Delicious pastries and desserts from around the world

Mango mousse

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

This is a popular dessert in Asia, specifically in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malasya, and Macau. In China it is sometimes served in the shape of a fish, referring to Gold or Koi fish which symbolize good luck.

Crème brûlée

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

Crème brûlée is a cream with a crust of caramelized sugar. It can be flavored with vanilla, liquor, or other ingredients. There is a great controversy as to whether the origin of this dessert is French or English.

Image: Max Griss / Unsplash

Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry)

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

This is a traditional dessert in The Netherlands, especially on New Year's Eve. They say it is the precursor of the American doughnut. The pastry consists of yeast dough, optionally filled with raisins, and fried in a deep bowl of oil. It is served with powdered sugar.

Cholado

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

Cholado is a typical fruit salad from the Cauca Valley in Colombia. It is prepared on a scraped ice base to which fruits and condensed milk are added. They say it's good for curing hangovers!

Image: hielos_cholados / Instagram

Arroz con leche (rice with milk)

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

This dish is part of the gastronomy of several countries. Asian traders took the rice to Europe and Africa. Brazil makes both sweet and salty versions of the milk-rice dish. The salty ones contain coriander. The Danish, meanwhile, include almonds in the recipe, and Filipinos use chocolate.

Blini

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

Blini is a traditional pancake from Slavic countries (Russia, Ukraine, Poland). It can be served with smoked fish. It is a food that originates in the time of pre-Christian peoples.

Baklava

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

Baklava is a typical Turkish dessert made with honey and a paste of pistachios, nuts, or other dried fruit from the region.

Image: Omer Khatan Bulut / Unsplash

Coconut and Pandan Agar

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

This is a tropical and exotic dessert from Thailand called Wun Gati Bai Tuey. It's prepared with coconut, Pandan, and Agar, which is a natural vegetable derived from seaweeds. It has no odor or flavor, but it helps the jam to set.

Image: janistkitchen / Instagram

Chicha morada

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

The 'Chicha morada' is a dessert made from corn, enjoyed in Peru since pre-colonial times. It includes fruit and is served with cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Image: comidaperuanadeanna / Instagram

Sacher cake

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

This chocolate cake is a registered trademark of the Hotel Sacher in Vienna. It is one of the most famous gastronomic specialties of the city and several establishments have tried to imitate its recipe.

Image: Tim Photoguy / Instagram

Milhojas (thousand leaves)

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

Milhojas has an uncertain origin but it is very popular in Spain and several Latin American countries. The milhoja consists of several layers of puff pastry, filled with different flavors, among them milk jam and cream of whipped egg whites.

Image: Amirali Mirhashemian / Unsplash

Pastel de Belém

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

Elected one of the seven wonders of Portuguese gastronomy, its original recipe is kept under lock and key by Fábrica dos Pastéis de Belém, in Lisbon. It is made with egg.

Green tea ice cream

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

While the origin of this dessert is not very clear, it is generally considered to come from Japan. In the mid-90s, the company Maeda-en USA made this flavor of ice cream and exported it to Japan. It used the famous phrase: "Pure Japanese style made in California."

Image: Crystal Jo / Unsplash

Pavlova

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

The name of this dessert is a tribute to the Russian dancer Anna Pavlova from the time she visited New Zealand. The cake, made of meringue and covered with fruit, is popular in Oceania and typically served at Christmas parties.

Alfajor

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

The alfajor, a soft cookie filled with dulce de leche (milk jam), is very popular in Argentina. The people there consume about 6 million alfajors per day. The real origin of the jam is Spanish. It was introduced in the time of the Muslim occupation of Spain.

Victoria Sponge Cake

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

This cake, typically served at tea time, resembles a sponge cake. It is assembled with two layers of cake and, between them, quince jam and cream.

Image: Bales / Unsplash

Strudel

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

The most famous Strudel is made with apples and cream. It is a pastry from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and is especially popular in Germany. Its name means 'swirl'.

Tiramisu

Mango mousse, Crème brûlée, Dutch oliebol (fried dough pastry), Arroz con leche (rice with milk), Coconut and Pandan Agar, Chicha morada, Sacher cake, Milhojas (thousand leaves), Pastel de Belém, Green tea ice cream, Victoria Sponge Cake, Tiramisu

The tiramisu has its origins in Italy in the 1950s. Nowadays, it is elaborated in many ways. The ingredients are coffee, cream, and eggs, among others.

Image: Lynda Kechiche / Unsplash