Tiramisu is an Italian dessert made of ladyfinger pastries (savoiardi) dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar and mascarpone and flavoured with cocoa. The recipe has been adapted into many varieties of cakes and other desserts. Its origin is disputed between the Italian regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The name comes from the Italian tirami su.

Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine consisting of the ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Roman times and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora. Some of these foods were imported from other cultures. Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize and sugar beet—the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known and most appreciated gastronomies worldwide.