Known as Italy’s sweet aphrodisiac and a dessert found in every Italian kitchen, the origin of Tiramisu is hotly debated even today. But how did it take over the Indian dessert sphere and what really makes it such a hit amongst Indian epicureans?
Everyone knows the birthplace of tiramisu, but no one really knows the birthplace of tiramisu. As conflicting as that sentence is, the love and obsession for this classic of the most classic Italian desserts is equally simple and uncomplicated for epicureans around the world. For some of us, it is the too-soft-to-be-real, velvety mouthfeel of mascarpone, while for others it is the hit of coffee that dances on the tongue before satiating the senses. In Italy, they also call it an aphrodisiac, and indisputably so.
Mascarpone and coffee… What else makes a Tiramisu?
For the uninitiated, here’s how I would describe a quintessential tiramisu. Layers and layers of fluffy, dewy but evenly spread clouds of mascarpone sheathed quietly over savoiardi (ladyfinger or sponge biscuits), generously drenched in coffee.
Now sit back and press rewind to the late decades of the 20th century, one of the contested time periods when Italy and the rest of the world likely witnessed the first existence of tiramisu.
Treviso, a city in the region of Veneto in northern Italy houses a restaurant, Le Beccherie — a venue widely acclaimed, and might I say, accepted, for the probable invention of Tiramisu between 1969 and early ‘70s. La mamma del tiramisu, Alba di Pillo-Campeol and her husband (also regarded the father of tiramisu) chanced upon the recipe of this Italian dessert while whisking sugar and eggs and accidentally dropping mascarpone in that bowl. An improvisation of sorts as it may have been —Alba added some espresso-soaked ladyfingers and voila, tiramisu transpired.
But that’s not the end of the enigmatic tiramisu’s tales. According to The Guardian, Alba’s son Carlo Campeol credits the genesis of tiramisu to his mother’s fixation on relishing the combination of mascarpone, sugar, and biscuits doused in coffee when she was pregnant with Carlo. This made for an unparalleled pick-me-up for her, eventually taking the hot (or sweet) spot on the menu at Le Beccherie. It wasn’t long until the USA escorted it over, onto the menus of its many fine-dines, soon after which tiramisu waltzed back to the European cities, turning it into a sensational Italian protagonist that’s now easily one of the most iconic desserts in the world.
The Indian arrival
The sweet tunes of the tiramisu wafted across to Asia, eventually making a confident entry in India. Fast forward to 2022, finding a menu without tiramisu’s mention in the country’s progressive restaurants would equal looking for a needle in a haystack. I, for one, love an occasional tiramisu indulgence. But, here’s the thing — the number of native Italians making their native tiramisu recipe in India and putting it out there for people to buy remains possibly obscure.
In Mumbai, in the sea of an existing cluster of restaurants and cafes that hold repute for their palatable tiramisu amongst dessert connoisseurs, a fairly new tiramisu player has entered the field — an Italian signora living in India since the last 6 – 7 years, Mirella Fiore. She officially launched her dessert house, christened Bottega Italica, in July 2022, and operates as a cloud kitchen from Fort in South Mumbai, working only on pre-orders.
There are five key ingredients. Coffee, ladyfingers, both sourced from Italy, alongside eggs, sugar, and mascarpone.” The problem in making an original tiramisu to the T in India is the base of ladyfingers is usually replaced by sponge cake, taking away the essence of its originality.
On a phone conversation, Mirella, who first arrived in India not as a pâtissier but as a jewellery maker, revealed in the most eloquent Italian-English accent that she once participated in the annual World Tiramisu Cup in Treviso, triumphing at third place for her tiramisu. Mirella, who’s quick to divulge that she, in fact, isn’t a trained chef, muses that her bestseller at Bottega Italica among Indian customers is the classic tiramisu. But what makes it? She reveals, “There are five key ingredients. Coffee, ladyfingers, both sourced from Italy, alongside eggs, sugar, and mascarpone.” The problem in making an original tiramisu to the T in India is the base of ladyfingers is usually replaced by sponge cake, taking away the essence of its originality. However, whichever tiramisu your tastebuds find a liking for, the final ingredient is the pâtissier’s love for the art of creating that wins you. And, Mirella agrees.
One dessert, countless variations
Truth be told, there are about as many versions of tiramisu in India and the world, as there are a variety of ingredients worldwide. Closer home, in the neighbourhood of Bandra is a home-chef Namrata Ahuja who runs a home business by the name of The Tuck Shop, that sells Baileys-infused genre of tiramisu, deviating from the original spirit-free recipe and lending it her own twist. Established eateries such as Sorrentina All Day Dining, Gustoso, and Cin Cin amongst others plate up their own versions, too. While some pay ode to the classic, some others bring characters such as Nutella, almonds, berries, matcha, and even wines and bourbons to the toothsome narrative. A random search on Google about the weirdest tiramisu recipes brings me to a speechless halt — when one of the searches on the screen reads white chocolate bacon tiramisu made with actual bacon strips.
According to Mirella, it is the love for coffee at large that draws and pulls Indians to tiramisu. This perhaps, too, like the much-debated history of the silky and delicate dessert itself, sparks off yet another conversation for the rest of the country to make a consensus on what ‘really’ makes tiramisu the celebrity that it is in the Indian world of desserts today…