{"id":8280,"date":"2026-10-19T15:18:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T06:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8280"},"modified":"2026-10-31T19:09:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T10:09:40","slug":"tiramisu","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/tiramisu\/","title":{"rendered":"Tiramisu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Beneath the brown of the cocoa lie coffee-soaked biscuits and a white dairy cream. Tiramisu is an Italian sweet made by layering savoiardi with mascarpone cream and chilling it. Its name means \u201ccheer me up,\u201d and it brings together the bitterness of coffee, the sweetness of egg yolk and sugar, and the gentle flavor of dairy. Because similar names survive in the sweets of several towns, its history follows two threads: the history of the name, and the history of the formula and method.<\/p>\n

The Theory of Development from a Home Restorative Food, and the Naming Legend Tied to a Brothel<\/h2>\n

In Treviso, it is said that today\u2019s tiramisu grew out of sbatudin, a home preparation of egg yolk whipped with sugar. According to this account, family members added coffee, liqueur, biscuits, ricotta and other ingredients to make a sweet that restored one\u2019s energy.<\/p>\n

In another oral tradition, the madam of a brothel served a sweet to fortify her customers and called out to them, \u201cI\u2019ll cheer you up,\u201d and this is linked to the name. The story is passed on by the Accademia del Tiramis\u00f9, a promotional organization that champions Treviso as the birthplace, and it is an oral tradition associated with the town in the 19th century. Alongside the household custom of making eggs and sugar into a restorative food, the story of the brothel madam is also told as an origin of the name.<\/p>\n

The History and Formula Handed Down at a Treviso Restaurant<\/h2>\n

Le Beccherie, a restaurant in Treviso, relates that it put the dessert on its menu in 1972 after trials by its former owner Alba Campeol and the pastry cook Roberto Linguanotto. In 1981, the food writer Giuseppe Maffioli introduced it in the magazine Vin Veneto, and on October 15, 2010, the restaurant deposited its own recipe (the proportions of ingredients and the method).<\/p>\n

Earlier desserts are also known in the same town: the \u201cVogel Imperial Cup\u201d of 1956 and the \u201cMascarpone Cup\u201d of 1963. Different sweets have been handed down by different establishments in the town, such as sweets layering coffee and mascarpone in a cup and today\u2019s tiramisu made with six ingredients.<\/p>\n

The Coppa Vetturino Handed Down in Pieris<\/h2>\n

In neighboring Friuli-Venezia Giulia, separate lineages are handed down for Mario Cosolo, a cook from Pieris, and for the Hotel Roma in Tolmezzo. According to the history preserved by a cultural association and an ecomuseum in Monfalcone, Cosolo made a dessert in a cup in the kitchen of a royal yacht in 1935, and in 1939 he served it as the \u201cCoppa Vetturino\u201d at his family\u2019s establishment, Al Vetturino. It is a cup layering chocolate mousse, liqueur-soaked sponge and zabaione mousse, so its contents differ from layers of coffee and mascarpone.<\/p>\n

There is also a story that in 1947 it was renamed \u201cTirime su\u201d following a joke by a regular customer, Bruno Cimadori, and a 1950 photograph of the interior of the establishment is said to show that advertising slogan. The episode in royal service and the exchange over the name are part of the history handed down in this region.<\/p>\n

The Dessert of the Hotel Roma in Tolmezzo<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, the tiramisu said to have been made by Norma Pielli and others at the Hotel Roma uses mascarpone, coffee-soaked savoiardi, eggs, sugar and whipped egg whites, and is cut into squares to serve. Regional sources trace it back to 1952. The researchers Clara and Gigi Padovani, a married couple, stated in a 2020 interview that they had discovered a 1959 receipt from the hotel. Tiramisu subsequently came to be featured in print as well, including in a 1981 magazine and a 1983 cookbook.<\/p>\n

From Liqueur-Soaked Layers to Layers of Coffee and Dairy<\/h2>\n

Sweets in which savoiardi are softened with liquid and layered with cream existed before tiramisu. Artusi\u2019s Dolce Torino soaks savoiardi in rosolio and red alchermes and layers them in three tiers with a chocolate cream made from butter, egg yolks, sugar, and chocolate melted with milk. It is shaped into a square and left overnight, and the next day its surface is smoothed with a warmed blade. During the night, the liquid-soaked biscuits and the cream meld together.<\/p>\n

According to the Tolmezzo family\u2019s account, Norma Pielli based her dessert on this one, replacing the butter with mascarpone and the liqueur with coffee. The cream with chocolate worked into it is said to have become a white dairy cream and a dusting of cocoa on the surface. Even with similar layering, the fat ingredient and the point at which flavor is added differ.<\/p>\n

Zuppa inglese<\/a> also has layers of liqueur-soaked savoiardi and cream. Artusi\u2019s method uses a cream cooked from milk, egg yolks, sugar, starch and other ingredients, and fruit jam is also layered into the mold. Charlotte russe, by contrast, lines the bottom and sides with savoiardi arranged without gaps, and that vessel is filled with bavarois. The charlotte builds a wall of upright biscuits, zuppa layers liqueur and cooked cream, and tiramisu layers coffee and mascarpone. Depending on the liquid soaked into the light baked base and how it is combined with the cream, both shape and aroma differ.<\/p>\n

\n\"Cross-section\n
A slice of tiramisu showing its layers (September 16, 2016). Pale cream and dark-colored base alternate. Photo: Sharon Chen<\/a> \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY 2.0<\/a>. Full-size image obtained. No content alterations or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Le Beccherie\u2019s Formula: Six Ingredients, Made in a Round Shape<\/h2>\n

Le Beccherie\u2019s recipe uses six ingredients: egg yolks, sugar, mascarpone, savoiardi, coffee and cocoa. Without adding egg whites, fresh cream or liqueur, the egg yolks and sugar are whipped and combined with mascarpone to make a soft cream.<\/p>\n

The coffee is cooled in advance, and the biscuits are dipped in it and arranged. Savoiardi that have absorbed the liquid become soft, but if they are soaked too long, the biscuits tend to fall apart when layered. The cream is spread on top, the same layering is repeated once more, and cocoa is sifted over before the dessert is refrigerated. It is said that the restaurant made it in a round shape, cut it into wedges, and served it marked with the restaurant\u2019s emblem in cocoa. Compared with the square slice of the Hotel Roma, differences remain not only in the ingredients but also in how it is cut.<\/p>\n

\n\"Single-serving\n
Tiramisu made as a single serving (August 13, 2025). Biscuits stand around the sides, and the top is decorated with chocolate-like shavings. Photo: Anna.Massini \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY 4.0<\/a>. Reduced-size version from Commons obtained. No content alterations or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Artisans\u2019 Variations on the Foam and the Biscuits<\/h2>\n

Today there are also methods that add whipped egg whites to make the cream lighter. In a recipe published by a dairy company in Brescia, 2 egg whites are combined with 5 egg yolks. Hot sugar syrup is poured into the egg whites as they are whipped, and the same operation is carried out separately on the yolks. The mascarpone is mixed into the yolk mixture with an electric mixer, and the egg-white foam is folded in last with a spatula. Two ways of mixing are used: vigorous movement when making the foam, and, at the end, combining so as to keep the air that has been incorporated.<\/p>\n

The chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo starts by baking the savoiardi with rice flour. The egg whites and yolks are each whipped with sugar and then combined, the rice flour is added, and the batter is piped and baked; the biscuits are then soaked with coffee and rum or Marsala. The dessert can be assembled on a large platter or in individual containers, and the flour and liqueur used for the biscuits also vary from maker to maker.<\/p>\n

Among Japanese methods, there are also constructions other than the six-ingredient formula that uses raw eggs. Snow Brand Megmilk\u2019s home method adds no eggs: mascarpone is mixed into cream whipped with sugar, and this is layered alternately with biscuits dipped in coffee. Yukihiro Nabeta\u2019s formula whips egg yolks with sugar and water over a hot-water bath, and combines mascarpone with gelatin, brandy and fresh cream. This version is layered in a cup with thinly baked sponge cut into rounds. In a cream without eggs and in a cream using heated egg yolks and a setting agent, the combinations that support the cold layers also differ.<\/p>\n

\n\"Surface\n
A scene from making tiramisu at home (August 12, 2017; location unknown). Brown powder is dusted over the surface of white cream spread in a container. Photo: \u80e1\u863f\u8514 \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Image as distributed by Commons obtained. No content alterations or cropping made for this use.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

A Tradition Registered in Two Regions<\/h2>\n

In 2017, tiramisu was added to the list of Traditional Agri-Food Products (PAT) of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in two forms: the mascarpone slice of Tolmezzo and the Coppa Vetturino of Pieris. In 2024, \u201cTiramis\u00f9 di Treviso\u201d was also added to the Veneto list.<\/p>\n

Registration of such traditional products is a system for recording production methods and food culture passed down in a region. The histories surrounding the home egg-yolk sweet, the restaurant tiramisu and the liqueur-scented cup dessert are also presented in regional tourism and in confectionery making.<\/p>\n

Spread Through Japanese Restaurants and the Development of Plant-Based Alternative Ingredients<\/h2>\n

In Japan, the spread through restaurants and the development of confectionery ingredients advanced side by side. Denny\u2019s offered its first \u201ctiramisu-style\u201d dessert in 1986, and in 1990 revised it to a flavor using mascarpone.<\/p>\n

\u201cMascapone,\u201d launched by Fuji Oil in 1988, is a plant-based, lactic-acid-fermented ingredient that substitutes for mascarpone. The company states that it was developed with storage, ease of handling, quality and price in mind, and that coverage in magazines also helped it spread. As the Italian sweet spread in Japan, the adoption of recipes was accompanied by adaptations to the dairy ingredients available and to the systems of the restaurant and confectionery industries.<\/p>\n

C-Cube\u2019s tiramisu combines mascarpone made from raw milk from the Nemuro and Kushiro districts of Hokkaido with a blend of three kinds of coffee beans that the company grinds and brews in-house every morning. The brewed coffee is chilled quickly, and the soft dessert is supported in a square tray. The tray is used not only for packaging but also to serve the dessert while preserving a softness that would easily collapse if it were cut out.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Yukihiro Nabeta<\/strong>: A pastry chef who presents, through Tomizawa Shoten, a tiramisu in which egg yolks are heated over a hot-water bath and gelatin and fresh cream are added.<\/p>

Gelatin<\/strong>: An ingredient used in confectionery for its property of setting when chilled. In the formula in this article, it is added to the mascarpone cream.<\/p>

C-Cube<\/strong>: A Western-style confectionery brand that makes tiramisu. This article covers the shop\u2019s dairy ingredients, coffee and use of a tray.<\/p>

Mascarpone<\/strong>: A smooth, mild-flavored Italian dairy product made mainly from cream.<\/p>

Savoiardi<\/strong>: Long, light biscuits made with whipped eggs. In tiramisu, they form the coffee-soaked layers.<\/p>

Zabaione<\/strong>: A cream made by whipping egg yolks with sugar, liqueur and other ingredients. In the Coppa Vetturino, it is used for a mousse layer.<\/p>

Marsala<\/strong>: A fortified wine from Sicily, Italy.<\/p>

Alba Campeol<\/strong>: Former owner of Le Beccherie, whom the restaurant records as the creator of tiramisu.<\/p>

Roberto Linguanotto<\/strong>: The pastry cook who carried out the trials with Alba at Le Beccherie.<\/p>

Giuseppe Maffioli<\/strong>: A food writer. The restaurant\u2019s history names him as the person who introduced the dessert in a magazine in 1981.<\/p>

Mario Cosolo<\/strong>: The cook who made the Coppa Vetturino at the establishment in Pieris.<\/p>

Norma Pielli<\/strong>: The cook who, according to regional sources, made tiramisu with mascarpone at the Hotel Roma in Tolmezzo.<\/p>

Antonino Cannavacciuolo<\/strong>: An Italian chef who has published a tiramisu recipe using rice-flour savoiardi.<\/p>

Clara and Gigi Padovani<\/strong>: A husband-and-wife pair of writers who researched the history of tiramisu through documents and interviews with makers.<\/p>

Bruno Cimadori<\/strong>: A regular customer who appears in the story of how Cosolo\u2019s dessert was named.<\/p>

Pellegrino Artusi<\/strong>: Author of the modern Italian home cookbook La scienza in cucina e l\u2019arte di mangiar bene.<\/p>

Rosolio \/ Alchermes<\/strong>: Liqueurs used for purposes such as soaking liquids for sweets. The latter has a red color and a distinctive aroma.<\/p>

Charlotte russe<\/strong>: A sweet in which the bottom and sides are lined with light biscuits or similar, and filled with a cream that is then chilled.<\/p>

Traditional Agri-Food Products (PAT)<\/strong>: An Italian system that records traditional regional foods and production methods in a list.<\/p>

Ecomuseum<\/strong>: A museum activity that records and passes on a region\u2019s nature, ways of life and memories together with its residents.<\/p>

Mascapone<\/strong>: The product name of a cheese-flavored, plant-based fermented ingredient developed by Fuji Oil. It is distinct from mascarpone.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n

  1. \u2022 Le Beccherie Ricetta e storia del Tirames\u00f9<\/a> \u2014 Six ingredients, soaking method, round shape and emblem; the 1972 menu and the 2010 deposit.\n\u2022 Le Beccherie History<\/a> \u2014 Record of the trials by Alba and Linguanotto and of the 1981 magazine introduction.\n\u2022 Centrale del Latte di Brescia Tiramis\u00f9<\/a> \u2014 5 egg yolks and 2 egg whites; the step of adding syrup separately to the whites and the yolks; the use of different tools.\n\u2022 Accademia Italiana della Cucina, Civilt\u00e0 della Tavola No. 258<\/a> \u2014 pp.9\u201310: the earlier cups of 1956 and 1963, the 1964 menu, and Maffioli\u2019s 1981 introduction. It infers from the absence of the name on the 1964 list of items that the naming came later, but this does not establish when trials began or that the dessert was absent from all establishments. A secondary study from a position supporting a Treviso origin.\n\u2022 Monfalcone cultural association and ecomuseum, \u201cIl Tirime Su\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The regional association\u2019s history of Cosolo, covering 1935, 1939, 1947 and 1950. Photographs and original sources are distinguished in the text.\n\u2022 Consorzio Culturale del Monfalconese Tirime su Coppa Vetturino Disciplinare, 2019 revision<\/a> \u2014 Differences in ingredients between the two types surviving in the region; references to documentary descriptions from 1935\/1952 and a 1950 photograph.\n\u2022 Antonino Cannavacciuolo Tiramis\u00f9 2022<\/a> \u2014 Ingredients and method for rice-flour savoiardi; an individual recipe that includes liqueur and uses different vessels.\n\u2022 Denny\u2019s \u201cA History of Our Desserts\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The first tiramisu-style dessert in 1986 and the 1990 revision.\n\u2022 Fuji Oil \u201cPursuing the Possibilities of Food: History\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The 1988 launch of the plant-based fermented ingredient Mascapone; the company\u2019s own account of supplying confectionery ingredients and of its spread through magazines.<\/p><\/li>

  2. \u2022 Accademia del Tiramis\u00f9, \u201cIl Tiramis\u00f9: storia e origini\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Explanation of the home sbatudin; the specific storyline of the oral tradition linking the brothel madam to the name.<\/p><\/li>

  3. \u2022 Tiramis\u00f9 World Cup, \u201cInterview with Clara and Gigi Padovani,\u201d August 28, 2020<\/a> \u2014 The researchers\u2019 own report of discovering the 1959 receipt; the distinction between the 1981 magazine and the 1983 cookbook. The 1959 receipt bearing the name is distinguished from the point at which the ingredients of the undated recipe were established, and the original was not re-examined for this article.<\/p><\/li>

  4. \u2022 Pellegrino Artusi, \u201c649. Dolce Torino\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Full text of the current digital transcription. Three liqueur-soaked layers with butter, egg yolk and chocolate; chilling overnight; a warmed blade. The year in which it appeared under the same number in the first edition was not verified for this article.\n\u2022 Pellegrino Artusi, \u201c675. Zuppa inglese\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Full text of the current digital transcription. Cooked cream, two liqueurs and fruit jam, and the instruction to avoid over-soaking.\n\u2022 Gigi Padovani \/ FAI, \u201cL\u2019identit\u00e0 italiana a tavola\u201d<\/a> \u2014 An interview with the researcher himself on printed page 6. The researcher\u2019s own explanation that Norma adapted the Dolce Torino. Not generalized to all regions as the sole direct lineage.\n\u2022 National Geographic article preserved by CCM<\/a> \u2014 The family\u2019s account, based on an interview with Mario Del Fabbro, of liqueur \u2192 coffee, butter \u2192 mascarpone and chocolate \u2192 cocoa. The relevant quoted paragraph retrieved via search was read in full; the complete PDF was not read because it exceeded the size limit.\n\u2022 Wayne Gisslen, Professional Baking, 7th edition<\/a> \u2014 The Charlotte Russe section on printed page 528. The structure of savoiardi on the bottom and sides, bavarois, and chilling. Not proof of direct historical transmission.\n\u2022 Clara e Gigi Padovani, \u201cLa vera storia del tiramis\u00f9\u201d (August 8, 2017)<\/a> \u2014 The 2017 registration of the two types and the authors\u2019 own involvement in the research and application. Read as one position on the origin; the registration is not treated as a ruling on who invented the dessert.\n\u2022 Camera di Commercio Pordenone-Udine, \u201cTiramis\u00f9 dolce Carnia\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Registration of the two types as traditional products from 2017 onward. The relevant text retrieved via search was read.\n\u2022 Veneto Region PIAVe, \u201cAggiornato l\u2019elenco dei Prodotti Agroalimentari Tradizionali\u201d (March 21, 2024)<\/a> \u2014 Inclusion of Tiramis\u00f9 di Treviso in the list by ministerial decree of February 29, 2024.<\/p><\/li>

  5. Snow Brand Megmilk, \u201cKantan Tiramisu\u201d (Easy Tiramisu)<\/a> \u2014 All ingredients and the three steps were read. No eggs; cream, mascarpone and biscuits.<\/li>
  6. Tomizawa Shoten \/ Yukihiro Nabeta, \u201cA Professional\u2019s Basic Tiramisu\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Egg yolks heated over a hot-water bath, gelatin, brandy, fresh cream, and a cup with sponge cut into rounds. The heading calls cold-brew coffee \u201cespresso,\u201d but this is not generalized to the usual brewing method.<\/li>
  7. C-Cube, \u201cTiramisu\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The shop\u2019s explanation of its dairy ingredients, three kinds of coffee beans, rapid chilling, and the tray that supports the dessert\u2019s softness.<\/li>

  8. Editorial Note<\/h2><\/li>

  9. The 19th-century naming story connected with a brothel has been kept in the text as an oral tradition. It is not a story whose origin has been substantiated by the menu of a specific establishment from that time.<\/p><\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Tiramisu is a chilled Italian sweet in which coffee-soaked biscuits are layered with mascarpone cream. The top is the brown of cocoa. Beneath it are layers that let you taste bitterness and the sweetness of dairy in turn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6728,"menu_order":35,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Tiramis\u00f9","subtitle":"Coffee-soaked layers stacked with mascarpone","topics":"Treviso \/ Mascarpone \/ Coffee","country":"Italy","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["chocolate","cheese","cream","egg","coffee"],"texture":[],"occasion":[],"method":["chilled"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[164],"class_list":["post-8280","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":[8807],"sweetlore_related_mode":"manual","sweetlore_related_articles":[8281,8272,8273,8282,8290,8310,8322,8325]},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t