Searching for Tiramisu Across 4 Cities in Italy
One of the most exciting parts of honeymooning in Italy is exploring all of the classic Italian dishes in the land in which they were created. The most quintessential Italian dessert is, of course, Tiramisu (and it should be!). The ingredients are simple and almost always the same - ladyfingers (savoiardi), heavy cream, mascarpone, espresso, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and cocoa. Sometimes a liquor like a dark rum or Marsala is included.
During our travels in Italy we tried Tiramisu as often as we could and found that there are many different presentations and consistencies in this dessert despite the small and regular ingredients list.
We tried impressively different expressions of Tiramisu across 4 different cities in Italy and discuss their differences while establishing a clear winner!
Milan
The first was in Milan, at Osteria da Fortunata (see our review) - The most impressive aspect of this tiramisu is its rich, smooth consistency. The volume and texture of cream is equal across the layers, and its richness and depth tastes like they use egg, as in traditional recipes. The lady fingers are perfectly soaked with espresso–not too dry or swimming. Everything about this take on Tiramisu screams “iconic”, like the blueprint from which all other Tiramisus are made.
Price: € 8
Location: 13 Via dei Fiori Chiari, 20121 – Milan
Bologna
The second Tiramisu comes from a homey Osteria in Bologna–Osteria Dell’Orsa. Its Tiramisu is basic, uncomplicated, and almost cafeteria-esque with the way it’s served with efficiency in mind. The plain round dessert bowls aren’t out to impress anyone, but they’re still filled with tiramisu and it’s still delicious. On a side note, I love this place!
Price: not available
Location: Via Mentana, 140126 Bologna
Florence
Next up is the extraordinarily rich Tiramisu at the eccentric and famous La Giostra in Florence. This take on tiramisu is the exact opposite as Fortunata. It’s as if the chef said “I’m going to break every rule and still make it amazing!” The textures were inconsistent with the cream having some clumps here and there and the liquor was very rich and forward. This Tiramisu turns it up to 11 and I am all about it!
Price: € 12
Location: Borgo Pinti, 16r - Firenze
Rome
During our first night in Rome, we stopped at the lovely Trattoria da Danilo for dinner–and of course had another helping of tiramisu. This one has the most divergent presentation of the four we tried, in style and flavor. It is flavor-forward with rich coffee that not only soaks the lady fingers, but is also whipped into the smooth, light cream. With less focus on contrast and perfect layers, this whimsical tiramisu is served in a ramekin dish, which is perfect if you're dining fireside in their grotto.
Price: € 7
Location: Via Petrarca, 13, 00185 Roma
Osteria da Fortunata Again - Rome
While we were in Rome we decided to visit the original location of Osteria da Fortunata that began in 1921. This allowed us to double check the Fortunata tiramisu and compare it with what we experienced in Milan. It absolutely was! To a surprising degree, this location served up a piece of tiramisu that was just as consistent and delicious as the dessert we had on our first night in Milan.
Price: € 8
Location: Via del Pellegrino, 11/12, 00186 Roma
Which one was best?
The clear winner out of all these wonderful Tiramisus is Osteria da Fortunata. If you want to experience the most classic and perfect version of the dish, Fortunata can set you straight and be perfect every time. The precise volume in the top and bottom layers with zero clumps and a consistent sweetness throughout all of the cream really sets it apart from the others. One of the most challenging parts to get right with tiramisu is the moisture level in the ladyfingers - if you’ve ever had a subpar serving, the ladyfingers are either dry in the middle or beyond soaking wet with coffee which then seeps into the cream making an unappealing experience. At Osteria da fortunata, none of this happens - every slice is absolutely perfect. The ladyfingers are consistently soaked without dripping and the overall flavor of sweet and coffee is perfectly balanced in every bite.
La Giostra comes in a very close second place and shows that you can stray from the classic form of tiramisu and it still be amazing! This is the punk rock version of the iconic dish. It challenges the norms while still including the classic ingredients. All of the innovation is found in its slightly messy presentation that feels like a combination of a fine dining establishment and the homemade offering from the Italian grandma that everyone who vacations to Italy longs to experience. The piece is not a perfect square, but a scoop out of a larger dish which gives it uneven edges with creme with clumps which makes for an inconsistent texture, but the flavors are rich and balanced.
Making Tiramisu at Home
After returning from our honeymoon we extended the wonderful memories by learning to make Tiramisu at home. Our experience in Italy gave us the perfect baseline to know what the perfect Tiramisu is like as well as other representations of it that are also highly enjoyable.
A couple things to note about how some people vary the classic ingredients list - traditionally raw eggs and mascarpone are used, but some people are not comfortable with eggs that are not cooked and some leave out the mascarpone to cut down on cost. But truthfully, the quality of any dish is going to come down to the quality of its ingredients. After experimenting with a few things, here is specifically what we used to make our favorite homemade Tiramisu:
Ladyfingers
Mascarpone
Heavy Cream
Espresso shots (from our favorite coffee shop down the road)
Raw egg yolks
Demerara Sugar
Nielsen-Massey Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract
Cayman Reef Double Black Rum
These ingredients made for an incredible take on Tiramisu that rivaled what we tasted in Italy. It’s a lot of fun to try different types of liquor and coffee to see what your preferences are. Have fun!
