Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create desserts. In some parts of the world there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.
Brazilian cuisine is the set of cooking practices and traditions of Brazil, and is characterized by European, Amerindian, African, and Asian influences. It varies greatly by region, reflecting the country's mix of native and immigrant populations, and its continental size as well. This has created a national cuisine marked by the preservation of regional differences.
Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, North America, Central America, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in colour. It contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, and up to 20% moisture, with the remainder made up of other insoluble matter, such as wood ash, proteins, and bagasse fibres. Jaggery is very similar to muscovado, an important sweetener in Portuguese, British and French cuisine. The Kenyan Sukari ngutu/nguru has no fibre; it is dark and is made from sugarcane and also sometimes extracted from palm tree.
Quindim is a popular Brazilian baked dessert with Portuguese heritage, made chiefly from sugar, egg yolks and ground coconut. It is a custard and usually presented as an upturned cup with a glistening surface and intensely yellow color. The mixture can also be made in a large ring mold in which case it is called a "quindão" and served in slices.
Maria-mole is a dessert popular in Brazil that is similar to a marshmallow. Maria-mole's base ingredients are sugar, gelatin and egg whites. It is usually covered in grated coconut and made without the addition of any other flavors, although there are variations.
Canjica, mugunzá or mungunzá is a Brazilian sweet dish, associated with winter festivals, which in Brazil is in June.
Beijinho, also known as branquinho, is a typical Brazilian birthday party candy prepared with condensed milk, grated desiccated coconut, rolled over caster sugar or grated coconut and frequently topped with a clove.
Goan cuisine consists of regional foods popular in Goa, an Indian state located along India's west coast on the shore of the Arabian Sea. Rice, seafood, coconut, vegetables, meat, bread, pork and local spices are some of the main ingredients in Goan cuisine. Use of kokum and vinegar is another distinct feature. Goan food is considered incomplete without fish.
Kuswar or Kuswad is a set of festive sweets and snacks made and exchanged by Christians of the Konkan region in the Indian subcontinent for the Christmas season or Christmastide. These goodies are major parts of the cuisines of the Goan Catholic community of Goa in the Konkan region, and the Mangalorean Catholic community of Karnataka. There are as many as 22 different ethnic recipes that form this distinct flavour of Christmas celebration in Goa and Mangalore. Kuswad is also made and exchanged by Karwari Catholics of Carnataca and the Kudali Catholics of Sindhudurg, in the Konkan division of Maharashtra.
Gizzada, also referred to as pinch-me-round, is an indigenous pastry in Jamaican cuisine. The tart is contained in a small, crisp pastry shell with a pinched crust and filled with a sweet and spiced coconut filling. It bears semblance to Portuguese queijada, from which it takes its name. Gizzada was contributed by Portuguese Jews who went to Jamaica during the inquisition.
Cocada are a traditional coconut confectionery found in many parts of Latin America and Europe. They are particularly popular in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Spain, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador and Goa Former Estado da Índia Portuguesa.
Queijada is a type of sweet made most famously in Sintra, Portugal. It is a small sweet prepared using cheese or requeijão, eggs, milk, and powdered sugar. Other queijadas are produced in Madeira, Azores, Oeiras, Évora and Pereira (Montemor-o-Velho).
Manjar branco is a pure white Brazilian coconut pudding similar to blancmange. It is identical to the Puerto Rican tembleque. In Brazil manjar branco is made in a ring (Savarin) mold and is served with a sauce made of pitted prunes poached in port wine. Commercial mixes for manjar branco and tembleque are available in Brazil, the U.S., and in other Latin American countries.
Latík refers to two different coconut-based ingredients in Filipino cuisine. In the Visayan region it refers to a syrupy caramelized coconut cream used as a dessert sauce. In the northern Philippines, it refers to solid byproducts of coconut oil production, used as garnishing for a variety of desserts.
Thong ek, also known as "wheat flour dumplings with egg yolks", is one of the nine auspicious traditional Thai desserts. It is a golden sweet carved as various types of flowers decorated with a piece of gold leaf on top, popularly served in very significant occasions such as career advancement ceremonies.
Khanom babin, also spelled as kanom babin, is a popular Thai dessert that comes from Ayutthaya. It is made from young coconut, rice flour, coconut milk, sugar and egg.
