A 28-year-old factory worker from Feltre, Andrea Ciccolella, has won the Tiramisu World Cup with his version of the famous Italian dessert. He says that the secret to his tiramisu (that's it below) is not an old family recipe, but simply hours spent on YouTube, learning from famous chefs.
"My dream is to be a pastry chef and open a small cake shop of my own, where I'd make traditional, home-cooked things,” he tells AFP. “Nothing fancy, but tasty and made well."
The competition
The Tiramisu Wold Cup was open to amateurs only, no professional cooks. The competitors were divided into two groups, the first one respecting the traditional tiramisu recipe, while a second could be more creative with flavours such as banana, matcha, or strawberry. The competition was held in held in the city of Treviso.
The traditional tiramisu recipe includes these six ingredients: savoiardi biscuits, mascarpone, eggs, coffee, cocoa powder and sugar. These days, we’re used to adding a good amount of liqueur to most tiramisu, but it was not the case in the two recipes that inspired the competition, so no alcohol was allowed in the entries.
The desserts were judged on technical execution, presentation, taste intensity, dish equilibrium and harmony of flavours. The judging panel was lead by Roberto Linguanotto, a pastry chef who is considered by some to be the inventor of the original tiramisu recipe.
Where does it come from?
While there’s no doubt that tiramisu, which means “pick me up”, in Italian, two regions are claiming its invention, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
They both have the same classic recipe: ladyfinger biscuits steeped in espresso, layered with a mixture of mascarpone cheese, egg yolks and sugar, and dusted with cocoa powder.
Earlier this year, the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry policies entered tiramisu on the list of traditional dishes from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. But the Venetians have not given up. The mayor of Treviso, which is in the Veneto region, called his city “the moral capital of tiramisu” during the Tiramisu World Cup on Sunday.
Lead image – Tramisu World Cup
