Pick Or Pass On These Desserts From Europe And We’ll Pick A Country To Visit Next!
- by Breanna Burford
- – on
- in Lifestyle
Food is a type of language that can be understood around the world. Two people who don't speak a lick of one another's native tongue can find some common ground when it's time to eat. Desserts are particularly good for bringing people together, whether they're being given as an apology, served in celebration, created as a sign of unity, or simply shovelled down at an awkward family get-together.
Quite a few desserts that are popular in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and several other countries have origin stories that date back to Europe. That's not very surprising, because quite a bit of the world was influenced by one European empire or another, or straight-up settled in the first place by a group of immigrants from a European country that brought their culture over with them.
European countries are vastly diverse in terms of culture. Even neighboring countries will have striking differences from one another, especially in the culinary world. With different agriculture available from region to region, one country may be obsessed with dairy-based desserts, while another prefers to stay clear of them.
There are so many differences (and even more similarities) in the realm of European cuisine that it's pretty complicated for most people to just pick a country and go there, especially if they're interested in sampling a bunch of different foods.
However, knowing what foods do and don't sound tasty can help make a tough decision pretty simple - so let us help out!
Pick or Pass: Trifle
An English trifle is a dessert that consists of fruit, liquid-soaked sponge fingers, and custard. It is usually topped with whipped cream, and sometimes with more fruit on top. Sometimes fruity jellies will be added in-between the layers. There are lots of options for what to soak the sponge fingers in, but the most common choice for a non-alcoholic trifle is fruit juice.
Pick or Pass: Opera Cake
Opera Cake is a French dessert that consists of thin layers of almond sponge cake which have been allowed to soak up coffee syrup. The cake is layered with a combination of chocolate ganache and either coffee or orange liquor-flavored buttercream. The whole thing is then drenched with a chocolate glaze.
Pick or Pass: Macarons
These French treats are one of the most popular sweets in the world for a good reason. Macarons (not to be confused with the coconut macaroon) are a meringue-based cookie created with either ground or powdered almond. The consistency of the cookies is light and airy with a slight crispness on the outside. Macarons are usually assembled by taking two wafers and filling them with buttercream, fruit spreads, or ganache.
Pick or Pass: Panna Cotta
This Italian dessert is made by sugaring (and sometimes flavoring) warm cream, then thickening the mixture up with gelatin and molding it. The cream may be flavored with spices or other liquids like vanilla, liquor, or coffee. It's common to serve this dish with berry coulis or some sort of sauce, like caramel or chocolate.
Pick or Pass: Tiramisu
This coffee-flavored dish is one of the most internationally known Italian desserts. It is made by taking ladyfingers and dipping them in coffee or a coffee-flavored liquor. A whipped blend of eggs, sugar, and cocoa-flavored marscapone cheese is spread in-between the layers, and it is topped off with a garnish of cocoa and chocolate shavings.
Pick or Pass: Mille-feuille
The mille-feuille is known by many different names including vanilla slice, custard slice, and the Napoleon. It is a French pastry that consists of alternating layers of puff pastry and pastry cream. This treat is most commonly topped with a sprinkle of confectioners sugar and cocoa, or a marble of chocolate and white icing.
Pick or Pass: Sachertorte
Austria is internationally known for churning out some of the most decadent desserts, and this cake invented by Franz Sacher fits the bill. It's made up of multiple layers of soft chocolate cake with luscious apricot jam between them, all smothered in chocolate icing and served with unsweetened whipped cream.
Pick or Pass: Appeltaart
This dessert might be recognized by citizens of the United States and its neighboring countries, but it is actually the dish that inspired the apple pie in the first place! It is a traditional Dutch dessert called an appeltart, which has a crisp, cookie-like crust and a simple but juicy filling that consists of a mixture of apples, sugar, and cinnamon.
Pick or Pass: Crème Brûlée
In English, crème brûlée translates to burnt cream. That's an apt description of this dessert, which is a serving of silky, traditionally vanilla-flavored custard that is topped with a layer of caramelized sugar. The crunchy caramelization is done with extreme heat using either a butane torch or a special broiler.
Pick or Pass: Berliner
This traditional German pastry is often called a Berliner because its full name, Berliner Pfannkuchen, is quite a mouthful. It consists of sweet yeast dough that has been fried, filled, and either iced or sugared. The traditional filling choice is a fruit spread, like marmalade or jam, but it can also be filled with numerous things such as chocolate, custard, etc. It can even be plain!
Pick or Pass: Esterházy Torta
The esterhazy torte is a rich Hungarian layer cake that was first made during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in the late 19th century. It is a decadent cake assembled with five layers of hazelnut sponge cake filled with a rich hazelnut buttercream. It is iced with lemon glacé icing and decorated with a chocolate spiderweb.
Pick or Pass: Zefir
For those who have never experienced it, the closest comparison for this Russian sweet is a marshmallow or a meringue. It consists of whipped egg whites, sugar, fruit, and puréed berries, which have had a gelling component added to them. Its light and airy consistency has won it a name which comes from Zephyr, a Greek god.
Pick or Pass: Toscakaka
This dessert is popular all over Scandinavia, but it originates from Sweden. An easier to pronounce name for it would be Swedish almond cake. The base of this cake is a layer of moist, buttery, vanilla-flavored sponge, and the topping consists of a crunchy, delicious layer of caramelized almond flakes.
Pick or Pass: Sernik
This is another treat that citizens of the United States and Canada will find remarkably familiar in appearance, flavor, and consistency. However, this is a dish from Poland called sernik, also known as Polish cheesecake! The filling consists of a type of cheese called twaróg which has been mixed with vanilla, eggs, sugar, and butter.
Pick or Pass: Pączki
This deep-fried delight is a delicious treat from Poland. It is a type of spherical doughnut that has been flattened out after being deep-fried. It contains a sweet filling that traditionally consists of some kind of fruit preserves. The outside is garnished with icing, glaze, orange zest, or confectioner's sugar.
Pick or Pass: Medovik
Medovik is a popular baked dessert in Russia and other countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. In English, it is called a honey cake, and that's an accurate description of what it is. This cake consists of thin layers of rich, moist sponge cake with smooth, decadent filling.
Pick or Pass: Gelato
Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream, but in English-speaking countries, it often refers to ice cream that has been specifically made the Italian way. What does that mean? Well, gelato is incredibly dense and has a much thicker texture than ice cream or other frozen desserts. Gelato is also infused with much more flavoring, giving it a distinct and unique richness.
Pick or Pass: Prinsesstårta
Prinsesstarta, or princess cake, is a traditional baked good from Sweden. It is made by layering light, airy spongecake with raspberry jam, pastry cream, and topping it with whipped cream. A thin layer of marzipan, which is traditionally green, is laid over top of the cake, which is then sprinkled with powdered sugar and garnished with a pink marzipan rose.
Pick or Pass: Breskvice
Breskvice are peach-shaped treats that are common in Croatia - and they are easily one of the cutest things that I have ever seen. They are a time-consuming dessert made by halving and then carefully hollowing out baked peach balls. Each ball is then filled with a mixture of the scooped out insides, cocoa, apricot or peach-flavored preserves, milk, rum, and ground walnuts. The outside is colored by dipping in food coloring-infused red water and yellow peach brandy.
Pick or Pass: Black Forest Gâteau
The Black Forest gâteau, or Black Forest cake, is a decadent dessert that originated in Germany. Traditionally, it is assembled from several layers of spongy chocolate cake that are filled with whipped cream and cherries. The outside is covered with whipped cream and decorated with shaved chocolate and maraschino cherries.
Pick or Pass: Palmier
Palmier pastries hail from France and are also known as elephant ears and pig's ears. They are a flaky, sweet treat that are made by stacking alternating layers of puff pastry dough with butter, rolling the mixture up, and then cutting it into slices. The slices are then rolled in sugar and baked.
Pick or Pass: Frugtsalat
The frugt salat is a dessert from Denmark that most countries have their own version of, as it is exactly what it sounds like: fruit salad. Traditionally, Danish fruit salad consists of a mixture of fresh fruits and råcreme, which is essentially just vanilla cream that's reminiscent in texture to custard and yogurt.
Pick or Pass: Liège Waffles
If there is one thing that the beautiful country of Belgium is known for, it has to be waffles. Belgian waffles are lighter and crisper than any other type of waffle because of the uniqueness of the ingredients used in them and how they're cooked. A liège waffle is a sweetened version of a traditional Belgian waffle.
Pick or Pass: Churros
Churros are a popular pastry that originated in Spain and Portugal, but they are commonly associated with Mexico in the United States and Canada. A churro is a fried pastry made from choux dough. They are commonly served with a sweet, warm liquid to dip them in, such as chocolate and dulce de leche.
Pick or Pass: Eton Mess
Eton mess is an English dessert that originated from Eton College in Berkshire. It is a dish that relies more on taste than appearance, as the "mess" in the name is believed to have been inspired by the way it looks. Traditionally, it consists of strawberries, pieces of meringue, and a rich whipped cream, but other fruits and various types of sauce can be added, too.
Pick or Pass: Crêpes Suzette
Crêpes Suzette come from France that is prepared using the flambé technique. It is assembled using a very thin pastry called a crêpe as the base. The crêpe is served with a sauce that consists of caramelized sugar, butter, the zest and juice from an orange or a tangerine, and an orange-flavored liquor.
Pick or Pass: Loukoumades
Loukoumades are a Greek pastry. It is made with deep fried dough that has been drenched in either syrup, chocolate sauce, or honey, and then covered in cinnamon. They are often served garnished by either sesame seeds or grated walnuts. A similar dish is available in most of Greece's neighboring countries because they all share a common ancestor from the Ottoman Empire.
Pick or Pass: Cremeschnitte
The cremeschnitte is a cake that can be found all over Central Europe - and even in Australia, where it is known as a vanilla slice. There are differences in the preparation process in each country, but the core of the dish remains the same. In each country, the cake has a base of puff pastry and uses custard cream.
Pick or Pass: Pastel de nata
A pastel de nata is a delicious egg tart from Portugal. It starts with a puff pastry base, which is filled with a rich, thick custard cream, and then baked to caramelize the top. The end result is a luscious pastry with a crunchy top shell, a silky center, and a flaky crust.
Pick or Pass: Donauwelle
A donauwelle is a dessert that is very popular in Germany and Austria. It is a type of sheet cake that is made by separating pound cake batter into two bowls, and flavoring one with cocoa. The plain batter is poured into the pan and the chocolate batter is poured on top of it. Sour cherries are placed on top of the chocolate layer, which will sink during the baking process and give the cake a wavy border between chocolate and plain. The finished cake is topped by butter cream and a chocolate-flavored glaze.
Pick or Pass: Kaiserschmarrn
The word kaiserschmarrn means emporer's mess, and for good reason. This dish is a sweet and fluffy pancake that's been shredded. Traditionally, rum-soaked raisins are the only other addition to the pancakes, but it can be prepared with various other ingredients, including fresh like cherries or diced apples, fruit preserves, or nuts. It is served with zwetschgenröster, a plum-based fruit compote.
Pick or Pass: Paris-Brest
As the name implies, a Paris-Brest is a choux pastry that found its roots in France. It was created by request for Pierre Giffard in commemoration of a 1891 bicycle race. Louis Durand, a man employeed by Maisons-Laffitte, is responsible for creating it. The round shape is meant to represent a bicycle wheel.
Pick or Pass: Charlotte
The charlotte is a cake that originated from France. It is also called an ice-box cake, although it can be served hot or cold. It consists of bread, spongecake, or cookies that are used to line a mold, which is then filled with custard or purée. Pictured here is a beautiful charlotte cake that uses lady fingers for its rim and is filled with strawberry custard, an addition layer of lady fingers, and is topped with fresh strawberries.
Pick or Pass: Papanași
The Romanian pastry papanași is also called a Romanian cheese donut. It can be prepared by boiling or frying the dough. It is commonly filled with sour preserves and a soft and mild, dessert-friendly cheese like urdă, which is a whey-based cheese that is popular in Romania and many other Eastern European countries.
Pick or Pass: Rødgrød Med Fløde
Rødgrød med fløde is from in Denmark and Northern Germany. Its name translates into red groats with cream, which is very informative about what you're dealing with. It gets its redness from red summer berries - including strawberries, currants, blackberries, and cherries. It is a very sweet, creamy dish.
Pick or Pass: Baklava
Baklava is a pastry that originated from the Ottoman Empire. It is still popular in countries that were a part of that empire, but it is most commonly associated with Turkey and Egypt. It is a very delicate pastry that consists of paper thin layers of filo that have been filled with chopped nuts. The pastry is held together and flavored by either a sticky syrup or honey.
Pick or Pass: Runeberg Torttu
Runeberg torttu is a pastry that comes from Finland, which is also the only place that it is commonly found. It gets its name from a Finnish poet named Johan Ludvig Runeberg. It is a tiny pastry that is infused with liquor and almonds for flavoring, with a bit of raspberry jam surrounded by a ring of sugar on top.
Pick or Pass: Kolache
A kolach is a semisweet pastry that was created as a wedding dessert for Central European celebrations. It consists of a puffy pastry base that is topped with a variety of different things. Traditionally, it uses a serving of fruit, but it can also contain cheese, sausage, or a mixture of the two, among other things.
Pick or Pass: Profiteroles
A profiterole, also known as a cream puff in the United States, is a pastry that originated in France. It is a ball made of choux pastry that has been stuffed with a sweet filling such as whipped cream, custard, or ice cream. It is often topped with chocolate sauce, caramel, or powdered sugar.
Pick or Pass: Galaktoboureko
Galaktoboureko is a filo-based dessert that comes in Greece. It is composed by taking layers of paper thin filo dough and filling them with semolina (cooked milk) custard, which may be flavored with citrus fruit or rose. It is then baked. After baking, it is either covered in or served alongside a sweet syrup.
Pick or Pass: Bienenstich
Bienenstich, also known as Bee sting cake, is a sweet dessert that comes from Germany. It is made by taking sweet dough and topping it with caramelized almonds and a vanilla-flavored filling such as custard, buttercream, or cream. The toppings are baked along with the dough so everything adheres together.
Pick or Pass: Cannoli
The internationally known Cannoli is a pastry that originated on the island of Sicily, which is located in Italy. It consists of a fried, tubular pastry dough shell that has been stuffed full of a creamy, sweetened filling. Often, this filling is made up of ricotta cheese, which is a soft, mild cheese that's a staple in Italian cuisine.
Pick or Pass: Karydopita
This delicious cake comes from Greece. It is called karydopita, which is a combination of the Greek word for walnuts and the Greek word for pie. The primary ingredient is walnuts, but it is also flavored with cinnamon. Cognac is often infused into the recipe in some way as well.
Pick or Pass: Struffoli
The struffoli found its roots in Naples, Italy, which means that it is a Neapolitan dish. It consists of small, marble-sized balls of deep fried dough. When made traditionally, the balls are drenched in honey that has been combined with cinnamon and orange peels, then covered with small, circular sprinkles.
Pick or Pass: Poppy Seed Roll
While the poppy seed roll originated in Hungary, the pastry is popular in several Central and Eastern European countries, including Austria, Denmark, and most countries that were formerly a part of the Soviet Union. Its base is a sweet yeast bread made from a dough that consists of flour, sugar, egg yolks, cream and butter. Traditionally, it is filled with poppy seeds, which are bittersweet, but it can also be filled with minced walnuts or chestnuts.
Pick or Pass: Quesada Pasiega
Quesada pasiega is the Spanish version of lemon cheesecake which originates from Northern Spain - the Cantabria region, to be exact. It is a rich, velvety dish that gets its powerful flavor from a mixture of cinnamon and the zest of a lemon. It is delicious whether it is served hot or cold.
Pick or Pass: Croquembouche
The French croquembouche is a dessert that looks and tastes absolutely marvelous, but takes a lot of finesse to get right. It is made with choux pastry balls that are held together with threads of caramel. Traditionally, it is served at French and Italian significant events like weddings, baptisms, and first communions.
Pick or Pass: Stollen
Stollen is a bread dish that is traditionally served around Christmas time in Germany. The spice seasoned bread has a texture that is similar to cake, and it is packed full of nuts and dried or candied fruit. Since the bread gets its sweetness only from the fruit, it is garnished with powdered sugar.
Pick or Pass: Krumkake
Krumkake is a Norwegian cookie that is somewhat similar to a cannoli. It is prepared in a griddle that has the intricate details carved into it, so that they are baked directly onto the surface of the cookie. It can be served plain but is commonly filled with some sort of sweet cream, such as whipped cream, custard, or even ice cream.
Pick or Pass: Syrniki
Syrniki are common in several Eastern European countries, such as Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Serbia. They are fried pancakes made with quark, which is a type of cheese that is made with warm soured milk. They can be served with a wide variety of garnishes, such as sour cream, whole or pureed fruit preserves, honey, and apple sauce.
