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Quick desserts

Desserts and sweets ready in 30 minutes or less. (201 recipes)

AlaniWalnut-stuffed dried peaches

Every autumn in the Ararat Valley, the orchards below Mount Ararat produce more peaches than can be eaten fresh, so families split them, dry them in the sun and then stuff them with a mixture of crushed walnuts and sugar, pressing them closed again. The finished alani are sold on strings at Yerevan's covered market and given as gifts at New Year, chewy, sweet and nutty. At home, start with good soft dried peaches. A common mistake is using very dry, leathery fruit, which cracks when you open it. Chef's tip: steam the peaches for 2 minutes first, so they turn soft and pliable and close neatly around the filling.

30 minArmenianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Haft mewaSeven dried fruit compote

Haft mewa is the first thing many Afghan families offer visitors on Nowruz, the spring new year on 21 March, and in Mazar-i-Sharif and Kabul it sits in a big glass bowl on every table set for the holiday. Seven kinds of dried fruit and nuts, typically green and red raisins, apricots, walnuts, almonds, pistachios and senjed (dried oleaster berries), are steeped in water for two days until the fruit swells and releases its sugar into a pale amber syrup, while the nuts soften to a fresh, milky crunch. It is ladled into small bowls with plenty of liquid and eaten with a spoon. Skipping the peeling of the almonds is the most common shortcut, and it leaves bitter, papery skins floating in the syrup. Chef's tip: use cooled boiled water for the soak and keep the bowl in the fridge, which keeps the syrup clear and sweet.

20 minAfghanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SaqoSago pudding with saffron

Saqo is a sweet that Gulf grandmothers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Emirates make for Ramadan nights and family gatherings: tiny sago pearls cooked with saffron and cardamom until clear, glossy and suspended in a golden, wobbly syrup. It is eaten warm or cold from small bowls, often scattered with pistachios, and is gentle enough after a big iftar. The texture is soft and jelly-like with little pearls that pop. The typical mistake is under-cooking, which leaves white chalky centres in the pearls; cook until every pearl is fully see-through. Stir often, as sago sticks to the pan. Chef's tip: add the rose water off the heat at the very end, or its perfume cooks away.

30 minGulf ArabianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TalkhanMulberry and walnut cake

Around Bamiyan and Daikundi in the central mountains, where mulberry trees line the irrigation channels, families dry the white berries on rooftops in summer and pound them with walnuts into talkhan, a dense, chewy sweet that keeps for months. It was the food shepherds and travellers carried in a cloth for long days on foot, and it is still offered with green tea to guests in Hazara homes in winter. The flavour is honeyed, faintly fig-like and nutty, with no added sugar at all. Grinding it too fine and too long is the usual misstep, as the walnuts turn oily and the cake goes greasy; stop while there is still some texture. Chef's tip: toast the walnuts lightly and let them cool before pounding, which takes away any bitterness from the skins.

25 minAfghanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

AkutaqWhipped berry dessert

Akutaq, sometimes called Eskimo ice cream, is a festive Inuvialuit and Yup'ik dish of the Western Arctic, served at feasts, potlatches and Christmas gatherings. Traditionally animal fat was whipped by hand with snow and wild berries; today many families in the Mackenzie Delta and Alaska use white vegetable shortening, which is the version here, so it is vegan. Fat and sugar are beaten until white and fluffy, then fresh or frozen berries are folded through. It is eaten cold, by the spoonful, in small portions. A common mistake is using warm shortening, which won't whip. Chef's tip: beat in the cold water a spoonful at a time; that is what makes it light.

30 minCanadianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KhoshafDried fruit compote

Bowls of khoshaf sit on the iftar table all through Ramadan in Egyptian homes, and many people break their fast with a few dates and a glass of it before anything else. Dried apricots, prunes, figs and raisins soak overnight in lightly sweetened water until they swell, and the liquid turns into a fruity, amber syrup; toasted almonds and pistachios go on top for crunch. It is cool, gentle on an empty stomach and full of natural sugars. Soaking it on the counter in warm weather is the usual mistake, as it can start to ferment, so always soak it in the fridge. Chef's tip: add a teaspoon of orange blossom water just before serving rather than at the start; it fades overnight.

20 minEgyptianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Grandfathers in maple syrupDumplings in maple syrup

Grands-pères are the dessert of the Quebec sugar shack in March and April, when sap is running and the cabane à sucre serves long breakfasts. Soft scone-like dumplings are dropped into simmering maple syrup and cooked under a lid until they puff up and soak in the syrup from below. In Beauce and the Eastern Townships families make them at home with the first syrup of the year. Serve warm in bowls with cold cream poured over. A common mistake is letting the syrup boil hard, which scorches it and makes it bitter. Chef's tip: keep the lid on for the full cooking time; lifting it lets the steam out and the dumplings sink and turn heavy.

30 minCanadianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kyauk kyawTwo-layer coconut jelly

Trays of kyauk kyaw are cut into diamonds for nearly every Burmese celebration, from birthday donation lunches to the water-splashing days of Thingyan in April, when a cold, firm jelly is exactly what the heat calls for. Agar sets far firmer than gelatine, and that clean, snappy bite is the whole point: a translucent sweet layer on the bottom and an opaque, lightly salted coconut cream layer on top, each tasting of fresh coconut and a hint of pandan. It is served chilled, on its own or alongside shwe yin aye and other festival sweets. If the bottom layer sets completely hard before you pour the top, the two layers slide apart when you cut them. Chef's tip: pour the coconut layer while the clear layer has just formed a skin that holds a fingertip but is still warm.

30 minBurmeseDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sheer piraMilk powder fudge

When an Afghan family agrees to a marriage proposal, the shirini-khori, literally the eating of sweets, follows, and trays of sheer pira are cut and handed round to mark that the deal is sealed; it also appears at Eid and Nowruz all over the country. It is a soft, dense milk fudge made in minutes from milk powder and syrup, perfumed with cardamom and rosewater and pressed with green pistachios and walnuts, and it melts slowly on the tongue like a creamy, not too sweet barfi. A syrup boiled too long is what turns it dry, crumbly and grainy, so take it off the heat as soon as it forms a single thread. Chef's tip: sift the milk powder and stir it in all at once, fast, while the syrup is still hot, or it sets in lumps before it is smooth.

25 minAfghanIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Trini parsadGhee-roasted flour pudding

At Hindu pujas across Trinidad, and on Divali night in Felicity and Debe, parsad is the sweet offering that is shared with everyone afterwards, handed out warm on a piece of leaf. Flour is roasted slowly in ghee until it smells nutty and turns sandy brown, then cooked with milk, sugar, raisins and spice into a soft, glossy pudding. The common mistake is rushing the roasting on high heat: the flour burns outside and tastes raw within. Add the milk carefully, as it spits. Chef's tip: warm the milk and sugar together first; adding hot liquid to the roasted flour keeps the parsad smooth and lump-free.

30 minTrinidadianIndian Sweets
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Thala guliSesame and jaggery balls

Small boutique shops all over Sri Lanka hang strings of thala guli by the till, each ball wrapped in a twist of coloured paper, and children spend their coins on them on the way home from school. They also have a place on the Avurudu table and at almsgivings, as sesame is considered an auspicious, strengthening food. Toasted sesame seeds are pounded with jaggery and a pinch of salt until the oil comes out and the mixture holds together, then rolled into little balls that are rich, nutty, slightly bitter and sweet. No cooking beyond toasting is needed, so they take barely twenty minutes. Under-toasting the seeds is the trap: pale seeds taste raw and will not release enough oil to bind, so roast until they pop and turn evenly golden. Chef's tip: pound while the seeds are still warm, when they give up their oil easily; a food processor in short pulses works too.

20 minSri LankanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MarzanThick flour pudding with butter

When snow cuts off the villages of Baltistan around Skardu and Khaplu, marzan is the dish that keeps people going: wholewheat flour stirred into boiling water until it becomes a thick, smooth, heavy pudding, shaped into a mound with a well in the centre filled with melted butter and apricot-kernel oil. It is eaten communally by hand, each person pulling a piece from the edge and dipping it in the fat, and it is made for new mothers, for guests after a cold journey and for winter mornings. Some families eat it plain and savoury, others sweeten it with a little sugar or serve it with dried apricots, which is how it is written here. Lumps are the usual complaint, so add the flour slowly. Chef's tip: whisk the flour into the water a spoonful at a time, then switch to a sturdy wooden spoon and beat hard as it thickens; and use only food-grade culinary apricot-kernel oil, or more butter.

30 minPakistaniDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chek k'tisBanana and tapioca in coconut milk

Ask for something sweet at a Phnom Penh dessert cart on a rainy-season afternoon and you may be handed a warm cup of chek k'tis: chunks of small, tart-sweet bananas bobbing in coconut milk with clear, chewy tapioca pearls. The coconut milk is sweetened with palm sugar and seasoned with a good pinch of salt, which makes it taste rich rather than cloying, and a knot of pandan gives it a grassy vanilla scent. It is also cooked at home as an offering-day treat and eaten warm or at room temperature. The usual error is using very ripe, spotty bananas, which melt into grey sludge; firm, just-yellow fruit holds its shape and blushes pink as it cooks. Chef's tip: let the coconut milk only shiver, never boil hard, or it splits and turns oily.

30 minCambodianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

RabarbugrauturRhubarb pudding

Rhubarb is one of the few fruits that thrive in the windswept Faroe Islands, and rabarbugrautur, 'rhubarb porridge', is the summer pudding of Tórshavn and village kitchens alike: rhubarb stewed with sugar and thickened with potato starch into a glossy, tart, ruby-coloured pudding, served warm or chilled with cold cream or milk. A common mistake is boiling it after the starch goes in, which makes it thin and stringy. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat before stirring in the starch slurry, then return it just until the first bubble, and stop.

30 minScandinavianDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

RahashTahini and sugar slab sweet

In the souks of Kuwait City and Manama, slabs of rahash appear on the sweet stalls as Ramadan approaches, cut into squares to nibble with tea after iftar or handed round at Eid. It is close to halva: tahini beaten with hot sugar syrup until it sets into a firm, crumbly, fudgy block that melts on the tongue, with a gentle cardamom perfume and pistachios on top. The trick is the syrup temperature. Undercooked syrup leaves a soft, oily paste that never sets; cook it to the soft-ball stage. Stir the tahini well in its jar first, as the oil separates. Chef's tip: stop stirring as soon as the mixture loses its gloss and starts to pull away from the bowl; keep going and it turns sandy.

30 minGulf ArabianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SerraduraCream and biscuit crumb pudding

Portuguese for 'sawdust', serradura is the cool, creamy dessert you'll find in every Macanese restaurant and café from Taipa to the Senado Square backstreets, ordered to round off a long Macanese lunch. Alternating layers of sweetened whipped cream and powder-fine tea biscuit crumbs set softly in the fridge, so each spoonful is light, milky and caramel-sweet, with a gentle crumbly texture. It is usually served in small glasses, sometimes semi-frozen like an ice cream cake. Coarse crumbs are where it goes wrong; they stay crunchy and gritty instead of melting into the cream, so grind the biscuits as fine as sand. Chef's tip: whip the cream and condensed milk together only to firm peaks and stop there, or it turns grainy and buttery.

20 minMacaneseDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Durian pengatDurian in coconut milk

When the durian season peaks in Singapore from June to August, Peranakan families in Katong and Joo Chiat turn leftover or slightly overripe fruit into pengat, a thick, golden custard-like dessert of durian flesh cooked down in coconut milk with gula melaka and pandan. It is rich, creamy and boldly fragrant, with a caramel edge from the palm sugar and a little salt to balance it, and it is eaten warm or chilled in small bowls, or spooned over plain steamed glutinous rice or slices of white bread. The usual mistake is boiling the coconut milk hard, which splits it into oily curds; keep it to a lazy simmer. Chef's tip: mash half the durian and keep half in soft chunks, so you get both a smooth base and creamy pieces to bite into.

30 minSingaporeanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Black sesame soup

Steaming bowls of inky ji ma wu are a staple of Hong Kong dessert shops on cool evenings, eaten after dinner or as a late-night snack on the way home. The soup is thick enough to coat a spoon, nutty and roasted with a faint bitterness that balances the rock sugar, and so smooth it feels like warm velvet. It's often paired half-and-half in one bowl with almond tea or walnut soup, or served with sweet glutinous rice balls. Over-toasting the sesame is the mistake to avoid; once the seeds scorch, the whole pot tastes acrid. Chef's tip: blend the toasted seeds with water for a full two minutes, until no grit is left between your fingers, before it goes into the pan.

30 minHong KongDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kogel-mogel

Ask anyone who grew up in a Warsaw block of flats about kogel-mogel and they will remember standing in the kitchen beating yolks and sugar in a mug with a teaspoon, waiting for it to turn pale. It is the simplest Polish treat: thick, mousse-like and very sweet, sometimes with cocoa, eaten from a glass with a spoon or dolloped on fruit. Because the yolks are raw, use pasteurised eggs, which most supermarkets sell as cartons of yolks or as pasteurised whole eggs. Even so, raw eggs are not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. The common mistake is stopping too soon; it needs a good 5 minutes of whisking until it doubles and almost all the sugar has dissolved. Chef's tip: use caster sugar, which disappears faster and gives a silkier result.

10 minPolishDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PokhindzToasted flour with honey and walnuts

Pokhindz is one of the oldest Armenian New Year foods, made in village kitchens across Shirak and Lori and still found in Yerevan's markets in December: wheat, or wheat flour, toasted slowly until it smells like biscuits, then rubbed with melted butter, honey and crushed walnuts into a sweet, crumbly mix eaten by the spoonful or pressed into balls. A common mistake is toasting over a high heat; the flour scorches at the bottom while the top is still raw. Chef's tip: keep stirring in a wide dry pan over a low heat until the flour is the colour of milky tea; that slow toasting is where the nutty flavour comes from.

25 minArmenianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Meni-meniyong (Malian sesame honey sticks)

Toasted sesame seeds bound with hot honey and a knob of butter, then pulled into sticks before they harden: meni-meniyong is a little Malian sweet sold at markets and made at home for guests and festive days. The sticks are crisp at the edges, chewy in the middle, and taste deeply of toasted seeds and dark honey. They need only three ingredients but reward careful heat. Children love them, and they keep well in a tin. Chef's tip: cook the honey until a drop in cold water forms a firm ball; pulling it off too early is the usual mistake, and the sticks stay soft and sticky instead of setting.

30 minAfricanDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MajareteCoconut rice-flour pudding

Puerto Rican grandmothers cook majarete on the stove in one pan, pour it into a dish and leave it to set while the Sunday dinner is eaten; it shows up again at Christmas beside the tembleque. Rice flour, coconut milk and whole milk are stirred with cinnamon and a little orange zest until they thicken into a silky, spoonable pudding, dusted with more cinnamon. In the Dominican Republic the same name goes to a version made with fresh grated corn. The common mistake is walking away from the pan; rice flour lumps and catches in seconds, so whisk constantly. Chef's tip: whisk the rice flour into the cold milks before the pan goes on the heat, and it will be perfectly smooth.

30 minPuerto RicanDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mango pudding

Wobbling out of fish-shaped moulds at the end of a Hong Kong dim sum lunch, mango pudding is just as popular in small cups from dessert chains, which sell it through the sticky summer months when Philippine and Thai mangoes flood the markets. It's smooth, creamy and full of fruit, with pieces of fresh mango through it and a drizzle of cold evaporated milk on top. Restaurants usually set it with gelatine; this version uses agar, which keeps it vegetarian and sets slightly firmer and cleaner. The problem with agar is impatience: it begins to set below about 40 °C, so cold purée added too slowly turns into lumpy strands. Chef's tip: warm the mango purée before you mix it in, then whisk briskly and pour into the moulds right away.

30 minHong KongDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

HangopHung buttermilk with fruit

Hangop means 'hang up', and that is the method: buttermilk poured into a cloth, hung up over a bowl overnight until it thickens into something like a tangy, creamy fresh cheese. It was a summer dessert on Dutch farms, eaten with rusk crumbs, brown sugar and fresh fruit, and is having a revival in Amsterdam restaurants. A common mistake is straining it at room temperature, which lets it turn too sour. Chef's tip: strain it in the fridge, and use a clean tea towel rather than cheesecloth; the finer weave keeps more of the creamy curd.

10 minDutchDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nigerian coconut candy

Children across Nigeria spend their pocket money on coconut candy, little clusters of fresh coconut set in amber caramel, sold in small bags by school gates and at market stalls. Made at home it takes about half an hour, with a chewy-crunchy bite and a toffee flavour against the clean taste of fresh coconut. Taking the caramel too far is the common mistake, since dark caramel tastes bitter, so stop at a deep golden colour. Children can help shape the cooled candy, but keep them away from the hot sugar. Chef's tip: use freshly grated coconut, not desiccated; its moisture keeps the clusters chewy in the centre.

30 minNigerianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

RømmegrøtSour cream porridge

Rømmegrøt is the porridge of Norwegian celebrations: full-fat sour cream simmered and thickened with flour until the butterfat seeps out, then loosened with milk into a rich, silky pudding and served with cinnamon sugar, melted butter and a side of cured meats or flatbread. It is eaten at midsummer, weddings and on St Olav's day, and in the summer farms of the mountains; in Oslo it is bought in tubs for Saturday treats. A common mistake is using low-fat sour cream, which will not release its butter. Chef's tip: skim off the golden fat that rises and drizzle it back over the porridge in the bowl; that is the traditional 'smørøye' (butter eye).

30 minScandinavianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Peanut ice cream rollPeanut brittle ice cream crepe

Strolling Jiufen's steep Old Street, or the night markets of Yilan where it was born, you'll find a vendor planing a huge block of peanut candy into fluffy shavings over a thin, soft wrapper, adding two scoops of taro or pineapple ice cream and, to the surprise of every visitor, a pinch of fresh coriander. Rolled up like a burrito, it's cold, crunchy, chewy and sweet all at once, and the herb lifts it with a bright, almost citrus note. The popiah wrapper is the same thin flour skin used for Taiwanese spring rolls. A dried-out wrapper is what usually ruins it: it cracks as you roll, so keep the skins under a damp cloth until the last second. Chef's tip: check that your ice cream is free of gelatine, and try one roll with coriander before deciding you hate it.

10 minTaiwaneseDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KasarPuffed rice and jaggery balls

Kasar is a sweet of good fortune: Bahun and Chhetri families in the hills make it by the basketful to send with a bride to her new home, to hand out at bratabandha thread ceremonies and to fill the Tihar plates. It is the simplest of sweets, puffed rice stirred into bubbling jaggery syrup flavoured with cardamom and pressed into balls while warm, sometimes with sesame, coconut or peanuts added, and it is crunchy, light and caramel-sweet. Children love making it because it is all about quick hands and a bowl of cold water. The pitfall is syrup that is not cooked far enough, which gives soft, sticky balls that collapse in a day. Chef's tip: test the syrup by dropping a little into cold water; when it sets into a firm ball that cracks if you squeeze it, it is ready.

30 minNepaliIndian SweetsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mbourake (peanut and date bread crumble)

Yesterday's baguette never goes to waste in a Senegalese kitchen during Ramadan. Mbourake turns it into a rich, crumbly sweet: the bread is dried, rubbed to crumbs and pounded with roasted peanut paste and sugar until it clumps, then mixed with chopped dates and pressed into balls or served loose in a bowl at the ndogu, the evening meal that breaks the fast. Some families use steamed millet instead of bread. It tastes like a cross between peanut cookie dough and a date bar, sweet, nutty and filling, and it is good with a glass of café Touba or milk. Chef's tip: dry the bread fully until it snaps; soft bread gives a gummy paste instead of a light crumble.

25 minSenegaleseDessertsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

VispipuuroWhipped lingonberry semolina

Vispipuuro, 'whisked porridge', is a Finnish childhood favourite: semolina cooked in lingonberry juice and water with sugar, then cooled and whisked hard until it turns pale pink, light and fluffy like a mousse. It is eaten for breakfast, as a dessert at school, or as a snack, with cold milk poured around it. Cranberries or redcurrants work too. A common mistake is whisking it while still hot, which never lightens it. Chef's tip: cool the porridge in a sink of cold water, then whisk with an electric mixer for 10 minutes; it will double in volume. Serve with oat milk to keep it vegan.

30 minScandinavianDessertsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GesztenyepüréChestnut purée with cream

No Budapest cukrászda menu in autumn is complete without a glass of gesztenyepüré: sweet chestnut purée pushed through a potato ricer so it falls in loose brown strands, crowned with a cloud of whipped cream and often a glacé cherry. It is soft, nutty and creamy rather than sugary, and it came to Hungary from Viennese kitchens in the days of the empire. Classic café versions add a splash of rum to the chestnuts; this one leaves it out and uses vanilla and a little cocoa, so it is alcohol-free. A common mistake is pressing the purée into the glass with a spoon, which turns it into a dense paste; let the strands fall loosely straight from the ricer. Chef's tip: chill the purée well before ricing, because cold purée holds its strands and the cream stays on top.

20 minHungarianDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tamina (roasted semolina with honey)

Word of a birth in an Algiers household brings a steady flow of visitors, and each is offered a small dish of tamina with coffee: semolina roasted in a dry pan until it smells like toasted hazelnuts, then bound with melted butter and honey and dusted with cinnamon. It is soft, crumbly and sweet, a little like a spoonable halva, and is said to give strength to the new mother. Tamina is also made for Mawlid and served with tea, with the cinnamon often sifted over in a lattice pattern. Chef's tip: toast the semolina slowly over a medium-low heat and stir without stopping; burnt dark specks make the whole batch bitter and cannot be picked out.

25 minAlgerianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Curd and treacle

Driving the southern coast road past Tangalle towards Hambantota, you pass stall after stall stacked with round clay chatties of meekiri, the firm, slightly sour curd made from buffalo milk, with bottles of dark kithul treacle hanging beside them. Turned out into a bowl and flooded with treacle, it is the South's great dessert: cool, rich and tangy against the smoky, toffee-like sweetness of the palm syrup, eaten after lunch or as a snack in the heat of the day. Setting it at home is easy with pasteurised buffalo milk or creamy whole cow's milk, a spoon of live curd and a warm spot overnight. The mistake that ruins most first batches is adding the starter while the milk is still too hot, which kills the culture and leaves you with warm milk in the morning. Chef's tip: unglazed clay pots draw out a little whey, which is why traditional curd is so thick; soak them in water and dry them well before using.

25 minSri LankanDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nkate cakePeanut brittle

Despite the name, nkate cake is not a cake at all but a brittle: roasted groundnuts bound in golden caramel, rolled thin and cut into squares, then sold wrapped in paper by hawkers in Kumasi lorry stations and at school gates across Ghana. It is crunchy, sweet and nutty, with a hint of bitterness from the caramel, and it keeps well in a tin. Children love it, but hot sugar is dangerous, so keep them away from the pan. Chef's tip: mark and cut the squares while the slab is still warm and pliable; waiting until it is cold is the usual mistake, and it then shatters into shards.

25 minGhanaianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Benni cakeSesame caramel brittle

Benni is the Krio word for sesame, and benni cake is the crunchy sweet sold by hawkers on Freetown's streets and laid out on Christmas and party tables. Toasted seeds are stirred into hot golden caramel, pressed thin and cut into squares that snap cleanly and taste nutty, toasty and not too sweet. With only two main ingredients it comes together in twenty minutes, but caramel waits for nobody, so have everything ready before you start. Keep the pieces in an airtight jar, or humidity will make them sticky. Chef's tip: score the slab while it is still warm and pliable; once fully cold it shatters unevenly.

20 minAfricanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GozinakiWalnut and honey diamonds

Gozinaki is the sweet every Georgian family makes for New Year's Eve, from Tbilisi flats to Kakhetian farmhouses: toasted walnuts stirred into honey boiled until thick, spread on a wet board and cut into diamonds that set glossy and crunchy. Children help shell the walnuts in December, and a plate of gozinaki sits on the table for the midnight toasts. A common mistake is taking the honey off too early; it stays sticky and the pieces never set. Chef's tip: cook the honey until a drop in cold water forms a firm, pliable ball, then work fast, because the mixture sets as it cools.

30 minGeorgianDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BathithToasted flour and date bites

Bathith is an old Bedouin travel sweet from the United Arab Emirates, made from things that keep in the desert: flour toasted dark, dates and ghee, kneaded together into crumbly bites. Today it is served in Emirati homes with gahwa in the afternoon or put out at Ramadan, and it tastes of caramel, toasted nuts and warm cardamom, with a texture somewhere between shortbread crumble and fudge. It keeps well for a week in a tin. Under-toasting the flour is the mistake most often made: it must go a deep golden brown, or the bites taste pasty. Chef's tip: use the softest dates you can find and warm them with the ghee; they melt into a paste and bind the flour without extra fat.

25 minGulf ArabianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KhabeesaSaffron toasted flour sweet

Khabeesa is made in Emirati and Qatari kitchens for Eid mornings, new babies and Ramadan nights: flour toasted until golden, then cooked with saffron syrup and ghee until it turns into fragrant, crumbly clusters, a bit like a soft, buttery halwa that breaks apart. It is served in a small bowl on the coffee tray, eaten with a spoon or the fingers, and its aroma of saffron, cardamom and rosewater fills the house. The mistake to avoid is pouring in the syrup all at once, which makes lumps that never break up. Chef's tip: keep pressing and turning the mixture against the pan once the ghee goes in; that is what forms the little golden crumbs.

30 minGulf ArabianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tobago benne ballsSesame molasses candies

Benne is the West African word for sesame that survived in Tobago, and benne balls are the little brown, crunchy candies sold in paper bags at Scarborough market and by vendors on the beach roads. Toasted seeds are stirred into molasses and sugar boiled to the hard stage, then rolled while warm into marble-sized balls. The common mistake is under-boiling the syrup, which gives soft, sticky balls that never set; test it in cold water. Work quickly and carefully, as the syrup is very hot. Chef's tip: toast the seeds only to pale gold; they keep darkening in the hot syrup and turn bitter if they start dark.

30 minTrinidadianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ginger milk curd

Born in the Pearl River Delta town of Shawan in Panyu, Guangdong, ginger milk curd crossed the border to become a favourite of Hong Kong dessert parlours in Jordan and Causeway Bay, ordered hot on a winter night. There's no setting agent: an enzyme in fresh ginger juice curdles hot milk within minutes into a trembling, spoonable custard that's sweet, creamy and warming, with a peppery ginger kick. It is eaten straight from the bowl while still warm, with nothing alongside. Long-life UHT milk is the classic mistake, since its proteins have been changed by the high heat and it simply won't set; use fresh pasteurised whole cow's milk. Chef's tip: use mature, fibrous ginger rather than young pink-tipped ginger, and heat the milk to 70–75 °C, measured with a thermometer.

15 minHong KongDessertsGluten free
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Raib (set yogurt with orange-flower water)

Every Moroccan town has a mahlaba, a dairy café, with a fridge full of little glass pots of raib: soft, wobbly set yogurt, lightly sweetened and often scented with orange-flower water or flavoured with strawberry. It is eaten with a spoon as a snack, as a dessert after dinner, or with msemen at breakfast. The texture is delicate and spoonable rather than thick like strained yogurt. The oldest versions were set with rennet; this home version uses live yogurt as a starter (if you try rennet tablets, choose a vegetarian one). It needs 6–8 hours to set and a few hours to chill. Chef's tip: let the milk cool to 43 °C before adding the starter; too hot and the cultures die, so the raib never sets, which is the most common mistake.

30 minMoroccanDessertsGluten free
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SchokofrüchteChocolate-dipped fruit skewers

Schokofrüchte stalls glow under strings of lights at almost every German Christmas market, from Stuttgart to Hamburg, with rows of strawberries, grapes and banana chunks on wooden skewers dipped in dark, milk and white chocolate. Children choose with their noses pressed to the glass, and at home they are a fun job for small hands. The usual mistake is dipping wet fruit: even a drop of water makes chocolate seize into a grainy lump and stops it sticking. Chef's tip: melt the chocolate gently and let it cool to just warm before dipping; it then clings in a neat, thin shell and sets glossy. Many chocolates contain milk, so check the label if you need it dairy free.

20 minGermanDessertsGluten free
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Romeu e JulietaGuava paste with fresh cheese

Two ingredients, no cooking, and a name every Brazilian knows: Romeo is the dark red goiabada, Juliet the mild white queijo Minas frescal, and they are always eaten together. Mineiros serve it after lunch on a saucer, at the end of a feast in a roadside restaurant, or as a mid-afternoon snack with coffee; the sweet, dense guava and the cool, milky, lightly salty cheese balance each other perfectly. Variations melt the guava into a warm sauce over the cheese, or bake both inside a pastry. Queijo Minas frescal is often made with animal rennet, so pick one labelled vegetarian, or use a young vegetarian farmer's cheese or paneer-style fresh cheese. The usual fault is cutting the guava thicker than the cheese, which buries Juliet; keep both slices the same size. Chef's tip: take the cheese out of the fridge 15 minutes ahead so it tastes of fresh milk rather than cold rubber.

5 minBrazilianDessertsGluten free
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Ballycastle yellowmanHoneycomb toffee

Yellowman is the bright yellow, brittle honeycomb toffee hacked from great slabs at the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle, County Antrim, at the end of every August, often eaten with dulse. Golden syrup, sugar and butter are boiled to the hard-crack stage and then foamed with bicarbonate of soda into a crunchy, airy toffee. Chef's tip: have the tin and the soda ready before you start; once it reaches temperature you have seconds.

20 minBritishDessertsGluten free
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Pé de molequePeanut brittle

Lumpy, glossy slabs of peanut set in dark sugar are sold in every rodoviária snack bar and handed round at festa junina, wrapped in cellophane or set in little paper cups. The name, 'street-kid's foot', probably comes from the cobbled look of the top. Piracicaba in São Paulo state is famous for it, and in the Northeast the same name can mean a cassava cake, so expect confusion. This is the crunchy southeastern style: roasted peanuts cooked into rapadura (unrefined cane sugar) until it caramelises and clings. Rapadura or panela is sold in Latin shops; dark muscovado is a fine substitute. People burn it by walking away; once the peanuts go in, the sugar darkens in seconds. Chef's tip: have the oiled tray ready before you start, because the mixture sets almost as soon as it leaves the heat.

25 minBrazilianDessertsVeganGluten free
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Postre vigilanteCheese with quince paste

Ask for dessert in an old Buenos Aires bodegón and the waiter will rattle off flan, budín and, inevitably, vigilante: a thick slab of soft, mild cheese laid beside an equal slab of dulce de membrillo or dulce de batata. The name, "policeman", is said to come from the beat officers who ordered it as a cheap sweet in early twentieth-century cafés; Uruguayans call the same plate Martín Fierro. It is salty against sweet, creamy against firm, and takes five minutes. The traditional cheese is fresh queso cremoso or cuartirolo, or a firmer port salut; a young Havarti or mild Gouda is the best stand-in abroad. Like many soft cheeses, these are often made with animal rennet, so check the label for a vegetarian (microbial-rennet) cheese. The usual error is cutting the slabs thin like a cheese board; vigilante is about generous, equal bricks. Chef's tip: take the cheese out of the fridge 20 minutes ahead; cold cheese tastes of nothing next to the paste.

5 minArgentinianDessertsGluten free
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Cuscuz de tapiocaTapioca and coconut cake

Breakfast stalls in Salvador and the street markets of Recife and Fortaleza sell cuscuz de tapioca by the slice from a big round tray, often with a drizzle of condensed milk on top. It needs no cooking at all: granulated tapioca (tapioca granulada) soaks up hot sweetened milk and coconut milk and swells into a firm, white, bouncy cake with a chewy, pearly texture and a gentle coconut taste. It is eaten cold, at breakfast or as an afternoon sweet with coffee. Granulated tapioca is a Brazilian product made of small irregular crumbs, not pearls; Brazilian shops sell it in bags. Cutting it too early is the usual mistake, and the slices crumble because the granules are still dry at the centre. Chef's tip: pour the liquid in while it is steaming hot and cover the dish straight away; the trapped steam swells the granules evenly.

20 minBrazilianDessertsGluten free
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Quesillo con miel de cañaFresh cheese with cane syrup

In the Tafí del Valle hills above San Miguel de Tucumán, quesillo is made by stretching hot curd into long, thin, elastic sheets and folding them into flat rounds; along the road up from the city, stalls sell it beside jars of miel de caña, the dark syrup boiled from the juice of Tucumán's sugarcane. Put the two together and you have the province's simplest dessert: mild, milky, slightly squeaky cheese with a pour of syrup that tastes of molasses and caramel, plus walnuts for crunch. It is eaten after lunch or as a merienda with mate. Drowning the cheese is the usual misstep; the syrup is intense, so pour a ribbon, not a puddle. Real quesillo is hard to find abroad: fresh mozzarella, Oaxaca cheese or another fresh stretched-curd cheese is closest, and light cane syrup or a 2:1 mix of golden syrup and black treacle stands in for miel de caña. Most of these cheeses use animal rennet; choose a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: warm the syrup slightly so it runs into the folds of the cheese.

10 minArgentinianDessertsGluten free
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