Swandesh or sondesh or Sandesh, is a world famous Bengali dessert. In Bangladesh region it is known as pranahara, meaning- heart stealer.  It is one of the few sweets mentioned in medieval Bengali literature and Krittibas’s Ramayana and lyrics od Chaitanya. It’s recipe has altered many times, no one knows the exact recipe or original recipe. But now, it is popularly known as a chenum or chenna based sweet. It is widely sold in Bengal and all over the world.  Many variations are also seen in Sandesh, some as dipped in sugar syrup while some are served as halwa during pujas. Another variant of this sweet is made from jaggery.

 Tiramisu or Tirami’ su, is an worldwide popular Italian dessert. It   intriguingly coffee flavoured than opposed to sweet filling or flavours   like chocolate, vanilla, etc, which are genuinely used in desserts. Its   etymology is that it is derived from the word tirami’s’u which means   cheer me up or pick me up. Its not exactly an ancient homemade   delicacy, but rather a modern dessert which was derived as an   experiment, between 1960s to 1970s. Its origin is often argued. Many people believe that is was invented on 24 December, 1969, in Veneto, Italy at a restaurant “Le Beccherie” by confectioner Roberto Linguanotto. It was first officially presented in a cookbook devoted to the cooking of Veneto in 1983.

Tiramisu got an international stature via USA. In a movie ‘ Sleepless in Seattle’, which starred an international acting icon Tom Hanks, who was the male lead. The male leading character thought of this dessert as an unknown and mysterious object  that the female lead of the movie loved eating a lot.

Tiramisu does not have a rigid or traditional way of cooking. It has abridged versions all over the world which even differs from household to household. It base it made of mascarpone and coffee which is flavoured with chocolate beans. Sometimes it is eaten as a cake or as a trifle. Well anyway I had the opportunity to savour it as a cake but perhaps you can savour it as trifle!