If you’re a sweets lover, planning your next vacation can be the perfect opportunity to explore new desserts. With so many sweets from around the world available in every country, there are plenty of sweets that will suit any taste, and some might even become your new favorite! In this article, we’ll share our top tips for traveling with a sweet tooth – when you need to know which sweets to try and how they might differ depending on where you travel.
Asian desserts
The most important thing about Asian desserts is that they are often based on rice, milk, or coconut. Rice is a major food in Asia and you can find many desserts with this as the base such as Mohinga (Burmese), Kalo Horo (Hindi), and Jangguttee (Irani).
In India, desserts are often milk-based, and you can find desserts with condensed milk or yogurt in many different flavors such as Khoya Kheer (Indian) and Taro Trotters (Filipino). Coconut is a major ingredient that has been used for centuries across Asia. You can find desserts made from coconut cream, coconut water, or even the flesh of the fruit itself. One example of this is Sago Sapote Delight (Philippines).
When it comes to Singapore, desserts can be either sweet or salty. You may find desserts that are made from condensed milk, coconut cream, and sugar such as Kaya (Singaporean), and also desserts with a more savory taste like the Empik-Empek (Indonesian). For the best first-hand experience, you should head to Emicakes for the best cakes in town and try some original Singaporean sweets for yourself! This country is often known for its distinctive flavor profiles, so everyone will be able to find something they will like.
Middle Eastern desserts
Sweets from the Middle East come with a variety of spices, nuts, dried fruits, and vegetables.
Mishmash is a popular Middle Eastern dessert that includes rice pudding with semolina halva and crushed pistachio kernels. Strudel is another sweet-filled pastry made from yeasted dough, in which the filling can be anything from an apple to apricot or even chocolate. The most common desserts are baklava, some other types of strudels like kataifi (made by layering phyllo dough around the fillings) and there’s also ‘halawa’, an Arab version of nougat made mainly from sugar syrup and flour.
African desserts
Some of the most famous desserts are from Africa. Some desserts include berry sweets, date-filled pastries, and others.
The desserts in African countries can vary by the season or occasion that they are made for. For example, during Ramadan, a Lebanese pastry called maamoul is eaten with dates as it celebrates the breaking of fast at sunset, while South Africans enjoy celebrating their Independence Day with a type of cake called malva pudding which uses dried fruit to make this sweet dessert. If you travel to South Africa, you should try the chocolate tartlets that they make and call them “Tarteletjies.”
European desserts
European desserts don’t need a big introduction, as they are among some of the most famous desserts in the world. Europe has a more traditional style than North America, but still offers an array of rich and creamy desserts that will leave your mouth watering.
For a traditional dessert in Europe, try crème brulee. Crème brulee is made by cooking sugar and egg yolks until they form a firm mass. The mixture can then be baked or caramelized with the oven’s broiler to create the dessert’s signature crackled top layer.
Europeans also enjoy desserts like tiramisu, which is traditionally an Italian dish consisting of layers including coffee-soaked savoiardi biscuits dipped in cocoa powder but now popular all over Europe. Baklava has its European version, which consists of layered filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey; meringue pies that are similar to Tartes Tatin except for being topped with whipped cream instead of the apple slices; and desserts like éclairs, which are traditionally made by sandwiching a filling of whipped cream between two choux pastry puffs.
South American desserts
If you are looking for desserts that are different and unusual, South America is the place for you. The desserts in this region tend to have some sort of variation on a dulce de leche, which is made with sweetened condensed milk and can be either cooked or raw.
Some other, more traditional desserts to try are tres leches cake, doña blanca, and flan.
Tres leches cake is a sponge cake soaked in three different types of milk: evaporated milk sweetened condensed milk (or crema), or whole milk. Doña Blanca is made with fresh cream whipped up until thick and then mixed with sugar and beaten egg whites. The mixture gets poured over the top of the ladyfingers that have been dipped in coffee or chocolate syrup before being stacked into two layers- creating an almost layered effect as well as contrasting flavors for every bite you eat!
In contrast to these desserts full of dairy products, Flan has no eggs at all! It’s made by heating water on the stove until it boils, then pouring the boiling water into a bowl with sugar and beating it until all of the lumps dissolve. The mixture is then mixed together with eggs beaten to mix in well before being poured over a crust made out of butter or margarine- no flour required!
How can you find vegan desserts in other countries?
If you are vegan, or just want to eat vegan desserts while traveling the world, it can be difficult to find that type of sweet pleasure in other countries. However, there are still many options for vegan travelers and tourists abroad. One of the tastiest dishes that can be tried while traveling is a traditional Cornish apple cake, which is vegan because they use butter instead of milk/cream when baking their cakes. There have also been recent developments with dairy-free ice cream becoming more popular around the world too!
Other vegan sweets that can be found are vegan chocolate and vegan candy bars. Vegan sweets have been growing in popularity and becoming more available for travelers to enjoy during their time abroad too!
In this article, we’ve explored the many different types of desserts that are enjoyed around the world. From Asian desserts to European pastries, there is no shortage of delicious sweet treats waiting for you to enjoy! If these examples have caught your eye and left you wanting more, don’t worry. A lot of these desserts aren’t locked away in their home countries but are sold across the globe as well.
