Coccole opened at 490 Holloway Road on 19 September, serving tiramisù through a former NatWest cashpoint, made to the founder's grandmother's recipe.
The cashpoint at the old NatWest on Holloway Road gives out tiramisù now. Coccole, a small Italian dessert business that started in Leyton, opened its second site at 490 Holloway Road, N7 6JB, on 19 September. Customers walk up from the pavement and order through the window where the cash machine used to be.
The man behind it is Francesco, the founder and owner, and the recipe behind it is his grandmother’s. His wife, Sara, works the window with him.
“What attracted me to the location was not only the area but also its history,” Francesco says. “The space used to be a NatWest bank, and the little window where Coccole now serves tiramisù was actually the old cashpoint. I loved the idea of taking a space that was once used to give people money and turning it into a little window that gives people something completely different: a moment of happiness through tiramisù.”
“The space is tiny, but I think that’s part of what makes it special.”
Etta’s recipe
His grandmother, Etta, was from Turin, and she made tiramisù for him from when he was small. “I remember being so obsessed with it that I would sometimes wake her up in the middle of the night and ask her to make tiramisù for me,” he says.
“One of the things I remember most was watching her whip the egg whites. As a child, I was fascinated by how they became so light and stiff that you could turn the bowl upside down and they wouldn’t fall out.”
Etta died three and a half years ago. Less than a month later, Francesco opened Coccole Tiramisù in Leyton.
“The decision came from something much more personal than a business plan,” he says. “I wanted to keep her memory alive and keep a part of her with me through the food she had made for me throughout my childhood.”
Her recipe is still the one used for the traditional tiramisù, which Coccole calls La Coccola. “I’ve kept the original recipe because I want to preserve the taste I remember from my childhood, but I’ve also created new combinations and flavours based on my own taste and what I believe work well together.” La Coccola is the best seller, he says, with pistachio second.
Why “Coccole”
Coccole is Italian for cuddles, and the name comes from those same night-time requests. “When I was little, I would wake her up in the middle of the night to make tiramisù for me, and afterwards she would cuddle me and put me back to sleep,” Francesco says.
“Those memories stayed with me. For me, Coccole isn’t only about tiramisù. It’s about that feeling of being looked after, loved and comforted. I believe everyone needs more cuddles in their lives. We need more cuddles and less anger.”
“That’s what I want Coccole to represent: a little moment of happiness and comfort for everyone who comes to the window.”
Sold out in the first week
The Holloway Road window was picked up by Secret London soon after it opened. “During the first week after the Secret London feature, we sold out of everything,” Francesco says. “It was amazing to see so many people discovering Coccole and coming specifically to try the tiramisù.”
Coccole says it makes around 300 tiramisù a week.
Beyond the tiramisù
The window also sells pasticciotto, a pastry from Puglia filled with custard cream and cherry jam, which Francesco learned to make on a family holiday there.
“I loved it so much that I was eating one every morning for breakfast. Eventually, I asked the pastry chef at the coffee shop if he could teach me how to make them,” he says. “The following day, he invited me into the preparation area and taught me how to make them. When I returned to London, I started making them at Coccole.”
The rest of the counter is mixed-berry jam tarts, apricot jam tarts, aragostine with lemon, pistachio, chocolate or vanilla cream, and sprinkle cookies.
If you go
Coccole Window is at 490 Holloway Road, London N7 6JB, in the former NatWest building, with ordering at the street window. Coccole posts on Instagram as @coccole_tiramisu, which is the place to check opening times and what is on the counter before you set off. The original Coccole is in Leyton.
For more places to eat and drink nearby, see things to do in Islington.
Sponsored feature for Coccole.
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