Spooky Tiramisu: A Creepy Twist To The Italian Desert Will Pick You Up In Terror

It happened to me at some point, somewhere in my early 30s. I started loving tiramisu. Yes, that beloved Italian dessert that combines airy milk, biscotti cookies, and sometimes other ingredients, soaked in coffee or even alcohol. It’s a bit surprising, because a lot of the desserts I like are relatively childish, with combinations of white chocolate, Oreo Cookies, Kinder, or candies. Still, these days I end almost every Italian meal with tiramisu. On every trip abroad, even outside Italy, I make sure to try at least a few tiramisu cakes and cups. It’s not the first dessert I always order at every restaurant, and I certainly won’t make it myself (thank God!). Still, I can definitely enjoy tiramisu and appreciate a quality dessert.

A few weeks ago, the twist came. While scrolling randomly on Instagram, among all sorts of videos that look like culinary torture porn (that damn algorithm again), I came across it: a scary tiramisu, which took the traditional dish and added a twist with ghosts and a few other creepy elements. Then I got the idea to explore the weirder sides of tiramisu, figure out how to make it scary, and try to determine whether, unlike other foods that have starred in our culinary reviews – like pizza or ice cream – Tiramisu has a place of honor in horror cinema. Even though the answer to the last question is probably no, I still found some strange and interesting facts about tiramisu. And there also some spooky tiramisu recipes.

So… What Is Tiramisu?

Tiramisu is an Italian dessert that is considered a classic, but beneath its sweet surface hides dark secrets. The dessert consists of layers of traditional Italian cookies soaked in coffee (black as night), a rich cream of mascarpone cheese (white as bones), and raw eggs (as dangerous as they sound). Everything is covered in cocoa powder, and the result is quite gloomy to look at. Forget all those colorful fruit desserts; this one is surprisingly dark.

The truth is that tiramisu hides a few secrets between its layers. Quite rarely, it is not cooked or even heated. The ingredients remain raw, at least in the classic tiramisu version, with eggs being a notable exception, as you can now easily find versions where we cook some ingredients. In any case, you can understand people who taste Tiramisu and feel like they are eating something that has not yet finally decided whether it is alive or dead, a kind of dessert Zombie.

It is perhaps needless to say that there are countless versions of Tiramisu today, which may combine:

Different types of cookies – not only biscuits as in the traditional versions, but also Pavesini cookies, amaretto cookies, and more

Espresso, and sometimes other types of coffee

Mascarpone cheese, which we can replace with other cheeses or cream (which reduces costs)

Egg foam, at least in some versions, because today there is a demand for different types of classic tiramisu without eggs

Sugar

Liquor, including Marsala wine from Sicily or coffee liqueur

Gelatin (in some versions)

Preparation methods also vary, depending on the ingredients, the expected result, and more. In any case, one of the main rules is that tiramisu needs to spend quite a few hours in the refrigerator to be stable and have the right textures. In some versions, this is no less than 8-12 hours.

What Does Tiramisu Mean?

The word “Tiramisu” means “pick me up” or “cheer me up” in Italian. These word combinations sound more like a bad name for a movie, and less like the name of a dessert, but still. It has several possible interpretations, which refer to the way of eating or the effects of tiramisu. There is no consensus on the most appropriate interpretation.

One of the more accepted versions is that the name refers to the stimulating effect of the dessert (which, as mentioned, includes caffeine and sometimes alcohol) on those who taste it. Some would take it in terms of a culinary or even spiritual experience, including the fact that tiramisu may improve the mood of those who taste it.

Another theory suggests that the name describes the proper way to eat Tiramisu, which involves digging the spoon deep into the cake and lifting the contents towards the mouth. And by the way, if you see any sexual connotation in this sentence, it’s only in your imagination.

What Is Tiramisu Made Of?

Every ingredient in tiramisu holds something scary, at least with a bit of imagination or too much horror movie mileage. Biscuits, or biscotti cookies, are soft, lightweight, and quite sweet sponge cookies, elongated in shape with rounded edges. It may be that the nicknames they have earned due to their shape, such as “lady fingers” or “cat’s tongues”, are what’s scary – because, unless you are a zombie, it’s not exactly “sexy” to eat something called “fingers” or “tongues”.

Historically, these cookies were probably created in the 14th century in honor of the visit of the King of France, and the use of the term “fingers” does include some mystical elements. In ancient Italian culture, fingers had an almost magical meaning. Following certain finger gestures, such as “Horns” or raising the middle finger, those who believed in these things could cast curses, provide themselves with protection from the evil eye, or even ward off demons and evil spirits.

The second principal component, espresso, is linked to the world of horror in several ways – and I’m not referring this time to that terrible song by the provocative American singer who strips down and performs obscene acts into microphones during concerts (Sabrina Carpenter, for those interested), nor to the Eurovision hit by Icelandic rapper Tommy Cash, “Espresso Macchiato”, which included a dance that looked like it came out of a horror movie about a character with a highly flexible demon attached to her. In our context, Italian espresso is known to be so bitter and intense that it is said to be able to “wake the dead”. In the 20th century, coffee was used not only as a drink but also as a kind of folk medicine, when there were Italian mothers who believed that a small sip could “bring back life” to a weak or sick child. With espresso at the heart of tiramisu, this image turns the dessert into a sweet ritual of reviving the dead.

The white mascarpone cheese is uncomfortably smooth and rich, almost like the pale skin of a ghost. Its production does not involve decomposition in the sense of decay, but rather the gentle coagulation of sour cream using acid. Still, with a bit of imagination, it is hard to ignore the image: a process of controlled transformation of organic matter, eerily reminiscent of what happens to the body after death, or to characters in body horror movies. The only difference is that in this case, we eat the result with pleasure.

Then comes the darkest ingredient: the eggs, which may be raw. They are not precisely “alive,” but they carry with them a tangible risk of infection with Salmonella bacteria. This danger is especially great for children, older adults, or those with weakened immune systems.

Who Invented Tiramisu?

Like everything scary that affects humanity, the origins of tiramisu contain mystery and some legends. There are several versions of the dessert’s origins, some of them bizarre. Evidence suggests that Tiramisu was served in various parts of Italy during the 20th century, and was first mentioned in an Italian dictionary only in 1980. Still, its origins are probably much earlier: somewhere around the 17th century, or in the following century.

One of the most famous legends claims that Tiramisu was invented in a brothel in Treviso after World War II. A local Madam created the dessert from her leftover ingredients – eggs, sugar, coffee, and alcohol – to “revive” her clients, to arouse them (sexually?) or to pamper them. Another version claims that escort girls in various parts of Italy made the dessert for them, to sweeten their not-so-simple lives.

Although there is not much solid evidence for the use of tiramisu in brothels, many believe that some used it as an aphrodisiac – that is, any substance (food, drink, smell, etc.) that could arouse sexual desire in a person, increase libido, or even improve fertility. Aphrodisiacs are cultural to a certain extent: the Aztecs believed in avocado, the French in asparagus, and the Indians recommended drinking ginger juice to deal with impotence. Did the Italians make Tiramisu their aphrodisiac a few centuries earlier? It is very possible.

Other versions indicate that tiramisu originated in Tuscany. According to a popular theory in the region, the dessert was created in the 17th century in honor of Duke Cosimo de’ Medici, the head of the dynasty that ruled Florence during most of the Italian Renaissance. Cosimo de’ Medici was a patron of art and architecture who contributed greatly to making Florence, in particular, and Tuscany in general, a world-famous name in these fields. The dessert was then called “Duke’s Soup”, and it was an impressive success.

Some Interesting Facts About Tiramisu

Like any other dish, Tiramisu has its records. The longest Tiramisu in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records, reached a frightening length of 273.5 meters. The world’s longest tiramisu was prepared by the Italian cheese maker Galbani Santa Lucia, by culinary students at a school in Milan, and under the supervision of chef Stefano Callegaro, who won the fourth season of “Masterchef Italia.”

The largest tiramisu ever made, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, was also made in Italy in 2015. It weighed no less than 3,015 kg, and included 350 kilograms of Zabionna cream, 750 liters of coffee, 625 kg of mascarpone cheese, 625 kg of cream, 450 kg of biscotti cookies, 250 kg of sugar, 25 kg of cocoa, and 25 kg of whipped cream.

Surprisingly, you can also eat tiramisu in space. In 2013, an Italian astronaut named Luca Parmitano asked for tiramisu as his birthday present. The problem is that the astronaut was in orbit around a Russian spacecraft, far from Earth at the time. With the help of an Italian chef and the wonders of technology, they managed to prepare a dried tiramisu for him in advance, which the astronaut took to space and apparently only ate on his birthday.

Like many other foods, Tiramisu has also received its official day. In recent years, tiramisu lovers (and especially, the producers and other players in the field of play) have been celebrating Tiramisu Day on March 21st, with various events, promotions in stores and restaurants, celebrations, and the like. The Tiramisu Day is the perfect time to discover special recipes and interesting versions of Tiramisu, sample different types, or participate in workshops and demonstrations. You can also make it while visiting famous Italian cities, like Rome, Florence, Naples, or Lake Garda.

Horror Out, Romance In: The Representation Of Tiramisu In Popular Culture

Although, as far as I know, there is not a horror movie yet in which the villain is a murderous tiramisu (thank God!), a man transforms into a tiramisu or giant tiramisu zombie cakes attacks a small town. However, this dessert has an honorable place in pop culture.

Sleepless in Seattle Tiramisu Scene

The most famous scene is in the romantic comedy “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993) by Nora Ephron, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan (who share about two minutes of screen time). In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, the hero learns about the things women truly appreciate, including the beloved Italian dessert. The moment when Tom Hanks anxiously asks, “What is tiramisu?” and receives a cryptic answer: “You’ll find out,” has become much-quoted.

Rumor has it that after the Sleepless in Seattle tiramisu scene, people all over America called cable companies and television networks to find out what this mysterious dessert was. The internet was coming into the picture then, and people couldn’t just Google “tiramisu” or ask Chat GPT what the hell they meant. In any case, in the 90s, the dessert became a favorite in San Francisco, and later reached a host of other countries in the United States and around the world. In China, according to Google, “tiramisu” is the most searched Italian word.

Italian Comedy “Tiramisu”

In 2016, we got an Italian comedy called “Tiramisù” by Fabio De Luigi, which focuses on the beloved dessert. I haven’t seen the film personally, as it’s neither a horror film nor a romantic comedy that my wife would want me to watch with her, or else she would kill me. However, from the plot description, it seems that tiramisu definitely stars in it.

The film tells the story of a not very successful medical equipment salesman who manages to improve his sales thanks to the special delicacy prepared by his wife.

Superbad Funny Tiramisu Monologue

“Superbad” is one of the best and funniest teen comedies of the last few decades. In one of the film’s opening scenes, Seth (Jonah Hill, at a time when he probably ate a lot of Tiramisu. Well done with the transformation, man!) complains to the instructor of a home economics course about the fact that he’s superfluous.

In excellent dialogue and full of curses, like the rest of this film, Seth explains why he doesn’t need to know how to make “this crappy food,” and that there’s no reason he should learn to make Tiramisu because he’s not going to be a chef. The scene ends with a twist that reveals home economics can be a great class, especially when you’re working alongside Emma Stone.

Tiramisu Cake Dance Challenge

You can’t discuss scary foods without addressing the ridiculous trends that emerge from social media. In recent years, we have come across the “Tiramisu Cake Dance challenge” in South Korea, to the tune of an indie Korean pop song called “Tiramisu Cake”.

Countless young people, influencers and other users of TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and the like have filmed themselves attempting the dance, which, as far as I understand – kill me, but I was afraid to watch these videos so that the social media algorithms wouldn’t inundate me with other videos of Koreans doing stupid dances – usually shaking their hips while holding one hand in the air, raising and lowering both hands, while simultaneously shaking their hips to the beat of the song.

Or something like that, because even as a die-hard horror fan, there are videos that I’m afraid to watch in full. You are welcome to do it yourself, but note that viewer discretion is advised.

How To Make The Perfect Spooky Halloween Tiramisu?

In recent years, the world of desserts has undergone a terrifying transformation, thanks in part to Instagram, TikTok, and everything in between. We get to see videos featuring scary variations of classic dishes, often with a recipe that lets us try to recreate the horror. Still, that tiramisu recipe surprised me quite a bit and stood out among the scary dishes that are more frequently featured on Instagram and TikTok accounts.

The good news, in our context, is that alongside countless variations of classic tiramisu, you can find scary versions of Tiramisu under tempting names like “Terrormisu” (which is also the name of the main villain in the game “Wario: Master of Disguise,” from the Super Mario universe) or “Halloween Tiramisu”. They include elements we recognize from the world of horror, such as tombstones, ghosts, eyes, skulls, snakes, and the list goes on. Sometimes restaurants and cafes themselves straighten up and prepare special versions for Halloween, like this cool Halloween tiramisu we saw at Disney World that included, alongside the classic ingredients, a white chocolate pretzel skeleton, a marshmallow skull, and a biscuit grave.

Want to know how to make a scary tiramisu yourself? Here are some fabulous recipes available online that explain how to create Tiramisu, and just as importantly, give it a spooky twist.

Halloween tiramisu recipe, in which biscotti cookies are turned into tombstones with the inscription RIP, fences, skulls, and other elements, you can add with some imagination

Spooky tiramisu that simulates dirt, with Oreo cookies used for the dirt and decoration with rubber snakes and small pumpkin candies

Tiramisu recipe with cookies that resemble a cemetery, featuring tombstones, spider webs, dirt, and other creepy elements. There are written instructions (in English) and also a short video

A video that shows a simple version of a spooky tiramisu, also here with biscotti cookies as decorated tombstones (with chocolate cream) and marshmallows as ghosts

Have you ever wanted to see how to make a light but monstrous tiramisu, with scary eyes? Try the following video:

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