Many of us know
desserts to be the last guilty
pleasure after a meal. But did you know that before the 17th
century in Europe, what we know as desserts were used to cleanse the
palate between courses? In many parts of the world, sugar was a rare and
expensive ingredient. It wasn't until colonists
generated and expanded the production of sugar
fields through slave labor that the price of
sugar was lowered. By the mid-17th century, cookbooks dedicated to
desserts were published. With many different textures,
colors, and flavors, here are some of
the best desserts that exist around the world. This sweet treat
got its name from the politician
Eduardo Gomes, who ran for president
of Brazil in the 1940s. Brigadeiros, which
were inspired by Gomes' military
rank, brigadier, quickly became a popular
treat sold by women who supported
him at rallies. He lost the election, but the bite-sized
treat lives on. It is made with
condensed milk, butter, and cocoa powder and covered
with chocolate sprinkles. In Nigeria, the act of
repeating a word twice is deeply embedded
in the culture. It is used for
clarity and emphasis. Puff puff is
deep-fried dough sprinkled with powdered
sugar in some cases, and it can be served as both
an appetizer and a dessert, savory or sweet. When I first think of mochi, I think of the
mochi ice cream in boxes sold
at Trader Joe's, but that's just the American
take on the famous dessert. Mochi is actually a rice
cake made from mochigome. This rice becomes
glutinous when boiled and doughy when steamed. Water and air
are huge factors in the transformation
of mochigome to the mochi dessert
that we know. Water prevents the mochi
from being a sticky mess, and air contributes
to the gooey stretch. The word tembleque is associated with
the Spanish word temblar, which means
to jiggle or tremble. This definitely represents the
consistency of this dessert. A coconut pudding, or
custard if you wish, templeque is a
holiday dessert that has numerous variations
throughout Latin America. But no matter where you
are, it is best eaten cold. Legend has it
that chimney cakes were invented by
women in Transylvania during the Mongol
invasion in 1241. In order to
convince the Mongols that they would outlive
them during a stalemate, the women of Transylvania
came up with a plan that mixed flour with water wrapped around
a wooden stick. This gave the illusion of
large portions of bread, but they were in fact
hollow on the inside. Starving and disappointed,
the Mongols left, and chimney cakes
went on to be popular in both Romania and Hungary. This next dessert
takes us here to Little Cupcake
Bakeshop in New York, home to one of my favorite
American desserts. And, no, it is
not apple pie. Many people wonder,
is red velvet cake simply just chocolate
cake with red food dye? And the answer
is: not exactly. Though the dessert has cocoa powder as one
of the ingredients, it also calls for
vinegar and buttermilk. The acidic flavors mixed with
the cream-cheese frosting makes for a dessert that is
definitely not chocolate cake. The red velvet cake stems
back to a marketing ploy by an American
food-coloring company. During the Great Depression,
in order to boost sales, the Adams Extract company
added red food coloring to velvet cake in
order to give it the bright, distinct
color that we know today. So as demand for the
dessert increased, so did their revenue. Banoffee pie is a
sweet combination of bananas, toffee,
and whipped cream on a thick
graham-cracker crust. The word banoffee itself
is actually a portmanteau from words banana
and toffee. It was invented at a
restaurant in Sussex, England, and became world-famous. Yakgwa, meaning
\"medicinal confection,\" got its name because
honey was known in Korea as healthy medicine. Yakgwa is a
deep-fried cookie soaked in honey for
six to eight hours. The history of this dessert
is tied to special occasions like royal banquets
or Chuseok. Though originally enjoyed
mostly by the upper class because of the honey, it
is commonly eaten today and still served
for Chuseok. Soaked in a series
of three milks, evaporated, condensed, and
heavy cream or whole milk, this dessert is
incredibly simple yet deliciously complex. Although people are
not entirely sure where the dessert
originated, the main consensus
is Mexico. It was Nestlé that took the
tres leches cake mainstream by featuring the
recipe on cans of evaporated, condensed,
and cream milk. Despite the
marketing scheme, tres leches developed its
own cultural significance in families all
across Latin America. Stroopwafel is a sweet,
caramellike filling sandwiched between two
thin waffle cookies and was invented in the
Dutch city of Gouda. Gerard Kamphuisen, who is
credited as the inventor, took leftover bread crumbs and mixed them
with a thick syrup. Warm up the caramel by
letting the stroopwafel sit on a cup of coffee
or tea before consuming, and you won't be sorry. A Filipino word
meaning "mix-mix," halo-halo is a popular
dessert in the Philippines made up of shaved
ice, condensed milk, and fun sweet toppings
like fruit, jellies, beans, ube ice cream,
or sweet custard. This sweet treat
is derived from the Japanese
dessert kakigori. With the mix of Japanese
occupation before World War II and the ice plant
built by Americans in the Philippines in 1902,
it was only a matter of time before Filipinos
redesigned the ice treat to make what is known
today as halo-halo. The origins of this
dessert are a bit murky, with the Catalans saying
their crema Catalana preceded France's
crème brûlée as well as Britain saying its
trinity cream was the first. However, thanks to chef
François Massialot, France has the oldest
recipe in writing, dating back to 1691. Crème brûlée is a custard
topped with sugar that gets torched to create a caramelized,
hardened top layer. Unlike crème brûlée, where
the curdling, or clumping, of eggs in the custard
is the sign of a mishap, baked custard welcomes the
slight cooking of the egg. Instead of including only the
egg yolk, like most custards, baked custard includes
the entire egg and can be served warm or
cool, based on preference. Did you know that
the correct way to eat a Belgian waffle
is with your hands? The Belgian waffle, originally called
Brussels waffle, is one of two types of waffles
that originated in Belgium. Americans know
the Belgian waffle as a delicious breakfast
food, but not many of us are actually eating the
waffle as it was intended. Belgian waffles are not to be
eaten with a knife and fork, but rather with your hands. And no syrup. Maybe fruit
or whipped cream at most. Maurice Vermersch was the
one who changed the name from Brussels
waffle to Belgian, because Americans did not
know where Brussels was. Partly influenced by
British colonial occupation, this dessert actually
has health benefits. Currants are high in fiber; manganese, which helps
strengthen bones; potassium; and copper,
which helps with metabolism. Trinidadians eat
the rolls casually as an afternoon snack
or sometimes breakfast. This dessert actually
is not pudding at all. Malva pudding, like
many other desserts, has an unknown origin story. Some say Dutch, while
others say South African. Similar to toffee pudding, its warm, spongy texture
coated in a warm cream sauce is a recipe for
deliciousness. And how can I forget the key
ingredient? The apricot jam. The cake's name is
derived from the liquor of the Black Forest
mountain region, known as Schwarzwälder
Kirschwasser. The liquor is distilled
from tart cherries. Black Forest cake
was invented in 1915 by confectioner
Josef Keller. Some people suggest that
the look of the cake is a visual pun on the
traditional bollenhut worn by the women
in the Black Forest. As popular as this
dessert is in India, according to food historian
and former chef Michael Krondl, it's derived from a fritter belonging to Central
Asian Turkic invaders. Folklore in India
says that gulab jamun was accidentally created
by a Persian priest and presented to the
people as a royal dessert. Although it shares
similarities with the Arabic luqaimat,
a staple during Ramadan, gulab jamun is unique
because it's covered in a rose-water-scented
syrup. As someone who took out
loans to pay for college, the story of this next
dessert really hit home. If you're searching
for an easy, no-bake dessert option,
look no further. The Nanaimo bar consists
of three layers. The base is made up of wafer,
nuts, and coconut crumbs, the middle is custard, and the top layer is
chocolate ganache. The bar is named
after the city of Nanaimo in
southwest Canada. The earliest recording
of the name "Nanaimo bar" was in 1953. Susan Mendelson
popularized the dessert and commercialized
it in the 1970s to help pay her tuition. She then opened
up her own café, The Lazy Gourmet,
selling the dessert. Khao niaow ma muang
is most likely to have originated
in northern Thailand. This traditional Thai dessert
is made with glutinous rice, coconut milk, a pinch of
salt, sugar, and mangoes garnished with toasted sesame
seeds or split mung beans. The best time to
eat this dessert is in the peak mango
season in Thailand, April through June. Translated from Italian
as "pick me up," this espresso- and
alcohol-infused dessert is sure to do a bit
of that and more. Pastry chef Loli
Linguanotto was identified as the creator in the '70s. However, Italian food
writers discovered evidence that the same ingredients
were first combined and called "tirime su" by
chef Mario Cosolo in the '50s. This, of course, sparked
much controversy, but regardless, the
origin remains in Italy. Baklava's origins
are still debatable. Both Turkey and Greece claim
ownership of the dessert. In Turkey, baklava
is traditionally made with pistachios, walnuts,
almonds, or hazelnuts, and in 2008, the
Turkish patent office registered a certificate
for Antep baklava, or baklava with pistachios. And in Greece,
traditionally, baklava is made
with 40 filo sheets to represent the
40 days of Lent. Similar to the
famous baklava, galaktoboureko is filled
with semolina custard and covered with
several layers of filo. It's soaked in a syrup, making
it a sweet, light dessert that can take the shape
of rolls or squares. Either way, it's
undisputably delicious. Giving up my sugar
addiction for Lent was my go-to as a child. But for Dominicans
who observe Lent and/or have eaten
this as a child, know that this dessert will teleport you back
to your childhood. Habichuelas con dulce
is a signature dish in the Dominican
Republic during Lent. Traditionally, the
treat is garnished with galletas de leche, or tiny round cookies
engraved with a cross. It consists of
red kidney beans, sweet potatoes, milk, cinnamon,
and sometimes raisins. In the 18th century,
monks and nuns in Lisbon had leftover yolk
after using egg whites to stretch their clothing. Legend has it that the monks
used this leftover yolk to create delicious desserts and potentially
sold these desserts to help them in their times
of financial hardship. This financial hardship
eventually led the monks to selling their
recipe to a bakery in the capitol of
Lisbon in the 1830s. In its peak season,
this bakery today makes up to 50,000
tarts a day. Since the time
of the vikings, skyr has remained
relatively unchanged. Its recipe has been
passed down between women from generation
to generation. What separates skyr from other
yogurt is its consistency, which is thick in
comparison to the yogurt you may be used to eating
with fruit and granola. Skyr comes in many different
flavors and has health benefits that may make you want
to ditch your yogurt. Sopa borracha, which
translates to drunk soup, will not get you drunk,
nor is it a soup. It is a delicious sponge cake
drenched in a liquid mixture of boiled raisins and
prunes with cinnamon, sugar, rum, sherry,
and lemon zest. This is a festive dessert and is served during
special occasions. I don't think any dessert
has as much controversy as the Australian lamington, or is it the New
Zealand Wellington? What started out as an April
Fool's joke by The Guardian has sparked much
controversy over whether this famous dessert belongs to Australia
or New Zealand. To clear speculation, the sponge cake
covered in chocolate and coated in coconut
shavings is Australian. But the controversy over
whether jam should be included may not get settled
anytime soon. Syrniki, or fried
quark pancakes, date back to Russian texts
from the 10th century. Quark is a dairy
product that is created by warming soured
milk until it curdles. It is dried and crushed,
rolled in flour, and then fried to create a crispy
exterior and soft interior. Top it with sour
cream and fruit, and you may just have
yourself a syrniki. Picarones are a mix of
sweet potatoes and squash, flour, and salt shaped and
fried with syrup on top. Enslaved African cooks
who were brought to Peru by the Spaniards created
this delicious treat inspired by the
Spanish buñuelos. Though the spelling,
pronunciation, and exact recipe
of this dessert changes throughout
the region, kanafeh is
traditionally a favorite amongst people in
the Middle East. Think shredded phyllo
dough or semolina dough with melted cheese,
cream, or nuts topped with sweet
rose-water syrup. This stacked dessert features
eight thin layers of dough with dulce de leche
sandwiched between, topped with whipped
Italian meringue. This dessert gets its
name from alfajores, Argentinian shortbreads
that the dessert resembles. The three colorful
layers of che ba mau are the yellow mung
beans, red beans, and the green agar
jelly mixed with pandan, which gives the
jelly a chewy taste similar to a gummy bear. Topped with crushed ice, condensed milk,
and coconut milk, this dessert is not as
sweet as you may think, but it is refreshing
and perfect for the hot days in Vietnam. Though many of
these desserts have unknown, dark, or
legend-like histories, each place has really
made it its own. Our memories associated
with these desserts make each one unique to us. So go and create a
new, exciting memory by trying any one
of these desserts, and let us know how it
was in the comments below.
