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Coffee has made its way into every corner of the culinary world: in breweries and distilleries, in hot sauce makers’ facilities, but also in cheese artisan kitchens. However, it is in desserts where coffee truly shines. Italians have always enjoyed affogato, and coffee and walnut cake has become a classic worldwide. Still, it’s hard to argue against the claim that tiramisù is the ultimate coffee-based dessert, especially in 2023. Head over to TikTok, and you’ll discover numerous variations of tiramisù, such as coconut, strawberry, lemon, Sakura, and matcha. But do not stop there and welcome the tiramisù hair-colour trend, which, as the name suggests, features darker roots – like the top dusting layer on a tiramisù – and lighter ends, like the creamy parts of the sweet treat.
The best way to eat coffee
Forget a plate of pasta, forget french fries or chocolate ice cream. Tiramisù has been the perfect comfort food for a very long time, either as breakfast or dessert: it has a special and unique taste and texture that makes everyone agree. Originating from the Italian city of Treviso, the name tiramisù means “pick me up” in the local dialect. This simple yet challenging dessert has a homely feel that evokes a sense of comfort. It originated in home kitchens, where a beaten egg, sugar, a crumbled biscuit, and a little coffee were all needed to comfort the elderly, children, and young mothers.
Tiramisù has its own World Cup
“It’s something that people can make at home, anywhere in the world.” Is this the reason why you can find tiramisù almost everywhere? Francesco Redi thinks it is and in 2017 founded the Tiramisù World Cup. He recently kicked off the 2023 international competition held every year in October in Treviso, the homeland of Tiramisù and De’Longhi headquarters, where hundreds of aspiring winners compete against each other in the preparation of the popular spoon dessert. They all know that a real tiramisù follows a set of traditions in its preparation. One of the most significant ones is the use of ladyfinger biscuits, which are sponge biscuits that are essential because of their texture. And then comes good coffee, the paramount ingredient.
Are you original or creative?
The classic recipe is made with a moka coffee, but today other possibilities exist. So long as there is a balance of Espresso with the other ingredients, there are many variations of a good tiramisù. The World Cup has indeed two categories: original recipe, and creative version plus a very special sub-category promoted by De’Longhi experimenting with Cold Brew as an innovative ingredient. De’Longhi is one of the partners for this one, presenting Cold Brew Tiramisù made with the brand’s fully automatic coffee machine Eletta Explore. De’Longhi wants to offer an alternative: the cold brew opens up new creative horizons because the extraction is different from moka coffee and, therefore leads to lower total acidity, lower bitterness, higher sweetness, higher floral aromas and less total dissolved solids.
Why Cold Brew is the secret ingredient to Tiramisù
“We chose Nadia Ceoldo as the winner of the Cold Brew special prize because her tiramisù was the one that most brought out the link between coffee and other ingredients, especially the creative ones.” said Gianni Cocco, Coffee Maestro for Aicaf – Accademia Italiana Maestri del Caffè – and member of the jury. Her recipe, ‘The Persistence of Summer’, was a creative tiramisù with a lime zest custard, fresh passion fruit juice and dark chocolate on top. Below, biscuits soaked in a medium roasted blend composed of Kenya, Ethiopia and Central America beans, which gave the drink citrus and floral notes. Coffee aromas stood out with the light acidity, bitterness and sweetness of passion fruit, chocolate and lime Nadia used. “Acidity, sweetness and bitterness were very balanced in the taste”, Cocco added.
Cold Brew proves to be the secret of a creative tiramisù that suits every occasion and it doesn’t stop here. There are endless ways for Cold Brew and tiramisù to become a great match, like our after-dinner cocktail Cold Brew Tiramisù Martini. Perfectly balanced at every sip.
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