What desserts are worth trying in Europe? The most famous desserts in Europe Modern European desserts.
Desserts do not always achieve such popularity. However, each country has its own national sweets. We meet the best of the best. Especially for the sweet tooth!
France
One of the best French desserts is considered to be eclairs . These airy pastries with custard have been popular since the 19th century and belong to the creations of the culinary specialist Marie-Antoine Careme. Today you can enjoy eclairs in glaze and with a variety of fillings. The imagination of French confectioners is limitless!
Another "sweet" pride of France - pasta
- meringue cookies with a crispy crust and a soft filling. A real masterpiece, combining simplicity and sophistication at the same time. Many tastes and toppings will not leave anyone indifferent. By the way, the confectionery famous for this dessert Laduree located on the Champs Elysees in Paris.
Spain
Catalan cream
traditionally served in clay pots and called the pride of Spain. Prepared by nuns back in the 18th century, today this dessert based on milk, sugar and eggs is endlessly loved by all Spaniards.
Breakfast in Spain often starts with churros
. This is a delicacy made from deep-fried choux pastry. It is sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with hot chocolate.
Austria
The very first recipe strudel
was invented in Vienna and dates back to 1696. An incredibly delicious dessert is made from thin dough with berry and fruit fillings (cherry, apple, pear). In a restaurant, a slice of strudel is sure to be decorated with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.
Among Austrian cakes, the palm is held by "Sacher"
. It is impossible to resist a chocolate biscuit with a delicate apricot filling, poured on top with a layer of chocolate. "Sacher", prepared according to the original recipe, can only be tasted in the hotel cafe Sacher in Vienna, because it is he who owns the exclusive right to use the trademark Original Sacher-Torte.
Germany
In the early 1930s, the famous "Black forest"
, also known as Black Forest cherry cake
. An insanely delicious combination of biscuit chocolate cakes, cherries and whipped cream.
Estonia
Estonian national delicacy - marzipan
- a mixture of ground almonds and sugar syrup. In Tallinn, there is even museum for this dessert. Estonians decorate their favorite marzipan sweets with chocolate icing, candied berries and nuts.
Italy
Birthplace of delicious Italian dessert
considered the city of Piedmont in the north-west of the country. The literal translation of the name is “boiled cream”. Panna kota has a creamy texture and is usually topped with berry sauces.
… Probably everyone heard about him. However, it is in Italy that you can enjoy the true taste of this dessert: fresh Mascarpone cheese, airy Savoyardi cookies and Marsala wine, which has an unusual aroma.
Hungary
In Hungary, exceptionally popular are pancakes a la Gundel
named after the famous chef. The traditional filling is sour cream and dried fruits; on top, the dessert is decorated with chocolate sauce.
Hungary gave the world a recipe for another dessert. Esterhazy cake
, first baked in the 18th century, was named after the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pala, Antal Esterházy. Europeans immediately fell in love with the delicacy: almond cakes soaked in butter cream, white icing and the famous gossamer pattern.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands, special culinary delights are not favored, so the national cuisine is simple and democratic. Favorite national dessert - open Apple pie
, often garnished with whipped cream. The aroma of cinnamon and crispy crust delight even the most sophisticated gourmets.
It should also be noted dutch waffles
- two thin waffle plates glued together with caramel syrup. What could be easier and tastier?..
Recipes for those who have long wanted to learn how to do something unusual and easy, from the field of desserts. After all, almost all of our traditional cakes and pastries are too heavy, sweet and straightforward in an oriental manner. Obviously, you can do something more refined and non-trivial.
Especially for our readers, confectioner Timur Abdulkadyrov held a master class on cooking some European desserts.
Timur has been working as a confectioner for 10 years. After graduation, he trained in Italy, worked in French restaurants. He admits that by nature he has a sweet tooth and he really likes to taste desserts. Now we have such an opportunity.
Italian millefeuille with fruit and cheese
For it we need the following products:
Strawberries - 30 gr,
Raspberries - 10 gr,
Blueberries - 10 gr,
Blackberry - 10 gr,
Red currant - 20 gr,
Millefeuil - 20 gr,
Crushed pistachios - 20 gr,
Mascarpone cream - 60 gr,
Mint - 1 sprig.
Explanations are required here: millefeuil (or millefolier (Italian mille foglie) - in “translation of a thousand petals”) are the thinnest crispy puff pastry cakes. To make them, you can simply thinly roll out the puff pastry bought in the store, cut it into identical squares of about 8 by 8 cm and bake in the oven. Pistachios should be crushed, not ground. That is, they must be crushed to the state of pieces 1-2 mm thick. Mascarpone cream to be made by yourself.
It will require:
Mascarpone (this is Italian cream cheese) - 0.5 jars,
Egg yolk - 1 piece,
Powdered sugar - 100 gr.
Cooking like this:
First, the cream: for it, we combine cheese, egg yolk and powdered sugar and beat with a whisk until a homogeneous lush mass is obtained.
Now we take three squares of millefeuille, spread the cream evenly on two of them (not too plentifully). Then we cut the berries: strawberries into quarters (if very large, then smaller), blackberries and raspberries in half. Leave the rest of the berries whole.
We spread the chopped berries on top of the cream, add a blueberry berry to each cake. Then we connect the cake and cover it with the third crispy square of millefeuille.
Now you need to carefully spread the sides of the cake with cream so that all the filling is hidden under its layer, and both extreme cakes remain intact. Finally, the final trick: holding the cakes by the cream-free top and bottom cakes, alternately dip all four sides in crushed pistachios so that they cover the cream with an even thick layer.
The cake is almost ready! Timur starts decorating him. He first draws a berry sauce graphic around it on a plate. If you have the patience, you can make this sauce yourself. For it, you need to take 200 g of blackberries, passion fruit and raspberries, grind in a blender, add 50 g of powdered sugar and boil until a thick sauce, and then cool.
Timur sprinkles the finished cake with powdered sugar and decorates it with a sprig of red currant and a mint leaf on top. Now it is not only very tasty, but also spectacular.
Try it and you will see that this is something quite extraordinary! Mascarpone cheese is much softer than any usual creams and not as sweet as they are, and in the combination of its enveloping texture with crispy millefeuille and nuts there is something unusually attractive. And it's relatively easy to prepare. True, you need to know that this dessert cannot be prepared in advance, it must be eaten immediately.
French ice cream dessert with basil and mint
The second dessert is beautiful in that it does not look like anything familiar at all. It has an unusual flavor combination of basil and mint. And it has a completely different texture of its three composite layers, which give a firework of tactile sensations when you feast on it.
For this dessert, you need to prepare three components in advance and store them in the refrigerator. These are mint-lime granita, airy espuma and basil sorbet.
We will need the following products:
For Mint Lime Granite:
Sugar syrup - 100 gr,
Fresh mint - 40 gr,
Limes - 2 pcs,
For air espuma:
Sour cream with a fat content of 42% - 300 gr,
Sugar syrup - 100 gr,
Non-alcoholic mint syrup (ready) - 40 gr,
For the basil sorber:
Basil leaves - 100 gr,
Sugar syrup - 150 gr,
Carbonated water - 350 gr,
Ice cream stabilizer-emulsifier - 10 gr,
Egg white - 40 gr,
Glucose syrup - 50 gr,
Cooking like this:
Granite is the smallest ice crystals that are obtained by freezing the liquid gradually, stirring it all the time. To make mint-lime granita, you need to scald mint with hot sugar syrup, let it stand for 2 minutes, so that the mint gives off its color and taste.
Then take it out, cool the syrup a little, add the crushed zest removed from the lime and squeezed lime juice, pour the mixture into a plate and put in the freezer. As soon as the liquid seizes on top with the thinnest crust of ice, you need to remove it from the freezer, mix thoroughly and freeze again, repeating mixing every 15-20 minutes. Then we will get not quite ice, but the smallest ice crystals: a delicate delicacy with a pronounced sweet and sour, minty taste.
Espuma is a culinary technique that allows you to turn anything into the most delicate mousse. To prepare foam mousse, you will need a siphon for sauces. Of course, not every kitchen has a siphon, but this is just what you should buy.
After all, with its help you can do a variety of culinary miracles, surprising guests not only with sweets, but also with the most delicate foamy sauces from mushrooms, vegetables, fish or dairy products. From anything, with the help of a siphon, a light, tasty, frothy mass is obtained, reminiscent of whipped mousse.
In our case, we need to mix very fatty sour cream, sugar syrup and any non-alcoholic mint syrup. Fill the resulting mass into a siphon and store it in the refrigerator (but not in the freezer). It is necessary to cook espuma (foam the mass with a siphon) right before serving, since the mousse has a very delicate texture and settles quickly.
And finally, sorbet. We cook it like this: scald the basil with hot sugar syrup, let it stand for 2-3 minutes, take out the leaves. Then we cool, add the beaten egg white and the rest of the ingredients, beat everything and send it to the ice cream sorbet.
While Timur was cooking, we asked him which desserts he likes the most. It turned out that those that combine at first glance incongruous tastes. For example, basil and ice cream. And he also loves chocolate ice cream, which he makes with Guinness beer (half a liter of beer for one and a half liters of chocolate ice cream composition, beat it into a sorber bowl).
When all three ingredients for our dessert are ready, we proceed to the “assembly” of the dessert. Timur does it very effectively. In a glass vase, he places mint leaves, then places a glass cone on top, into which he places several spoons of bright green fragrant granite.
From above, with the help of a siphon, he lays out a layer of light green most delicate mousse with the help of a siphon and, finally, a ball of white ice cream is sent to the center of this splendor.
This magnificent dessert is truly a complex work. It is beautiful both visually, and texturally, and in taste. The eye is pleased with the color stretch from a white scoop of ice cream to bright mint green. And there is also a taste and tactile play of sensations: from the rather sweet and dense creamy taste of a ball of ice cream, through the most delicate texture of whipped mousse to sour mint granite crystals. Plus, basil and mint in the dessert give a completely original combination. Royal Dessert!
At first glance, it seems that it is rather difficult to make it, but it is still worth learning. Moreover, along the way, you can master several culinary techniques at once, which will give scope for your personal creativity.
Contrary to popular belief, desserts are an essential part of a healthy diet. The main principle to be followed, according to nutritionists, is that they should not be included in the daily diet. But for special events, various holidays, they can become a kind of “reward”. New Year, Christmas is the best way to treat yourself to goodies. Since the holidays are still going on, we offer an overview of the most popular desserts in the world that can still be prepared.
Christmas Pudding (UK)
No Christmas celebration in Britain is complete without some special pudding. Despite its popularity in the country, and beyond its borders, it is not as tasty as it seems. However, everyone still has a chance to try it. And suddenly like it.
Dulce de leche (Argentina)
Condensed milk is the pride of Argentina. This is a mixture of milk and sugar, which is boiled down until caramelized and turns into a thick, tender mass. Of course, you can buy it in the store, but it will be much tastier cooked at home.
Bolu rey (Portugal)
Bolu rey, also called royal cake, is a traditional Portuguese sweet bread with nuts and candied fruits, served at Christmas or on January 6, King's Day.
Mazariner (Sweden)
Delicious almond baskets are considered one of the Italian crostata di mandodorle, almond pie. And the name itself suggests the origin of the dish. They are named after the Italian-French Cardinal Giulio Mazarin (1602-1661), also known as Jules Mazarin. Thus, the dessert is already more than four hundred years old, and such longevity only proves its amazing taste.
Cherry Pie (Holland)
Cherry and chocolate lovers will appreciate the lighter version of the German Black Forest cake.
Gulabjamun (India)
Gulabjamun is one of the most popular Indian desserts, which is donuts made from condensed or skimmed milk, filled with pink sugar syrup.
Winarterta (Iceland)
In Iceland, this layer cake with prunes is also called the "Striped Lady". It is usually prepared during the winter holidays, especially around Christmas. But there is no single recipe, but there is an opportunity to try several of them.
Banoffee Pie (England)
Perhaps this is one of the most stunning desserts in England. It is made from bananas, cream and toffee, boiled from condensed milk. All this is laid out on a cake of crumbled cookies and butter.
Knafeh (Middle East)
Many Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Syria claim to be the birthplace of this delicious dessert. But no one can say for sure. The same Greeks prepare a very similar dish called kataifi, only soft cheese is not put in it.
Tiramisu (Italy)
Tiramisu is one of the most popular Italian desserts, made with coffee-soaked savoiardi biscuits and a cream of beaten eggs, sugar and mascarpone. Due to its popularity, it has spread throughout the world and acquired many variations.
Cranahan (Scotland)
A traditional Scottish dessert made with oatmeal, cream, whiskey and raspberries. This is an amazing opportunity to hit guests not only in the heart, but also in the stomach.
Rocky Road Cakes (Australia)
Rocky Road is an Australian dessert made with milk chocolate, marshmallows and served as cakes or cupcakes. In the US, it is usually served with ice cream.
Guinness Chocolate Cake (Ireland)
The Irish have their own idea of celebrating Christmas or St. Patrick's Day. And alcohol plays an important role there, even in desserts. And the combination of chocolate and beer in the cake will be simply unsurpassed.
Three Milk Cake (Mexico)
The cake got its name due to the fact that it is soaked in three types of milk. Although Mexican cuisine is known for its delicious, but very filling dishes, this dessert can be called the lightest and most harmless in terms of calories.
Devil's Food Cake (USA)
The cake is made from dark chocolate, and it got its name for its rich and rich taste, which simply cannot be sinful.
Dobos (Hungary)
"Dobosh" - a magnificent biscuit cake made of seven layers, smeared with chocolate butter cream and decorated with caramel. It was named after the creator, Hungarian chef Joseph Dobos.
Brazo de Gitano (Spain)
Although the name translates as "gypsy's hand," it's just a biscuit roll. It is worth noting that it did not appear at all in Spain, but somewhere in central Europe, but it was here that it turned into a traditional Christmas dessert.
Christmas Log (Belgium/France)
This is an incredibly delicious roll made from chocolate biscuit and chocolate cream. It is usually sprinkled with powdered sugar, which is supposed to symbolize snow.
Melomakarona (Greece)
It is simply impossible to break away from a small honey cookie. This is one of the most popular treats in Greece during the Christmas holidays. And to make the taste even better, melomacarona is covered with milk chocolate.
Profiteroles (France)
Profiteroles are one of the best desserts in the world, which are balls of choux pastry filled with cream and covered with milk chocolate icing.
Sacher Cake (Austria)
This is one of the most famous chocolate cakes in the world since its introduction in 1832 thanks to the Austrian Franz Sacher. It is a stunning biscuit covered with a thin layer of apricot jam, and chocolate icing on top only emphasizes the greatness of its taste.
Pavlova Cake (New Zealand)
Don't let the name fool you, this dessert originated in New Zealand. But it is really named after the great Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is the most delicate meringue, decorated with whipped cream and pieces of fresh fruit.
Panettone (Italy)
Possibly the most popular Christmas sweet bread in Europe over the past few decades. He appeared in Milan and soon became a symbol of the city. Now panettone can be found in many European and American cities.
Cheesecake (Greece/USA)
Incredibly delicious dessert, the origin of which is usually attributed to the Americans, will make the festive table unique. And the history of cheesecake is longer than you think. The first memories of it date back to the fifth century BC. The ancient Greek doctor Aegimus wrote an entire book on the art of making cheesecakes.
Cake "Black Forest" (Germany)
Schwarzwald is a surprisingly delicious chocolate cake consisting of four biscuit cakes, pickled cherries and whipped cream, sprinkled with chocolate chips and decorated with berries. And for dessert, you can serve a cup
New Year, Christmas, warm family gatherings and the joy of children in a snowy yard - this is a real winter fairy tale that we find ourselves in every year.
Desserts of European cuisine
Despite the frost and snowstorms, we warm each other with the warmth of our hearts and good mood. To make this winter even sweeter in your life, we will tell you what delicious sweets are traditionally prepared for the festive table in different European countries. You definitely need to try them, because this is a pleasant way to learn the delicious traditions of the country, as well as give yourself and your family a little sweet happiness!
Desserts of England
According to tradition, pudding has been the main Christmas pastry since the 17th century in England.
The pudding has an interesting legend that tells about the times of the First World War, when the English empire was almost breaking into pieces, the court cooks, together with the dukes, decided to save the kingdom. King George V lacked incentives to preserve the integrity of the state, and then they brought him a pudding, which was prepared with 16 ingredients that were collected from all over the empire, with the words - "With an integral empire, you will have pudding, and without it - only crumbs of bread, flour and beer."
According to legend, the pudding saved the empire and since that time has been considered the main dessert of the Christmas table. People liked this tradition so much that now every English family has its own signature pudding recipe.
Pudding is prepared by the whole family, from young representatives to seniors. They also say that if you make a wish while cooking, it will come true.
When decorating a Christmas pudding, a sprig of holly is placed in it and a coin, a thimble, a button and a ring are always placed in the dough, which have the appropriate value for those who find them. A coin means that more money awaits a person next year, a button - a bachelor life, a thimble, for a girl, means that she will not get married soon, a ring - marriage or marriage.
Desserts in Germany
Do you remember the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm "Hansel and Gretel"? The history of the gingerbread house began with this fairy tale. After the publication of this tale in 1812, these confections are very popular.
Even today, gingerbread houses are a traditional German New Year's dessert and are in great demand at Christmas markets. Each family prepares their own gingerbread house and competes with their neighbors to see which house is the best and most original.
On the eve of Christmas, a variety of gingerbread houses appear on the shelves of shops and fairs, and even exhibitions and competitions are held.
Desserts in Austria
Probably, every person at least once in his life heard the name "Viennese strudel". But what's interesting is that the Arabs were the first to prepare desserts based on very thin dough, orange syrup and rose jelly. But it was the Austrians who improved the recipe and made the strudel a truly unsurpassed dessert.
On the Christmas table in Austria, there must be a traditional and fragrant apple strudel. In every, even a small, town in Austria, Christmas morning necessarily begins with the aroma of apples and cinnamon, which envelops everything around. And if you are lucky enough to try this yummy, then most likely you will remain its sincere fan.
Strudel smells like winter coolness, home and warm hands. There is a saying in Vienna: “A conscientious baker draws out the dough so thinly that he can read love letters for his girlfriend through it.” That is why they believe that only a confectioner in love can make a delicious strudel.
Desserts in Italy
Italy is known for many things, but it's the delicious desserts and unrivaled Christmas pastries that bring it fame. And the main dessert that adorns the festive table of Italians every year is panettone.
Panettone is a Christmas cake that looks like Easter cake. "Christmas can't be Christmas without panettone" is what they say in Milan. It was in this city that panettone first appeared in the 15th century. And not just appeared, but was prepared for Duke Ludovico il Moro on the day of the Nativity of Christ.
However, like any tradition, this Christmas cake is shrouded in legends. The best of them tells a love story. The young man fell in love with the daughter of a poor Milanese baker, Toni, who was extremely beautiful and had a kind heart. However, his high status did not allow him to marry his beloved and the guy found a way to be closer to her, he began working as an assistant to her father. After their first kiss, the guy was so happy that he mixed the standard dough with a lot of butter, a whole handful of raisins and many more eggs and baked very tasty and fragrant bread. The father was about to kick him out, but the customers liked the aroma of the bread so much that they bought out the new pastries right away. So "pane di Toni", bread from Toni became famous in the near and far neighborhoods.
Panettone is usually prepared with mascarpone cheese, dessert wine, liqueur, custard or hot chocolate.
French desserts
The largest selection of delicious desserts on Christmas Eve can only be found in France. Usually, 13 desserts are prepared on the festive table, which symbolize Christ and his 12 disciples, and differ in every corner of the country, it depends on the local variety of ingredients such as figs, raisins, quince, nougat and many others. However, there is no standard set of ingredients, what is available is used.
And yet the main traditional dessert for Christmas in France is the "Christmas Log". This festive cake resembles a log in its shape and color and is beautifully decorated with cream. Each bakery and pastry house prepares its own special version of the "Christmas log". And everyone is trying to make the best dessert and please customers with a delicious product. They are decorated with beautiful figurines or lots of chocolate. Who is better or who is tastier - it’s impossible to say for sure, since it’s impossible to try everything, but you must definitely try at least one!
Now you know what delicious Christmas desserts you need to try this winter in such beautiful and interesting countries. Of course, for the sake of one dessert, few people want to go, but winter travels around Europe also include unforgettable emotions and impressions from what they saw, as well as a little winter fairy tale, where they will warm you with a smile and good mood.
Travel and enjoy life. Have a sweet winter!
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