47 World Class Desserts From Abroad You Need to Try
Who doesn’t love dessert, especially when they’re world class desserts? Raise your hand if you don’t love a good dessert and then go check out one of these savory recipes.
For the rest, it doesn’t matter which country you come from, or where you go, you’ll always find a way to satisfy your sweet tooth. The beauty is, sweetness comes in all shapes and forms – depending on the country you’re visiting.
Sometimes you’ll think, “man, how did they think up this stuff – it’s crazy!” Then you’ll give it a taste and go, “oh man, they nailed that.” If you’re looking for an excuse to go traveling, a good one is to find world class desserts, and today we’ll share 48 of them, each as sweet as the next.
1. Colombian Dulce de Brevas
Image via My Colombian Recipes
This is a popular and traditional Colombian dessert that can be found during the holidays. It consists of figs cooked in a sugar cane (panela) syrup served along with white fresh cheese.
2. Brazilian Brigadeiro
Image via In Johnna’s Kitchen
Created in 1940, the brigadeiro is a common Brazilian dessert. It’s made of condensed milk, cocoa powder and butter, with chocolate sprinkles coating the outside.
3. Australian Lamingtons
Image via What Annabel Cooks
Hailing from Australia, this cake is a flavor explosion in your mouth. Squares of sponge cake are coated in a layer of chocolate and rolled in coconut. If you’re lucky, there may also be some cream or strawberry jam in between the two halves.
4. Austrian Sachertorte
Image via Daily Motion
If you’re in Austria in December, be sure to try one of these on December 5, which is National Sachertorte Day! This decadent chocolate treat was invented in 1832 for the Austrian prince. It is composed of two layers ofthick chocolate cake with an apricot jam in the middle. Yummy!
5. Canadian Nanaimo Bar
Image via Earth Food and Fire
Originating on a West Coast island, this tasty bar is made up of three layers: a wafer and coconut crumb-base, custard-flavored butter icing in the middle and a layer of chocolate ganache on top. No trip to Nanaimo is complete without trying this bar.
6. Croatian Krofne
Image via My Recipes
These fluffy round donuts are filled with marmalade, jam, cream, custard or chocolate, and coated in butter and cinnamon. They’re especially popular during Carnival and are seen as a sign of good luck.
7. Slovakian Trdelník
Image via Pauline’s Cookbook
Sweet and cylindrical, this pastry is made by wrapping dough around a wooden stick called a trldo. It is then cooked with an open flame to achieve a golden-brown crust. The crunchy and crisp outside is then dusted with sugar, cinnamon, and a walnut mix. You can fill it with chocolate, vanilla, Nutella or scoops of ice cream.
8. British Banoffee Pie
Image via Fab Magazine Online
Can you guess what it is by the name? If you guessed afilling of bananas, cream and toffee you’d be right on the money. The base is made of crumbled biscuits and butter to give it a bit of crunch.
9. French Crème Brûlée
Image via My Carolina Kitchen
You may not need to visit France to try this delectable dessert, but you should all the same. A few countries claim this one as their own, but the earliest known print of the recipe was in the French cookbook Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois in 1691. It consists of a rich custard base with a crunchy burnt-sugar top.
10. German Black Forest Cake
Image via National Post
Chocolate sponge cake layered with cherries and whipped cream make up this dessert. It’s generally topped with maraschino cherries and chocolate flakes. German law mandates that kirschwasser, a clear spiritmade from sour cherries, needs to be present in order for this dessert to be authentic.
11. Greek Yogurt Cake with Orange Syrup – Portokalopita
Image via My Greek Dish
This Greek yogurt cake is made with fresh oranges, yogurt, phyllo pastry, and cinnamon. This mouthwatering dessert is best enjoyed with spoon of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
12. Hong Kong Egg Waffle
Image via Serious Eats
This dessert hails from the streets of Hong Kong that originated on the streets of Hong Kong is crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. To make it sweet or savory, you can top it with green tea, chocolate or cheese.
13. Hungarian Kürtőskalács (or Chimney Cakes)
Image via Oh My Dish
Similar to the Slovakian Trdelník, this dessert consists of a single piece of sweet dough being wrapped around a giant rolling pin, rolled in sugar and baked over hot coals. To give it more flavor, top it with cinnamon, coconut, chocolate, nuts or poppy seeds.
14. Indian Gulab Jamun
Image via The Cherry Share
This sweet treat dates back to medieval India and is said to have been created by accident. It is made with the dough of solidified milk, a pinch of all-purpose flour and a dash of cardamom. After being deep fried, the dough balls are soaked in sugar syrup and flavored with rose essence.
15. Iranian Faloodeh
Image via The Tasting Table
This sweet dessert is made up of thin,vermicelli-like noodles and drizzled with syrup. It’s a light, refreshing treat on a sweltering afternoon. The noodles themselves don’t have much flavor, but when they’re mixed with a semi-frozen sauce of sugar and rosewater, they have a rose sorbet-esque flavor.
16. Italian Cannoli
Image via Nonna Box
Made to order, this treat is made up of crunchy pastry shells filled with fresh whipped ricotta. The outside is coated with chocolate chips, pistachios or candied fruit. Since it’s not too sweet, you won’t feel guilty having more thanone.
17. Japanese Matcha Ice Cream
Image via Trover
Matcha powder consists of finely ground specialty green tea leaves and is said to have calming powers. Mixing it into soft serve ice cream gives it a sweet and savory touch to your palate. Perfect for hot days!
18. Jordanian Knafeh
Image via Maggwire
Sweet and salty, this Middle Eastern cheese pastry combines the best of both worlds. It is made up of butter, nabulsi cheese, phyllo dough, sugar and rose water and is then topped with pistachios. Each bite is chock-full of melted cheese and warm dough for a flavor explosion in your mouth.
19. Macedonian Tulumbi
Image via Diethood
These desserts are fried in hot oil and then soaked in a sweet syrup. The surprising part is that they keep their crispy texture on the outside but are oh-so-gooey and delicious on the inside. Keep an eye out for the golden ones for the best possible combination of crunch and sweet.
20. Malaysian Ais Kacang
Image via Tastiest
This cool treat is essentially shaved ice plus toppings. The most common topping is red bean – go figure! The ice is flavored with coconut milk, palm sugar syrup or condensed milk. Then you can add toppings like roasted peanuts, cubes of jelly, agar-agar or fresh fruit. You’ll find this in most night markets and street food stalls.
21. Dutch Stroopwafel
Image via iamamsterdam
Warm, gooey, caramel-like syrup sandwiched between two crunchy pieces of waffle – what’s not to adore? This popular treat originated in the city of Gouda, but you’ll find it in most cities around the Netherlands.
22. Peruvian Suspiro de Limeña
Image via Cocina y Vino
Fans of super-sweet goodies need to try this one. The base is made up of a milky caramel layer of manjar blanco (also known as dulce de leche) and the top of meringue dusted with cinnamon. This sweet and soft dessert is meant to be consumed sparingly with a glass of water.
23. Filipino Halo-Halo
Image via One Green Planet
The name of this dessert literally means “mixed.” The main ingredient is shaved ice, but it’s so much more than that and can almost seem a bit overwhelming at first. In a bowl, you could combine any of the following ingredients, gulaman (agar-agar), tapioca pearls, beans, slices of sweetened saba (plaintain), strips of sweet mango and jackfruit or pinipig (toasted rice grain). It is generally topped with ube (purple yam) and a spoonful of leche flan.
24. Portuguese Pasteis de Nata
Image via The Tasting Table
Originally created as a way to use up egg yolks before the 1800s, this custard tart is now one of the most popular desserts in Portgual. It’s as crisp as it ischewy and is filled with a thick, rich, sweet custard.
25. Romanian Papanași
Image via Delicious Romania
This traditional Romanian dessert is similar to a deep-fried doughnut, but it’s filled with ricotta-like soft cheese and covered in sour cream and jam. The outside is crunchy, and the inside is soft and gooey.
26. Slovakian Krémeš
Image via Slovak Cooking
A must-try if you’re visiting this country. Essentially, it is made up of a thick layer of vanilla custard in between puff pastry. It is then lathered in whipped cream and cutinto square pieces. It stands upright ready for your fork to attack.
27. South African Malva Pudding
Image via Food 24
Originating from Cape Malay, this gooey and spongy dessert is to die for. It is made of flour, apricot jam, butter, sugar and milk, and is served alongside custard and ice cream. If you’re not into sweets, be sure to mix in the cream to balance the sweetness.
28. Dutch Apple Pie
Image via Splendid Table
Recipes for Dutch apple pie go back to the Middle Ages. You can add several spices to the pie, namely: cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, mace and powdered sugar. Finally, after mixing the ingredients into the pie with cream, it is once again put into the oven to dry.
29. Spanish Churros Con Chocolate
Image via imsol
Spain’s national dessert consists of deep-fried dough sprinkled with sugar and dipped in warm, rich melted chocolate. Plus you can eat them for breakfast, as a snack or as a dessert. They also come in all shapes and sizes.
30. Swiss Kirschtorte
Image via Alchetron
This is a cherry cake that is one of the most popular desserts in Switzerland. The sponge cake base is made with hazelnut meringue, buttercream and lots of Kirschwasser (cherry brandy).
31. Thai Sticky Rice and Mango
Image via kitchn
Sweet juicy pieces of fresh mango combine beautifully with the salty sticky rice it is mixed with. You’ll find it at most local stands, and it’s a refreshing and delicious way to enjoy local food.
32. Turkish Turkish Delight
Image via Property Turkey
If you visit Turkey, you’ll notice boxes of colorful jelly being sold at most markets. It consists of a gel of starch and sugar in a variety of flavors and is coated in powdered sugar. Chocolate, lemon and pomegranate are just a few of the flavors you can expect.
33. United Arab Emirates Luqaimat
Image via Radisson Blu
This is essentially the Arabic version of donuts. The batter is deep-fried and then dipped into a sugar syrup with toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top. These are basically soft pillows of fried, sugary goodness.
34. Vietnamese Chè Ba Màu
Image via Get Off The Trail
This popular Vietnamese dessert translates to “three color dessert.” The three layers are red bean, mung bean and pandan extract and are topped with a coconut cream sauce over ice. This is the perfect dessert for hot travel days in Vietnam.
35. New Zealand Pavlova
Image via stuff.co.nz
This meringue-based dessert was created in honor of the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. It has a crisp crust and soft, fluffy inside that is normally topped with fruit and whipped cream. The origin ofthe dessert is hotly contested, and one account says that the earliest recipe originated in New Zealand, but we’ll include Australia just in case.
36. Austrian Marillenknödel
Image via Frisch Gekocht
A seasonal delicacy because of the fruit that’s inside: apricots. Famously, Ferdinand I of Austria said, “I am the Emperor and I want dumplings!” when they were out of season. What a guy! These dough balls are generally made of potato and the insides are filled with cored apricots or mirabelle plums. They are boiled and then covered in fried bread crumbs and powdered sugar.
37. American Pumpkin Pie
Image via Betty Crocker
Pumpkin pie is traditionally enjoyed during Thanksgiving to give thanks for the harvest of the previous year. It consists of a creamy pumpkin custard filling mixed with spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Top it off with a dollop ofcream or ice cream to satisfy your palate even more.
38. Russian Zapekanka
Image via Upside Down Cake
This is Russia’s answer to cheesecake. It is, however, meant to be served hot but can also be enjoyed cold. You can top it with raisins, blueberries or raspberries – really, the same types of toppings you’d enjoy on any cheesecake.
39. German Rote Grütze
Image via Martha Stewart
Meaning “red groats”, this is a sweet fruit dish from Germany. A classic dessert item using a variety of red berries. Serve with vanilla ice cream, vanilla pudding, rice pudding, whipped cream.
40. Indian Barfi
Image via Wikipedia
Originally from India, the name is a derivative of the word barf, which means snow. The main ingredients of plain barfis include condensed milk and sugar. The ingredients are cooked in a vessel until the mixture solidifies.
41. Italy Bonet
Image via La dolce vita
Bonet is a Piemontese preparation that was served at noble banquets all the back in the 13th century. Made the same way you would make a pudding or crème caramel, bonet originally did not contain chocolate.
42. Malaysia Cendol
Image via Food Advisor
This is an iced sweet dessert that contains droplets of worm-like green rice flour jelly, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup. It is commonly found in Southeast Asia like Malaysia.
43. Filipino Binignit
Image via Kawaling Pinoy
This is a Visayan dessert soup from the central Philippines. The dish is traditionally made by Visayans with slices of sabá bananas, taro, and sweet potato.
44. Peruvian Picarones
Image via Peru Delights
Even though picarones are often referred to as a kind of donut, they are actually something quite different and unique Peruvian. The Spanish in Colonial times developed delicious sweet pastry by adding sweet potato and a local squash to the yeast dough.
45. Japanese Chestnut Kintons
Image via Asian Inspirations
Kuri Kinton is sweet chestnuts mixed in mashed sweet potatoes. It is a part of Osechi Ryori, the traditional Japanese new year feast.
46. Egypt Basbousa
Image via What 4 Eats
A traditional Middle Eastern sweet cake, this pastry is made from cooked semolina or farina soaked in simple syrup; coconut is also a popular option to add.
47. Canada Maple Taffy
Image via A Canadian Foodie
It is a sugar candy made by boiling maple sap past the point where it would form maple syrup but not so long that it becomes maple butter or maple sugar.
