Sweet
things from
everywhere.
Most read this month
Kue Lapis
or, the cake you peel
steamed one thin layer at a time
A steamed layer cake of rice flour, tapioca starch and coconut milk, built up stripe by stripe until it is springy, faintly translucent and made to be peeled apart rather than bitten through.
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2
Argentina
Dulce de Leche
Slow-cooked milk caramel, the spine of South American baking
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3
Vietnam
Chè Ba Màu
Three-colour bean and pandan-jelly dessert over ice
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4
China
Tangyuan
Glutinous rice balls in hot ginger syrup
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5
U.S.A.
Fig Newtons
Soft fig-paste biscuits from 1890s Massachusetts
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6
Britain
Jam Roly-Poly
Steamed suet roll with jam and custard
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7
Britain
Spotted Dick
Currant-studded steamed suet pudding
Desserts from around the world
Traditional desserts are some of the most durable records a culture keeps. Each DessertCat page explains what a dessert is, where it comes from, why its technique works and how to make it at home — whether that is a Vietnamese steamed layer cake, a Tatar honey cake or a steamed British pudding.
- Bánh Da Lợn — Vietnamese pandan and mung-bean layer cake
- Chak-Chak — Tatar fried dough bound in honey
- Dodol — palm-sugar coconut toffee, stirred for hours
- Dadar Gulung — pandan crêpes rolled around coconut
- Tartufo — Italian ice-cream truffle from Pizzo
- Spumoni — layered Neapolitan and Italian-American ice cream
- Kaiserschmarrn — the Austrian emperor's torn pancake
- Luqaimat — Gulf honey-soaked fritters
- Serabi — Indonesian coconut pancakes
- Topfenstrudel — Viennese quark strudel
- Pashmak — Persian sesame-sugar floss
- Cremoso — Argentine layered cream-and-dulce dessert
Around the world, by sweet
North American
41 recipesFrozen Custard · Fig Newtons · Zucchini Bread Pudding · Rocky Road Ice Cream · Honeycomb Candy
French
34 recipesMont Blanc · Paris-Brest · Religieuse · Dacquoise · Macarons
Indian & South Asian
31 recipesPayasam · Balushahi · Soan Papdi · Sandesh · Mysore Pak
British & Irish
23 recipesJam Roly-Poly · Eccles Cake · Bakewell Tart · Spotted Dick · Parkin
Austrian & German
22 recipesTopfenstrudel · Schneeballen · Donauwelle · Apfelstrudel · Speculaas
Indonesian & Malaysian
22 recipesDodol · Serabi · Ais Kacang · Klepon · Durian Crepe
Latin American
22 recipesCremoso · Mazamorra Morada · Chocotone · Cocadas · Manjar Blanco
Middle Eastern
20 recipesLuqaimat · Kataifi · Kunafa · Aish el-Saraya · Malabi
Japanese
19 recipesKuzumochi · Monaka · Daifuku · Anpan · Mochi Cheesecake
Eastern European
14 recipesMákos Guba · Medovik · Kremówka · Faworki · Somlói Galuska
Filipino
13 recipesTaho · Sapin-Sapin · Halo-Halo · Buko Pandan · Bibingka
Scandinavian
13 recipesRødgrød med Fløde · Suksessterte · Klejner · Bløtkake · Prinsesstårta
Italian
12 recipesSfogliatelle · Sbrisolona · Baci di Dama · Granita · Pistachio Gelato
Persian
10 recipesPashmak · Bastani · Gaz · Sholeh Zard · Persian Saffron Ice Cream
Chinese
9 recipesNian Gao · Red Bean Buns · Mung Bean Cake · Tangyuan · Egg Waffle
Spanish & Portuguese
9 recipesRosquillas · Torrija · Mantecados · Rosca de Coco · Arroz Doce
Thai
8 recipesKhanom Chan · Khao Tom Mud · Tub Tim Krob · Sankaya · Khanom Krok
Korean
6 recipesYaksik · Bingsu · Hotteok · Bungeoppang · Croffle
Mediterranean
4 recipesKremna Rezina · Syllabub · Fig and Walnut Cake · Fennel Seed Biscotti
Oceania
4 recipesFairy Bread · Lamingtons · Anzac Biscuits · Pineapple Cake
Vietnamese
3 recipesChe Ba Mau · Banh Chuoi · Banh Da Lon
African
2 recipesMandazi · Koeksisters
Essays & field notes
Five Ingredients, Five Continents
A handful of pantry staples, six cross-cultural desserts that taste like they took all afternoon.
Ten Minutes, Three Ingredients
Sweet starts to the morning that don't ask much of you, your fridge, or your patience.
Fewer Than Five, Always Recognisable
Fifteen meals that read like a grocery list a child could write — and a grandmother would approve of.
5-Ingredient Desserts That Taste Like They Took All Day
Dulce de leche, granita, syllabub and more: short ingredient lists where time and technique do the work.