Tiramisu – The Contest – Extended!

Tiramisu, [tiɾamiˈsu], (Italian spelling: Tiramisù), literally “pick me up”, is an Italian cake and dessert.

Can you guess which one of the infamous stories listed here is the true origin of Tiramisu? You could win our “Ultimate Tiramisu” dessert!

As the correct answer has not yet been chosen, we are extending the competition into the new year! Good luck and happy guessing!

Contest Details

Read through the 9 possible “true origins” of the much debated dessert” Tiramisu. Comment on this post with your vote as to which is true!

1. The Tuscan Trifle

   Tiramisu known as “Tuscan Trifle,” the dessert was initially created in Siena, in the northwestern Italian province of Tuscany. The occasion was a visit by Grand Duke Cosimo de’Medici III, in whose honor the concoction was dubbed zuppa del duca (the “duke’s soup”). The erstwhile duke brought the dessert back with him to Florence. In the 19th Century, zuppa del duca became popular among the English intellectuals and artists who lived there Consequently, it is also known as zuppa Inglese. They took the dessert to England, where its popularity grew. Zuppa del duca eventually made its way to Treviso, just northwest of Venice, in the northeastern province of Veneto. Treviso is best know for its canals, frescoes and . . . Tiramisu

2. Amourous Pick-me-up

   Tiramisu was the favorite of Venice’s courtesans, who needed a “pick me up” (the literal translation of “tirami-su”) to fortify themselves between their amorous encounters. True? Probably not. But it makes for a colorful history. Its American popularity arose in San Francisco, and today, Tiramisu can be found in restaurants throughout the nation.

3. Tuscany, Piedmont or Veneto

   Many regions claim to have invented this national dish. The general consensus seems to be that it was invented in either Tuscany, Piedmont or Veneto.

4. Zuppa del Duca

   Tiramisu’ was invented in the seventeenth century in Siena by the city’s pasticcieri to celebrate the arrival of the Granduke Cosimo de Medici, a man known for his sweet tooth. At the time the desert was called “zuppa del duca” which translates to “The Dukes” pudding.   It seems that it was popular with the Duke because he ended up taking it to Florence and from there the recipe spread to the rest of Italy.  It was a favorite of Italian courtesans who appreciated its stimulating and aphrodisiac properties and the name Tiramisu’ or pick me up in Italian stems from these very qualities.

5. Count of Cavour

   The desert was invented by a pasticcere in Turin in honor of the Count of Cavour ( Camillo Benso ) to keep him awake in his difficult task of unifying Italy.

6. Honeymoon Success

   “The groom’s bachelor friends”, says Maffioli, “at the end of the long wedding banquet, maliciously teasing, gave to him before the couple retired a big bottle of zabajon, to guarantee a successful and prolonged honeymoon”. “The zabajon”, Maffioli continues, “was sometimes added of whipped cream, but in this case was served very cold, almost frozen, and accompanied by the baicoli, small thin Venetian cookies invented in the 1700’s by a baker in the Santa Margherita suburb of Venice”. As we can notice, the addition of whipped cream, the serving temperature, the cookies, all these elements are close to the modern Tiramisu’ recipe. And even the allusion to the energetic properties of the Zabaglione, seem to refer to the Tiramisu’ name.

7. Le Beccherie

   “Tiramisu’ was born  just 10 years ago (1971) in the town of Treviso. It was proposed for the first time in the restaurant . The dessert and its name became immediately extremely popular, and this cake and the name where copied by many restaurants first in Treviso then all around Italy”. Still today the restaurant “Le Beccherie” makes the dessert with the classical recipe: ladyfingers soaked in bitter strong espresso coffee, mascarpone-zabaglione cream, and bitter cocoa powder. Alba and Ado Campeol, owners of the restaurant regret they didn’t patent the name and the recipe, especially to avoid all the speculation and guesses on the origin of this cake, and the diffusion of so many recipes that have nothing to do with the original Tiramisu’.

8. The Miracle of Birth

   Tiramisu was a meal in the North of Italy given to woman having given birth to help the in the recovery as the food was high energy: eggs, cheese, biscuit, sugar, cocoa, coffee.
   The name Tiramisu, comes from : Tira: from “Tirare”, bring Mi: me Su: up.

9. Moody Solution

   Tiramisu was invented by the personal chef of a king who lived in southern Italy in the 1800. The King…… around 2:00 to 3:00 pm would get very irritated and impatient with all his subjects.  And finally one day recognizing his mood, he asked his personal chef to make him A Tira-Mi-Su ( Pick me up- Pull me up- lift me up) and so the chef with great pleasure created this unique concotion of Biscuit, eggs, cream, sugar and strong coffee, that tasted like Heaven.  So it is said, from that day on the king as soon as he felt down and moody, he would ask for Tiramisu which would Lift him up.