The origin
of tiramisu explained

The origin of tiramisu is one of the loveliest puzzles in Italian cuisine. Unlike recipes that are centuries old, this coffee-and-mascarpone dessert is surprisingly recent: most sources trace it back to north-eastern Italy, in the second half of the 20th century. Its very name, which in Venetian means "pick me up" or "lift me up", evokes the invigorating effect of coffee and sugar, and already tells us a lot about its history.

Understanding where tiramisu comes from means diving back into the culture of trattorias and Italian families, where recipes are passed on by word of mouth rather than in writing. At Di Micheli, in Aix-en-Provence, this dessert holds a special place on our menu: we love sharing its story as much as making it in-house, because it sums up our attachment to a simple, generous Italian cuisine made on site.

Tiramisu relies on a handful of ingredients that give it all its character. At the heart of the recipe is mascarpone, a smooth, creamy cheese from Lombardy, whipped with egg yolks and sugar to form an airy cream. This soft base wraps around ladyfinger biscuits, the famous savoiardi, first soaked in strong coffee.

Coffee, in fact, is the dessert's other signature: it brings the bitterness and contrast that balance the sweetness of the mascarpone. A fine dusting of bitter cocoa crowns the whole thing, just before serving. These original ingredients are few, but their quality makes all the difference, which is why a tiramisu made with fresh produce is nothing like an industrial version.

The paternity of tiramisu is the subject of a passionate debate between two neighbouring regions of north-eastern Italy. Veneto, around Treviso, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia both claim the birth of the dessert in their trattorias in the 1960s and 1970s. Several restaurants dispute the invention of the recipe, and food historians keep comparing testimonies, old menus and family memories without any definitive consensus emerging.

Beyond the question of who invented it, what moves us in the story of tiramisu is that it belongs to everyone. Like many great Italian classics, it spread from table to table, each cook adding their own touch: a splash of liqueur, a stronger or milder coffee, biscuits soaked more or less. It is this spirit of transmission that we try to honour in our homemade version.

To explore the history and variations of this dessert in more detail, you can read the tiramisu page on Wikipedia, then come and rediscover it on our plates.

At Di Micheli, we make our homemade tiramisu in keeping with this tradition, with fresh produce and no shortcuts, true to the same standard as our Neapolitan pizza and fresh pasta. Our menu is deliberately kept tight to guarantee the freshness of every plate, and tiramisu holds pride of place to end a meal sweetly, on Place des Cardeurs.