Spotlight: Just when you need a pick me up
Picture it now, wandering around the streets of Italy, exhausted, you stumble across a local cafe serving the classic Tiramisu – the perfect pick me up. Layers of coffee-soaked lady fingers, interwind in a light creamy filling and topped with a sprinkling of cocoa powder – simple but key. The dubbed father of the Tiramisu, Alo Campeol had one desire when serving this dessert, to boost the energy and mood of his customers.
Once deemed as an aphrodisiac, the Tiramisu got its big global break in 1985 when the New York Times released a rare half-page spread on a new upcoming Italian dessert. Now found in most supermarkets in both sharing desserts and individual proportions you’ll be hard not to find someone who hasn’t tried it.
The oldest recipe dates to 1959 and is found in Friuli Venezia Giulia, where even to this day it is followed strictly, to give that authentic taste. Whereas in the rest the world, adaptations have already begun; adding an extra depth of flavour with rum and port or complementing those coffee notes with Tia Maria or Disaronno.
In Sicily, their famous Marsala wine is used to soak the ladyfingers, providing rich dark brown and fruity apricot notes to the product. Imagine removing the lady fingers completely and replacing it with citrusy panettone, emphasizing those toasted coffee notes or using ginger biscuit for a spicy contrast. The innovation continues as the Tiramisu becomes just a concept, reforming the flavour profile, most famously creating citrus-soaked overload or as in the Wa café in London making a seasonal variety from Sakura to Matcha – watch the possibilities explode.
Don’t fear, the traditional flavours of Tiramisu will always hold a position in the market with the Guinness world record for the biggest Tiramisu is at 3015 KG. Now inspiring a cross-market alternative, Maltesers have just released a Tiramisu flavour in Australia and Gu has released a Tiramisu-inspired mousse base dessert. At home, the Dalgona coffee craze is being explored, whipping up instant coffee and sugar to create a silky cream to really boost that caffeine hit – Whatever the creation, Tiramisu is back.
An all-in-one flavour that captures the coffee, the sweet, caramelised lady fingers, and the creamy delight of the mascarpone – how could you refuse? The Tiramisu 85/23340 is a complete flavouring that hits with that roasted coffee note and then blends into a creamy, chocolaty end note – ideal for bakery, dairy and confectionery.
Giant lady finger anyone? Perhaps the furthest away from the traditional dessert, this creation is a Cherry Bakewell 85/22146 flavoured choux bun filled with a Tiramisu 85/23340 flavoured caramel. The two classic dessert flavours interwind to create a complete dessert; the nutty roasted notes of the coffee naturally compliment the almond, whist the fruitier side of the bean is brought out by the jammy cherry flavour. The product is topped with chocolate and vanilla buttercream, using Vanilla 85/21848 to accentuate those creamy notes from Tiramisu caramel.
Hitting the spot, this perfect pick me up are Tiramisu 85/23340 flavoured dough swirls in a sugar and butter paste flavoured with Dark Chocolate 85/21112 – replicating the classic flavour of sprinkled cocoa on top the dessert. To really hit the spot the dough is baked in a sticky sauce flavoured with Espresso 85/23442 and topped with a Cream 85/19979 flavoured meringue. This authentic taste, of rich caramelised coffee and creamy undertone is not to be missed.
