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No. 02 · A field guide

Desserts of the world, by cuisine

22 dessert traditions and 341 recipes, grouped by the region they come from. Each cuisine page explains what defines that tradition — its key ingredients, techniques and festivals — and lists every dessert we have documented from it.

The grouping is loose by necessity. Borders move, cooks travel, and a palm-sugar sweet in Java has more in common with one in Malaysia than either has with a Viennese strudel. Some pages therefore cover a family of neighbouring traditions — Indonesian and Malaysian kue, Austrian and German baking, Spanish and Portuguese convent sweets — and say so plainly.

But the regional larders are real. A kitchen built on coconut milk, pandan and glutinous rice is a different kitchen from one built on butter, quark and poppy seed, or on milk, ghee and cardamom, and the patterns of what is sweetened with what and at which festival it is eaten are some of the most enduring fingerprints of a culture. If you are looking for one particular dessert, the dessert list A–Z is the quicker route.

All cuisines

North American

Frozen Custard · Fig Newtons · Zucchini Bread Pudding · Rocky Road Ice Cream · Honeycomb Candy

French

Mont Blanc · Paris-Brest · Religieuse · Dacquoise · Macarons

Indian & South Asian

Payasam · Balushahi · Soan Papdi · Sandesh · Mysore Pak

British & Irish

Jam Roly-Poly · Eccles Cake · Bakewell Tart · Spotted Dick · Parkin

Austrian & German

Topfenstrudel · Schneeballen · Donauwelle · Apfelstrudel · Speculaas

Indonesian & Malaysian

Dodol · Serabi · Ais Kacang · Klepon · Durian Crepe

Latin American

Cremoso · Mazamorra Morada · Chocotone · Cocadas · Manjar Blanco

Middle Eastern

Luqaimat · Kataifi · Kunafa · Aish el-Saraya · Malabi

Japanese

Kuzumochi · Monaka · Daifuku · Anpan · Mochi Cheesecake

Eastern European

Mákos Guba · Medovik · Kremówka · Faworki · Somlói Galuska

Filipino

Taho · Sapin-Sapin · Halo-Halo · Buko Pandan · Bibingka

Scandinavian

Rødgrød med Fløde · Suksessterte · Klejner · Bløtkake · Prinsesstårta

Italian

Sfogliatelle · Sbrisolona · Baci di Dama · Granita · Pistachio Gelato

Persian

Pashmak · Bastani · Gaz · Sholeh Zard · Persian Saffron Ice Cream

Chinese

Nian Gao · Red Bean Buns · Mung Bean Cake · Tangyuan · Egg Waffle

Spanish & Portuguese

Rosquillas · Torrija · Mantecados · Rosca de Coco · Arroz Doce

Thai

Khanom Chan · Khao Tom Mud · Tub Tim Krob · Sankaya · Khanom Krok

Korean

Yaksik · Bingsu · Hotteok · Bungeoppang · Croffle

Mediterranean

Kremna Rezina · Syllabub · Fig and Walnut Cake · Fennel Seed Biscotti

Oceania

Fairy Bread · Lamingtons · Anzac Biscuits · Pineapple Cake

Vietnamese

Che Ba Mau · Banh Chuoi · Banh Da Lon

African

Mandazi · Koeksisters