Matcha, strawberries, lemon and more, try these yummy varieties on World Tiramisu Day

Tiramisu is immensely popular, even winning the title of the ‘Best Dessert in the World’ recently. As we celebrate World Tiramisu Day today, we look at how this coffee-based indulgent dessert, which originated in Treviso, Italy in 1960 has now become a favourite among chefs and food bloggers alike, to experiment with.

The creation of the tiramisu has been credited to Chef Roberto Linguanotto, who invented this dessert as a literal pick-me-up — translating to tiramisu, explains Amol Phute, executive chef, Bastian. Roberto, a pastry chef at the restaurant Le Beccherie, wanted to modernise a traditional Venetian dessert called sbatudin. It was thought to be something usually enjoyed by the poor as it consisted of a few ingredients - egg yolk whipped with sugar to make a frothy cream called tonic. However, this 19th-century dessert formed the base of the original tiramisu. According to experts, every nonna or Italian grandmother used to make this dessert for their family and had their own recipe that was customised by adding in other ingredients like coffee, liqueur, white wine, biscuits, butter, ricotta, cocoa, etc.

Traditional tiramisu contains ladyfingers (savoiardi), egg yolks, sugar, coffee, mascarpone, and cocoa powder. A luxurious yet common deviation to this dessert is soaking the savoiardi in alcohol, such as Marsala wine, amaretto or a coffee-based liqueur before layering it.

Pistachio Tiramisu

“Playing on how pistachio is suddenly people’s new favourite nuts, the Pistamisu is a beloved fixture on the menu with patrons loving its timeless charm and quality,” explains Chef Shailendra Kekade, Sante Spa Cuisine. This version of the tiramisu is made with roasted pistachio gianduja blended with light mascarpone. It is topped with savoiardi, which is soaked with a single shot of espresso and layered in keeping with the traditional tiramisu. It can be garnished with chopped nuts and some pistachio cream.

Masala Chai Tiramisu

If caffeine is the pick-me-up in a traditional tiramisu, this masala chai version will do this trick as well. With several upcoming Indian festivals, make this dessert by steeping the tea with spices like ginger, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and black pepper in water or milk. Swap the ladyfinger biscuits for rusk and layer it with a mixture made of whipped cream and mascarpone that’s been flavoured with spices like cinnamon, cardamon and cloves, along with saffron.

Strawberry Tiramisu

“The strawberry tiramisu is a fresh take on the classic Italian dessert and is one of the best ways to use this season’s produce,” says Chef Amit Sharma, head chef of Love & Cheesecake. The ladyfinger biscuits are soaked in strawberry-infused syrup and layered with creamy mascarpone that is blended with fresh strawberry puree and vanilla extract. Garnish with freshly cut strawberries and a dusting of cocoa powder. Chef Amit adds, “Let it rest in the fridge for a few hours so that all the flavours mingle and get to know each other.”

Matcha Tiramisu

Matcha is a green tea powder that is specially made by grinding shade-grown tea leaves from Japan. This superfood, which has a lot of health benefits, became so popular because of social media that there was a shortage in the latter half of 2024. “The Matcha Misu is our take on the tiramisu and features ceremonial-grade matcha imported from Japan,” explains Karreena Bulchandani, founder, MOKAI, adding, “This high-quality matcha adds an exceptional and authentic flavour to the dessert.” Lady finger biscuits are soaked in matcha and layered with whipped mascarpone. A dusting of the earthy matcha powder as garnish complements the sweetness of the dessert.

Lemon tiramisu

With the summer season coming right at us, make a lemon tiramisu for a light and refreshing take on this coffee-based decadent dessert. To the mascarpone cheese and whipped cream mixture, add a generous helping of lemon curd and beat it till light peaks form. Make a lemon simple syrup by slowly cooking water, sugar, lemon peels and juice together till it thickens. Dip the lady-finger biscuits in this syrup and layer it with the cream mixture. Top the dessert with more lemon curd and let it rest for a few hours in the fridge.