An Italian factory worker has won the first-ever Tiramisu World Cup, beating 700 other amateurs to whip up the softest and creamiest version of Italy's famous dessert.

Hundreds of would-be pudding maestros descended on the city of Treviso armed with whisks and sieves to compete in the two-day challenge to make the best tiramisu, which means "pick-me-up" in Italian.

The winner, 28-year-old Andrea Ciccolella, hails from Feltre in the Veneto region and works in an eyewear factory.

"My dream is to be a pastry chef and open a small cake shop of my own, where I'd make traditional, home-cooked things. Nothing fancy, but tasty and made well," the victor said.

Competitors for the prize were split into those following the original recipe – ladyfinger biscuits, mascarpone cheese, eggs, coffee, cocoa powder and sugar – and those getting creative by adding everything from strawberries to green tea.

A dispute over whether the pudding originates in the Veneto or Friuli region has divided foodies for decades.

Friuli scored an important victory in the battle over the birthplace of tiramisu in August, when the dessert was officially inserted into a list of the dishes recognized as traditional of the region.

Competitors pose with their works during the first-ever Tiramisu World 

Veneto officials were outraged, with governor Luca Zaia calling on the agriculture and food minister to overturn the decision, saying "no one can swindle us out of tiramisu...the best dessert in the world".

Treviso mayor Giovanni Manildo side-stepped the debate on Sunday by dubbing his city "the moral capital of tiramisu".

It was a declaration which may have amused Italian food writers who claim the dessert was actually created as a stamina-boosting treat that prostitutes fed their clients in Treviso brothels in the 1950s.