It’s hard to imagine that Italy’s signature dessert hasn’t been around forever. But according to Anna Marie Volpi, tiramisù is a fairly recent culinary invention, having made its first appearance on the culinary scene less than 50 years ago in Treviso near Venice. Folklore asserts that it got its name as a “pick-me-up” – a literal translation from the Italian – for the young ladies who plied their trade “entertaining” men above the restaurant where it was first created.
One would have to acknowledge that few nations other than the Italians could concoct something that’s as light as it is while being intensely rich at the same time. Sugar, eggs, cream, liquor, ladyfingers, and espresso combine with its essential ingredient mascarpone – a triple cream dessert cheese – to melt in your mouth as if you were sampling a mouthful of edible feathers.
If you’re looking for the best around, New York’s celebrity chef Mario Batali recommends the restaurant where it was born, Le Beccherie.