pleasure, not piety. So, I urge you: make tiramisu the way you like it, not how someone tells you to do it. Except when it comes to the instant coffee. I really mean it about the instant coffee…
8 adventurous tiramisu recipes to try
Hazelnut tiramisu cheesecake
This crowdpleasing cheesecake takes the coffee flavour and rich mascarpone of tiramisu as its starting point and adds white chocolate, hazelnuts and a chocolate digestive base to take it in a whole new direction. Purists, look away!
Honey tiramisu
Food writer Alissa Timoshkina’s recipe combines two desserts to delicious effect. ”One of the most popular Russian desserts is a cake called medovik, consisting of honey-based pastry layers smothered in sweet smetana cream. I’ve come up with a foolproof, quick-to-make version, which borrows the method from my ultimate indulgent dessert – Italian tiramisu. It is abundantly creamy, rich and light just like tiramisu, while the flavour of honey and black tea along with the tang of smetana never let us forget the Russian origins of this dessert.”
Espresso martini tiramisu
This recipe deviates a touch from the widely-known-and-loved recipe, adding a splash of vodka as a nod to after-dinner cocktail favourite the espresso martini. Serve in a dramatic trifle dish for extra glamour.
Mango-misu
Add this recipe to your wish list for ripe mango season next summer. “This dessert takes the main elements of a classic tiramisu – mascarpone, boozy zabaglione and sponge fingers – but swaps out the coffee for sweet mangoes instead,” says food writer Ravinder Bhogal. “It is rich, creamy, lethally delicious yet still light as a feather. It is all the sweet rapture of summer in a bowl.”
Mocha tiramisu torte
Tiramisu, but make it cake. This decadent dessert layers a pillowy coffee and walnut sponge with boozy mascarpone cream and spectacularly silky chocolate coating. Heavenly.
Tiramisu crêpe cake
Don’t wait until Shrove Tuesday to make this pancake lover’s dream. Thin crepes are spread with creamy mascarpone spiked with coffee and brandy. Crumbled amaretti biscuits add a final flourish.
Limoncello and berry trifle cake
We’ve called it a trifle cake, because this recipe might take the biscuit! When summer’s fruit is at its finest, layer berries macerated in limoncello with savoiardi sponge fingers and a lemon curd mascarpone mousse to create this fruity showstopper.
Tiramisu mess
Only got 10 minutes to make a dessert? Enter our cheat’s tiramisu mess. This mash-up of two dessert classics, eton mess and tiramisu, is a speedy solution when a midweek sofa treat is needed – but it’s fancy enough for dinner parties or festive celebrations, too.
After the classic recipe? Try our favourite tiramisu – or browse more tiramisu-inspired ideas.