Literally translated as ‘pick me up’ or ‘cheer me up’ from Italian, tiramisu done well is a delight. In fact, this transcendent, layered dessert of cake, coffee and cream is so popular that it is Italy’s most famous dessert export.

While some food historians speculate that tiramisu was created in Siena in the 17th century in honour of a visit by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III de’Medici, others believe tiramisu may have evolved from the Italian dessert zuppa inglese, a cake layered with jam and custard, inspired by the English trifle. Tiramisu could have also branched out from another dish: since 1938, a Vetturino restaurant in Pieris in the Fruili-Venezia Giulia region has served a semi-frozen dessert called tiremesù.

Le Beccherie, a restaurant in Treviso in the Veneto region, claims that their chef Roberto Linguanotto and the restaurant owner’s wife, Alba di Pillo, invented tiramisu in 1969, with the dessert first appearing on its menu in 1972. However, a recipe published for the dish appears a decade earlier, in 1959 in Tolmezzo, Udine, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. That recipe is attributed to Norma Pielli, who owned a restaurant popular with hikers and one of whom reportedly dubbed the dessert ‘tiramisu’.

Where tiramisu originated is fiercely disputed, with the regions of Tuscany, Piedmont, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto all sparring for the honour. The Italian government, however, has officially declared tiramisu to originate in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, with the country’s agriculture ministry listing the dessert as part of the region’s agri-food products.

Tiramisu is a decadent combination of coffee, cream and cake

Tiramisu

This decadent dessert can be prepared a day or two ahead of time and stored in the fridge: just make sure to store the dessert in an airtight container or cover well with cling film. If you’d like to make the cake way ahead of time, then it is best to freeze it on the same day you bake it, in an airtight container. The cake will stay well for up to two weeks. Thaw in the fridge for a few hours before defrosting it at room temperature.

While the original recipe calls for mascarpone cream, it can easily be substituted by cream cheese. Feel free to use your own recipe for a sponge cake instead of the one given.

Ingredients

For the sponge cake
1 cup white flour
1¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter
½ cup whole milk
2 eggs
¾ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon vanilla essence

For the filling

1 egg
1½ cups whole cream/malai
1½ cups mascarpone or cream cheese
2 tablespoons fine sugar
1 cup espresso or strong coffee

Topping

¼ cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons icing sugar

Method

1. Make the sponge cake. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease an 8x8-inch baking tray (brush with melted butter and dust with flour).

2. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients — the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

3. Add milk and butter to a sauce pan. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally until the butter has melted. Set aside.

4. In a small separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Pour the whisked eggs into a large bowl. Add a little sugar at a time and constantly mix with an electric beater or by hand, until stiff peaks form.

5. Add the vanilla essence and stir well. Add the butter-milk mixture, pouring a little in at a time. Then fold in the flour mixture. Mix well.

6. Pour the cake batter in the baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until done.

7. Make the filling while the cake is baking. Beat the eggs in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream cheese, malai and sugar together until light and fluffy.

8. Brew a cup of strong coffee or espresso. For espresso, you will need to cook the coffee in a moka pot or espresso maker but strong coffee will do too. In a saucepan, pour one and a half cup of water and one tablespoon of ground coffee. Brew on medium heat until coffee is boiling.

9. Take the cake out when it is done and let it cool. Cut the cake length wise into three layers.

10. In a nice serving dish, place the first layer cut side up. Brush or spoon 1/3 cup of the coffee on the cake. Then, generously spoon out 2/5 of the cream filling mixture. Place another layer of the sponge cake on top and repeat.

11. Brush the top layer with coffee and cover with a thin layer of the cream filling. Dust with cocoa powder and icing sugar.

12. Chill in fridge for three to four hours or overnight for the layers to set. Cut into rectangular pieces. Serve with coffee or tea.

Published in Dawn, EOS, October 26th, 2025