MANILA, Philippines – Espresso-soaked soft ladyfingers, chocolate, and mascarpone cream…I am a sucker for a creamy tiramisu.

You can’t go wrong with the classic, but it doesn’t hurt to explore unique versions of the well-loved Italian dessert. If you’re hankering for a new but equally decadent take, don’t tira-miss this – local family-owned bakery The Tiramisu Bar offers a Hazelnut Tiramisu that fans of both will go nuts for!

Tiramisu Bar’s Hazelnut Tiramisu spoke to me the most, as a hazelnut lover myself. Delicately balancing the flavors of strong espresso, chocolate, and hazelnut well, the sophisticated and cohesive dessert still allows the hazelnut components to shine, in order to set itself apart from the regular tiramisu. It almost stands as its own kind of dessert, but doesn’t stray too far away from the basics of a good tiramisu.

Coffee is still used to soak the savoiardi until soft and moist, providing a substantial base to the hazelnut-flavored mascarpone on top. In between is a textural layer of praline feuilette, which provides an addictive crunch and slight sweetness from the milk chocolate – it’s similar to crushed crispy crepes. Silky mascarpone cream finishes everything off, garnished with freshly-roasted hazelnuts on top for an added bite. It’s like a Ferrero Rocher in tiramisu form, but with a more subdued sweetness that isn’t overpowering. One baby slice is not enough!

“Hazelnut is my favorite nut and gelato flavor. I always get nocciola at every gelato shop, no fail. I’m also a big fan of French cakes that have a crunchy praline feuilletine base, so I figured, why not put all my favorite elements into a tiramisu?” Tiramisu Bar told Rappler, sharing that the inspiration for their new flavors is usually found in their favorite gelato shops.

The small size for Hazelnut Tiramisu costs P990, while the medium size costs P1,890. The former is good for 2-3 pax, while the medium is good for 4-6.

All about tiramisu

Also on Tiramisu Bar’s menu is a Dark Chocolate Orange Tiramisu, made with a generous serving of Italian mascarpone, espresso-soaked savoiardi, and a rich layer of velvety dark chocolate ganache, infused with fresh orange rind. If you’re not a fan of dark chocolate and orange together, this might be too experimental for you, but if you are – by all means, try this out! The orange zest adds a subtly zingy contrast to the deep, dark chocolate. It costs P890 for the small and P1,690 for the medium size.

Of course, Tiramisu Bar also offers the Classic at P790 for the small and P1,490 for the medium.

Tiramisu generally costs a bit more than the usual dessert, because every layer requires a lot of “care and attention,” as Tiramisu Bar shared. Each layer of each flavor is meticulously prepared one by one, and then assembled one at time, which is a cool feat, considering that none of Tiramisu Bar’s owners have any prior F&B experience. Both brother and sister studied Mechanical Engineering and Economics at the University of the Philippines Diliman, respectively. Their mother, who works in the transportation industry, helps with R&D.

“We decided to start Tiramisu Bar after a few trips to Italy. It’s one of our favorite desserts and we were frustrated we couldn’t find anything in Manila that we really liked, so we began making them at home. Initially we were just making it for ourselves and sharing with friends and family, but they encouraged us to turn it into a business,” they said. The owners planned to launch it after their last trip to Italy in 2019, but delayed it due to the pandemic. Operations began in December 2020.

The Tiramisu Bar’s commissary is located in San Juan City, and is also called the Stone House, because of its “interesting bungalow structure made of adobe stone that kind of reminds people of Intramuros,” Tiramisu Bar shared. As of now, the business is delivery-only, but plans of holding pop-ups and physical shops are in the works.

To order from Tiramisu Bar, you can message them on Instagram. – Rappler.com