Tiramisu is turning into more than a "pick-me-up" dessert. The decades-old treat is becoming a flavor, with more layers to it than just espresso and ladyfingers.
Tiramisu — the beloved Italian dessert filled with mascarpone, espresso, cocoa dust and ladyfingers — has been around
since the 1960s, when an Italian pastry chef at Le Beccherie in Treviso, Italy, accidentally spilled mascarpone into a bowl of eggs and sugar.At least that's one of the origin stories.
Today, excellent versions can be found anywhere. One Michelin inspector's favorite "Nonna’s tiramisu" is served at Mikain Abu Dhabi, with a big scoop of the "firm but lightly textured" treat showcasing an even layer of ladyfingers and a dusting of cocoa powder. Corbo's Baker in Cleveland,
Ohio, was voted one of USA TODAY's 10Best cake shops in the country, not least of all for its "legendary" tiramisu.
The dessert may be a classic, but — as new, creative flavors make their way off the dessert plate and onto the menus of food chains and the freezer cases at grocery stores — it's making a comeback.
Tiramisu is the new flavor
Over the last year, Shake Shack released tiramisu shakes, Dunkin dropped a tiramisu-inspired beverage collection and Starbucks is about to release a new Tiramisu Velvet line of drinks. We've seen the flavor in protein snacks, yogurt, ice cream, cookies, candies, doughnuts and martinis.
Restaurants are getting creative with it, too, serving matcha, chai, Biscoff, Basque cheesecake, ube, pandan, pistachio and black sesame versions.
Along with the new flavors, tiramisu cafes like Cafe 2By2in New York City have gone viral on social media, with influencers posting its matcha berry and sesame soybean tiramisu. In the past four years, the dessert increased on restaurant menus by 17%, according to Datassential’s Menu Trends platform, which tracks thousands of restaurants across the country. Chefs in London even set the Guinness World Record for the longest tiramisu in April, with 1,445 feet of the dessert inside a town hall.
Why everyone is suddenly obsessed with tiramisu
Tiramisu started to become popular again in 2023. Salar Sheik, founder of Savory Hospitality Restaurant Consulting with over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, told USA TODAY Food that viral videos of restaurants scooping tiramisu from refrigerated drawers helped.
Now, there are all-you-can-scoop challenges at restaurants and people making drawers of tiramisu in their fridges at home.
@itsmeju1iette TIRAMISU DRAWER 😍🍫 #trending #viral
♬ EVERLASTING LOVE - GROWS
The trend took off because it isn't that hard for restaurants to supply the demand. Sheik said tiramisu is easier to serve because it can be prepared ahead and served efficiently.
The new flavors added to the appeal for curious foodies, and opened the market for restaurants, according to Maeve Webster, the president of Menu Matters, a food and beverage industry market analysis firm.
"Now that tiramisu is as much a flavor system as it is a traditional Italian dessert, it's something almost any operator can offer whether it's as a flavored coffee, a cookie, a cheesecake or a cocktail," said Webster, who has a Le Cordon Bleu culinary degree, an MBA and owned an award-winning café.
What does this tiramisu explosion mean for you?
Tiramisu isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Several experts believe it will become even more popular in the next few years, which means you will likely see more tiramisu on the menu.
In 2023, Dataessential noted that tiramisu was on 13.9% of U.S. restaurant menus. By 2026, the dessert was on 15% of menus, and it's only up from here. Dataessential predicts that tiramisu could be on 15.7% of menus by 2030.
While the dessert will continue to be popular, Webster thinks it will be more trendy in the winter months, and could lose its novelty during the hotter months.
"Like most trends in hospitality, the social media excitement will eventually settle, but I believe a well-made tiramisu will always have a place on the menu, provided the economics make sense," said Sheik.
Not bad for a little kitchen accident.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tiramisu is everywhere. How this classic become the new it flavor
