Professor Carlo Tiramisu grew up in an Italian-American household on the East Coast where the dessert table was a point of serious family pride — biscotti made in large batches and stored in tins, cannoli filled just before serving so the shells stayed crisp, rainbow cookies layered with almond paste and jam and left overnight before cutting. These were not casual treats. They were the result of recipes carried across the Atlantic and adjusted to new kitchens, new ingredients, and new occasions without losing their core.

His work centers on Italian-American baking — pignoli cookies made with almond paste and pine nuts, ricotta cheesecake lighter than its New York counterpart, and struffoli fried small and piled high with honey for the holidays. Carlo understands that Italian-American sweets are not the same as Italian sweets. They are their own tradition — shaped by immigration, adaptation, and the particular ingenuity of kitchens that had to make do and made something lasting instead.

In Universo da Doçura, Professor Carlo represents a diaspora pastry tradition that is generous, communal, and deeply tied to identity. His cookies are wrapped in wax paper to take home. His kitchen always smells like anise and coffee.