Italy holds first ever Tiramisu World Cup competition

The competition sought to find the best version of the famous dessert

A competitor puts on the last touches (AFP/Getty)

Italy just held the first ever Tiramisu World Cup to determine who could create the best incarnation of the nation’s favourite dessert, reports The Local.

Some 700 impassioned pudding makers arrived in Treviso on 5 November to compete, whipping up their own versions of a tiramisu, which literally translates as “pick-me-up”.

Competitors take part (AFP/Getty Images)

The winning entry was made by Andrea Ciccolella, a 28-year-old factory worker from Feltre in the Veneto region, whose dream is to open his own bakery.

"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 told AFP. “Nothing fancy, but tasty and made well."

The competition lasted for two days, with competitors divided into those who stuck to the traditional recipe and those who experimented with other flavours such as strawberry and green tea.

Roberto Linguanotto, a Treviso pastry chef considered by Veneto as the inventor of the original tiramisu recipe, awarded the prize.

"What gives the final touch to tiramisu is the coffee,” he said. “It's expensive because each ladyfinger needs to be dunked in espresso, and you need lots of them: intense, good quality, flavoured."

Traditionally made with ladyfinger biscuits steeped in espresso, mascarpone cheese, eggs, cocoa powder and sugar, the popular pudding has long been a bone of contention between two Italian regions.

Veneto and Friuli-Venezia both claim tiramisu originated within their borders. In August, Friuli won a small victory when the dessert was officially added to the list of dishes recognized as traditional to the region.

In response, Veneto governor Luca Zaia called on the agriculture and food minister to overturn the decision. "No one can swindle us out of tiramisu... the best dessert in the world," he said.

Now a Veneto local has won the Tiramisu World Cup, the playing field is somewhat levelled again.

Giovanni Manildo, mayor of Treviso, which is in the Veneto region, called his city "the moral capital of tiramisu" at Sunday’s World Cup.