South Africa

Pakora is a fritter originating from the Indian subcontinent. They are sold by street vendors and served in restaurants across South Asia. They often consist of vegetables such as potatoes and onions, which are coated in seasoned gram flour batter and deep-fried. Other spellings include pikora, pakoda, and pakodi, and regional names include bhaji, bhajiya, bora, ponako, and chop.

Banana bread is a type of sweet bread or cake made from mashed bananas. It is often a moist and sweet quick bread but some recipes are yeast raised. Bananas appeared in the US in the 1870s, but it took a while for them to appear as ingredients in desserts. Banana bread recipes emerged in cookbooks across North America when baking powder became available in grocery stores in the 1930s. Some food historians believe banana bread was a byproduct of the Great Depression as resourceful housewives did not wish to throw away overripe bananas. Others believe that banana bread was developed in corporate kitchens to promote flour and baking soda products. Banana bread experienced a resurgence in popularity in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. In the Philippines, banana bread is usually called "banana cake." It was introduced during the American colonial period of the Philippines as the Philippines became a top banana supplier.

Bubble and squeak is an English dish made from cooked potatoes and cabbage, mixed together and fried. The food writer Howard Hillman classes it as one of the "great peasant dishes of the world". The dish has been known since at least the 18th century, and in its early versions it contained cooked beef; by the mid-20th century the two vegetables had become the principal ingredients. The name of the dish, according to the Oxford English Dictionary , alludes to the sounds made by the ingredients when being fried. The first recorded use of the name listed in the OED dates from 1762; The St James's Chronicle, recording the dishes served at a banquet, included "Bubble and Squeak, garnish'd with Eddowes Cow Bumbo, and Tongue". A correspondent in The Public Advertiser two years later reported making "a very hearty Meal on fried Beef and Cabbage; though I could not have touched it had my Wife recommended it to me under the fashionable Appellation of Bubble and Squeak". In 1791 another London paper recorded the quarterly meeting of the Bubble and Squeak Society at Smithfield.

The Chelsea bun is a type of currant bun that was first baked in the 18th century at the Bun House in Chelsea, an establishment favoured by Hanoverian royalty accustomed to similar pastries in their native cuisine. The shop was demolished in 1839. The bun is made of a rich yeast dough flavoured with lemon peel, cinnamon or mixed spice. The dough is rolled out, spread with a mixture of currants, brown sugar and butter, then formed into a square-sided log. The process of making this bun is very similar to that involved in producing the cinnamon roll. After being baked, traditionally the chelsea bun is glazed with syrup . It is glazed while still hot so that the water evaporates and leaves a sticky sugar coating. Commercially made buns are sometimes topped with glace icing.

Chia seeds are the edible seeds of Salvia hispanica, a flowering plant in the mint family (Lamiaceae) native to central and southern Mexico, or of the related Salvia columbariae, Salvia polystachia, or Salvia tiliifolia. Chia seeds are oval and gray with black and white spots, having a diameter of around 2 millimetres (0.08 in). The seeds are hygroscopic, absorbing up to 12 times their weight in liquid when soaked and developing a mucilaginous coating that gives chia-based foods and beverages a distinctive gel texture. There is evidence that the crop was widely cultivated by the Aztecs in pre-Columbian times and was a staple food for Mesoamerican cultures. Chia seeds are cultivated on a small scale in their ancestral homeland of central Mexico and Guatemala and commercially throughout Central and South America.

Isidudu is a soft porridge made from ground corn known as mealie meal. It is a common breakfast in Xhosa and Zulu households. It is served with sugar and milk. Some may prefer white/brown vinegar and sugar or butter/peanut butter and sugar etc. Sometimes the ground corn is fermented to have a sour taste.

A koeksister is a traditional Afrikaner confectionery made of fried dough infused in syrup or honey. There is also a Cape Malay version of the dish, which is a fried ball of dough that is rolled in desiccated coconut called a koesister. The name derives from the Dutch word "koek", which generally means a wheat flour confectionery. Koeksisters are prepared by frying plaited dough strips in oil, then submersing the hot fried dough into ice cold sugar syrup. Koeksisters have a golden crunchy crust and liquid syrup centre, are very sticky and sweet, and taste like honey.

Sorghum meal, commonly made into porridge, ting (sour porridge)

Masala dosa is a dish of South India originating in the town of Udupi, Karnataka. While there is variation in the recipe from town to town, the basic recipe typically starts with a fermented batter of parboiled rice, poha, and various legumes (black gram, pigeon peas, chickpeas), and incorporates various spices for flavour, such as fenugreek and dry red chilli. Traditionally served with potato curry, chutneys, and sambar, it is a common breakfast item in South India, though it can also be found in many other parts of the country and overseas. One common variant is the paper masala dosa, which is made with a thinner batter, resulting in a crisper, almost paper-thin final product. The dosa is made by soaking rice and lentils overnight in water and then grinding them into a batter. The batter is fermented overnight. To make the dosa the batter is spread on a hot tava using a ladle or a bowl. It is pan-roasted until crispy and served with potato curry, chutneys or sambar.

Muesli is a cold Swiss breakfast dish, the primary ingredient of which is rolled oats. Traditionally, it is set to soak in water overnight ("overnight oats") and eaten the next morning with fresh fruit, nuts, lemon juice, and cream sweetened with honey. Additional ingredients, such as other grains, seeds, and dried fruits are sometimes added, and other citrus juice may be used. Yogurt, milk or other milk products, or milk substitutes are now commonly added to both homemade and commercially packaged muesli recipes. Developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital, it has become a common breakfast cereal dish. In Switzerland, it is also consumed for supper as Birchermüesli complet – muesli with Café complet (milk coffee, accompanied by Butterbrot (bread, butter and jam)). In addition to being prepared raw, muesli can be toasted. Muesli can also be processed further by adding sweetener and oil to bind the ingredients together and baked to produce granola.

Said to be a hangover cure

Ugali, also known as posho, nsima, papa, pap, sadza, isitshwala, akume, amawe, ewokple, akple, and other names, is a type of corn meal made from maize or corn flour in several African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Botswana and South Africa, and in West Africa by the Ewes of Togo, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria and Cote D'Ivoire. It is cooked in boiling water or milk until it reaches a stiff or firm dough-like consistency. In 2017, the dish was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, one of a few foods in the list. This dish is eaten widely across Africa, where it has different local names:

Cornmeal porridge

A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a wheat-based food additive. In Argentina, rusk is called tostadas de mesa , slices of twice-baked bread generally available in supermarkets in plain and sweetened variants. Cake rusk is called bay biscuit; its ingredients are egg, sugar, oil, self-rising flour, and vanilla.

A scone is a traditional British baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component of the cream tea. It differs from teacakes and other types of sweets that are made with yeast. Scones were chosen as Ireland's representative for Café Europe during the Austrian presidency of the European Union in 2006, while the United Kingdom chose shortbread. The pronunciation of the word within the English-speaking world varies, with some pronouncing it /skɒn/ (rhymes with "gone"), and others /skoʊn/ (rhymes with "tone"). The dominant pronunciation differs by area. Pronunciation rhyming with "tone" is strongest in the English Midlands and Ireland, though it seems to have less prominent patches in Cornwall and Essex. The pronunciation rhyming with "gone" is strongest in Northern England and Scotland, although this also seems to be the favoured pronunciation in Southern England, the Home Counties, and East Anglia. Natives of Ireland and the United States mainly use the /skoʊn/ pronunciation. British dictionaries usually show the /skɒn/ form as the preferred pronunciation, while recognising the /skoʊn/ form.

Soft-boiled eggs are eggs that are cooked in boiling water for a short time, typically around 5 to 7 minutes, resulting in firm whites and a warm, runny yolk. They are often served in egg cups and can be enjoyed with toast for dipping.

Fermented sorghum or corn porridge, serve with milk and sugar

Potato pudding, a spiced custard

Cheesecake is a dessert made with a soft fresh cheese , eggs, and sugar. It may have a crust or base made from crushed cookies (or digestive biscuits), graham crackers, pastry, or sometimes sponge cake. Cheesecake may be baked or unbaked, and is usually served cold. Vanilla, spices, lemon, chocolate, pumpkin, or other flavors may be added to the main cheese layer; Additional flavors and visual appeal may be added by topping the finished dessert with fruit, whipped cream, nuts, cookies, fruit sauce, chocolate syrup, or other ingredients.

Vinegar pudding

Bar One or Bar•One is a popular chocolate bar invented and manufactured in South Africa by Nestlé and sold in South Africa and India. It is similar to the English Mars Bars and consists of a layer of malted nougat with a caramel topping and covered in milk chocolate. In South Africa, there are other variations, including a Bar One Peanut version and one flavoured with coffee. It was first manufactured in South Africa in 1965, and is produced at the Nestlé factory in East London. In India, it is one of the top 5 most sold chocolate bars. Other products have also been released using the Bar One branding or popular cuisine made using the chocolate bar.

Barfi[a] or burfi is a milk-based sweet from the Indian subcontinent with a fudge-like consistency. Its name comes from the Persian and Urdu word for snow. Barfi is consumed throughout India and Pakistan and is especially popular in North India. It is often served at celebrations and religious festivals such as Diwali and Holi. Barfi originated in Persia and was introduced to India by the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. Through indentured workers it was brought to Trinidad in the mid-19th century and became popular there.

Biko, also spelled bico, is a sweet rice cake from the Philippines. It is made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and sticky rice. It is usually topped with latik . It is a type of kalamay dish and is prepared similarly, except the rice grains are not ground into a paste. They are also sometimes packaged and sold as suman. It is also known as inkiwar in Ilocano Northern Luzon and sinukmani or sinukmaneng in the Southern Luzon area. In the Muslim regions of the Philippines, it is known as wadjit in Tausug; wadit in Maranao; and wagit in Maguindanao.

Blancmange is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar, thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured with almonds. It is usually set in a mould and served cold. Although traditionally white, blancmanges are frequently given other colours. Blancmange originated at some time during the Middle Ages from the older Middle Eastern muhallebi, and usually consisted of milk or almond milk, rice, and sugar; it was considered to be an ideal food for the sick.[citation needed]

Boeber is the Cape Malay name for a South African pudding. It has become a traditional Cape Malay sweet, milk drink, made with vermicelli, sago, sugar, and flavoured with cardamom, stick cinnamon, and rose water. The pudding is traditionally served on the 15th night of Ramadan to celebrate the middle of the fast, for those who have completed the first 15 days of fasting. They are also known as people who are op die berg (lit. 'have reached the summit'). In South Africa, boeber was originally made by Cape Malays, whose ancestors came from Indonesia, East Africa, and India. Bubur in modern Malay is the generic word for any kind of porridge. A similar drink called Sawine or Sewine is served in Trinidad and Tobago homes on Eid al-Fitr (the festival marking the end of Ramadan). Globally, there are similar drinks such as Asian kheer and sweet congee. Boeber bears the closest resemblance to kheer or payasam, a dessert hailing from the Indian subcontinent, which is likely to be either introduced by Indian slaves, or the 1860 Indentured Indian immigrants. In South Africa, an Afrikaans dish known as melkkos is similar to boeber. A boeber mix is available in some supermarkets, corner cafes, and spice shops in South Africa.

Falooda topped with ice cream, made with vermicelli noodles, basil seeds (subja), rosewater, milk and ice cream, an Indian-inspired dessert

Bread and butter pudding is a traditional bread pudding in British cuisine. Slices of buttered bread scattered with raisins are layered in an oven dish, covered with an egg custard mixture seasoned with nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon or other spices, then baked. In addition to being baked with custard, the pudding may be served with additional custard or cream. Sometimes raspberry, strawberry, blackberry or mixed fruit jam, marmalade, or other sweet preserves will be spread upon the bread, along with the butter. Other modern variations include scattering fresh grapes between the layers of bread, melting apples into the egg-milk mixture, and using unusual types of breads, such as brioche, to make it. Lemon or orange peel will add a characteristic flavour.[citation needed] It is traditional to use stale bread. The earliest bread and butter puddings were called whitepot and used either bone marrow or butter. Whitepots could also be made using rice instead of bread, giving rise to the rice pudding in British cuisine.

A chocolate brownie, or simply a brownie, is a chocolate baked dessert bar. Brownies come in a variety of forms and may be either fudgy or cakey, depending on their density. Brownies often, but not always, have a glossy "skin" on their upper crust. They may also include nuts, frosting, chocolate chips, or other ingredients. A variation made with brown sugar and vanilla rather than chocolate in the batter is called a blond brownie or blondie. The brownie was developed in the United States at the end of the 19th century and popularized there during the first half of the 20th century. Brownies are typically eaten by hand or with utensils, and may be accompanied by a glass of milk, served warm with ice cream , topped with whipped cream, or sprinkled with powdered sugar. In North America, they are common homemade treats and they are also popular in restaurants, ice cream parlors, and coffeehouses. One legend about the creation of brownies is that of Bertha Palmer, a prominent Chicago socialite whose husband owned the Palmer House Hotel. In 1893, Palmer asked a pastry chef for a dessert suitable for ladies attending the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition. She requested a dessert that would be smaller than a piece of cake, and easily eaten from boxed lunches. The result was the Palmer House Brownie, made of chocolate with walnuts and an apricot glaze. The Palmer House in Chicago still serves this dessert to patrons made from the same recipe. The name was given to the dessert some time after 1893, but was not used by cookbooks or journals at the time.

A buñuelo ( Spanish: [buˈɲwelo], alternatively called boñuelo, bimuelo, birmuelo, bermuelo, bumuelo, burmuelo, or bonuelo, is a fried dough fritter found in Spain, Latin America, and other regions with a historical connection to Spaniards or Sephardic Jews, including Southwest Europe, the Balkans, Anatolia, and parts of Asia and North Africa. Buñuelos are traditionally prepared at Christmas and Hanukkah. It will usually have a filling or a topping. In Mexican cuisine, it is often served with a syrup made with piloncillo. Buñuelos are first known to have been consumed among Spain's Morisco population. They typically consist of a simple, wheat-based yeast dough, often flavored with anise, that is thinly rolled, cut or shaped into individual pieces, then fried and finished off with a sweet topping. Buñuelos may be filled with a variety of things, sweet or savory. They can be round in ball shapes or disc-shaped. In Latin America, buñuelos are seen as a symbol of good luck. "Buñuelo" and all other variations of the word in Spanish derive from the Old Spanish *boño or bonno, which itself derives from the Germanic Gothic language *?????? , and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ (thick, dense, fat).

Butter cookies, also known as Danish butter cookies, are cookies originating in Denmark consisting of butter, flour, and sugar. They are similar to shortbread cookies. The butter cookie is often categorized as a "crisp cookie" due to its texture, caused in part by the quantity of butter and sugar. It is generally necessary to chill its dough to enable proper manipulation and handling. Butter cookies at their most basic have no flavoring, but they are often flavored with vanilla, chocolate, and coconut, and/or topped with sugar crystals. They also come in a variety of shapes such as circles, squares, ovals, rings, and pretzel-like forms, and with a variety of appearances, including marbled, checkered or plain. Using piping bags, twisted shapes can be made. In some parts of the world, such as Europe and North America, butter cookies are often served around Christmas time. Butter cookies are also a very popular gift in Hong Kong, especially during Lunar New Year.

Spiced date cake with brandy, nuts, cinnamon and vanilla

Caramel shortbread, also known as caramel squares, caramel slice, millionaire's shortbread, millionaire's slice, chocolate caramel shortbread or Wellington squares is a biscuit confectionery composed of a shortbread biscuit base topped with caramel and milk chocolate. Variations exist which substitute or add ingredients to cater to different tastes, dietary requirements or ingredient availability. Caramel shortbread is an adapted form of the original Scottish shortbread. Scottish shortbread originated around the 12th century, but its modern refined form is attributed to the efforts of Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century.

Charoset[a] is a sweet, dark-colored mixture of finely chopped fruits and nuts eaten at the Passover Seder. According to the Talmud, its color and texture are meant to recall mortar , which the Israelites used when they were enslaved in Ancient Egypt, as mentioned in Tractate Pesahim 116a of the Talmud. The word comes from the Hebrew word for clay (Hebrew: חֶרֶס, romanized: ḥéres). Charoset is one of the symbolic foods on the Passover Seder plate. After reciting the blessings, and eating first maror dipped in charoset and then a matzah "Hillel sandwich" (with two matzot) combining charoset and maror, people often eat the remainder spread on matzah.

Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring in other foods. The cacao tree has been used as a source of food for at least 5,300 years, starting with the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in what is present-day Ecuador. Later, Mesoamerican civilizations consumed cacao beverages, of which one, chocolate, was introduced to Europe in the 16th century.

A chocolate biscuit is a biscuit which is covered in chocolate, or which has been made by replacing some of the flour with cocoa powder. Chocolate biscuits are quite popular in places all over the world, particularly the United Kingdom. The composition and recipe may vary considerably and there is often legislation to specify how the biscuit may be described. In the United Kingdom, a biscuit made without an external coating may only be described as "chocolate" if it contains at least 3% of dry cocoa solids. If there is a coating, this must contain cocoa butter as the fat to be described as chocolate, rather than just "chocolate-flavoured". In 1891, the Cadbury brothers filed a patent for a chocolate-coated biscuit.

Chocolate cake or chocolate gâteau is a cake flavored with melted chocolate, cocoa powder, or both. It can also have other ingredients such as fudge, vanilla creme, and other sweeteners. The history of chocolate cake goes back to the 17th century, when cocoa powder from the Americas was added to traditional cake recipes.

A mousse is a soft prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. Depending on preparation techniques, it can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick. A mousse may be sweet or savoury. Sweet mousses are typically made with whipped egg whites, whipped cream, or both, and flavored with one or more of chocolate, coffee, caramel, puréed fruits, or various herbs and spices, such as mint or vanilla. In the case of some chocolate mousses, egg yolks are often stirred into melted chocolate to give the final product a richer mouthfeel. Mousses are also typically chilled before being served, which gives them a denser texture. Additionally, mousses are often frozen into silicone molds and unmolded to give the mousse a defined shape. Sweetened mousse is served as a dessert or used as an airy cake filling. It is sometimes stabilized with gelatin. Savoury mousses can be made from meat, fish, shellfish, foie gras, cheese, or vegetables. Hot mousses often get their light texture from the addition of beaten egg whites.

Christmas cake is a type of cake, often fruitcake, served at Christmas time in many countries. Christmas cake is an English tradition that began as plum porridge. A traditional English Christmas cake is made with moist Zante currants, sultanas and raisins which have been soaked in brandy, rum, whisky or sherry. The cake may be covered in layers of marzipan, then icing and is usually decorated, often with plaid ribbon bands and Christmas models such as snowmen, fir trees or Father Christmas. A Scottish speciality is the traditional Christmas cake, the "Whisky Dundee". As the name implies, the cake originated in Dundee, and is made with Scotch whisky. It is a light and crumbly cake, and light on fruit and candied peel; only currants, raisins, sultanas and cherries. There is also the Scottish black bun, of a similar recipe using whisky and often caraway seeds, eaten on Hogmanay.

Christmas pudding is sweet, dried-fruit pudding cake traditionally served as part of Christmas dinner in Britain and other countries to which the tradition has been exported. It has its origins in medieval England, with early recipes making use of dried fruit, suet, breadcrumbs, flour, eggs and spice, along with liquid such as milk or fortified wine. Later, recipes became more elaborate. In 1845, cookery writer Eliza Acton wrote the first recipe for a dish called "Christmas pudding". The dish is sometimes known as plum pudding . The word "plum" was used then for what has been called a "raisin" since the 18th century, and the pudding does not contain plums in the modern sense of the word.

Coconut cake is a popular dessert in the Southern region of the United States. It is a cake frosted with a white frosting and covered in coconut flakes. Typically, the cakes used in coconut cake are either white or yellow cakes. While some recipes do not call for coconut flavor in the cake itself, there are others that replace the milk with coconut milk and/or use coconut extract. It is also common to brush the cakes with a simple syrup to make it more moist. Often the cake layers are filled with either a white frosting or coconut pastry cream. Traditionally, the cake is frosted with a 7-minute frosting, but cream cheese icings and buttercreams are not uncommon. Like the cakes, coconut flavor is not always a must in the frosting. One constant characteristic of coconut cake is the use of shredded coconut to cover the frosting. One popular variation of coconut cake is coconut poke cake. While traditional coconut cake is round and multi-layered, coconut poke cake is either a white or yellow cake that is rectangular and single-layered. What makes it a "poke" cake are the holes made into the cake to act as pores to absorb a coconut liquid mixture or cream of coconut, such as CoCo Lopez. Afterwards, the cake is frosted with a whipped topping.

Coconut ice is a British confectionery prepared using grated desiccated coconut or just grated coconut, condensed milk and sugar, which is formed to create a solid, soft candy. It typically has a chewy, soft and mildly grainy texture; some versions are semi-hard. Coconut ice is also available in South Africa, some areas of Australia, and New Zealand. Pink food colouring is sometimes added, often on half of the sweet, resulting in pink and white colouration. This is done by layering the coloured mixture with a separate layer of uncoloured product, and then slicing the result into individual pieces. In modern versions, honey gelatin is sometimes also used as an ingredient. Coconut ice was traditionally prepared at home in Britain, traditionally using coconut and boiled sugar syrup. Early versions using sugar syrup had a short shelf life, sometimes dried out and became excessively grainy in texture, and sometimes fermented. The origin of use of the word "ice" in the confectionery's name is not known, but it may have derived from its general appearance and colouration.

Crème brûlée , also known as burnt cream, Cambridge burnt cream, or Trinity cream, and virtually identical to crema catalana, is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar. It is normally served slightly chilled; the heat from the caramelizing process tends to warm the top of the custard, while leaving the center cool. The custard base is generally flavored with vanilla in French cuisine, but can have other flavorings. It is sometimes garnished with fruit. The earliest known recipe of a dessert called crème brûlée appears in François Massialot's 1691 cookbook Cuisinier royal et bourgeois, but its ultimate origins are unclear.

Oatmeal and coconut bars, serve with tea or coffee

Custard tarts or flan pâtissier/parisien are a baked pastry consisting of an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard. The development of custard is so intimately connected with the custard tart or pie that the word itself comes from Anglo-Norman *crustade , meaning a kind of pie. It is derived from Anglo-Norman crust (> English crust) corresponding to French croust. It is related to the 18th century French term croustade, probably borrowed from the Italian crostata (already mentioned 13th century), derived from crosta (croûte in French), more probably than the Occitan Occitan: croustado, lit. 'tart'. Some other names for varieties of custard tarts in the Middle Ages were doucettes and darioles. In 1399, the coronation banquet prepared for Henry IV included "doucettys".

Ice cream topped with Kahlua or Amarula liqueurs, or whiskey, similar to a milkshake

Cookie dough designed specifically to be eaten raw, made without raw eggs and uses heat-treated flour.

A falooda is a Mughlai cold dessert made with vermicelli. It has origins in the Persian dish faloodeh, variants of which are found across West, Central, South and Southeast Asia. Traditionally it is made by mixing rose syrup, vermicelli, and sweet basil seeds with milk, often served with ice cream. The vermicelli used for preparing falooda is made from wheat, arrowroot, cornstarch, or sago. The origin of falooda goes back to Iran , where a similar dessert, faloodeh, is still popular. The dessert came to late Medieval India with the many Central Asian dynasties that invaded and settled in South Asia in the 16th to 18th century. The present form of falooda was developed in the Mughal Empire and spread with its conquests. The Persianate rulers who succeeded from the Mughals patronized the dessert with their own adaptations, specifically in Hyderabad Deccan and the Carnatic areas of present-day India. This beverage is now a part of Pakistani cuisine, Afghan cuisine, Burmese cuisine, Indian cuisine, Bangladeshi cuisine and Sri Lankan cuisine and is served on weddings and other occasions. In Sri Lanka, Falooda (ෆලුඩා / ஃபலூடா) is often consumed as a popular dairy refreshment.

A flapjack is a baked bar, cooked in a flat oven tin and cut into squares or rectangles, made from rolled oats, fat (typically butter), brown sugar and usually golden syrup. The North American granola bar is similar to a flapjack. As well as being baked at home, they are widely available in shops, ready-packaged, often with extra ingredients such as chocolate, dried fruit such as glace cherries, nuts, yoghurt and toffee pieces or coatings, either as individual servings or full unsliced trayfuls. Some flapjacks may contain maple syrup. They are usually an alternative to a biscuit or cake, and textures range from soft and moist to dry and crisp. Because of the high levels of fat and calories in traditional recipes, some "diet" versions are available with lower fat and calorie content.

Florentine biscuit is a sweet biscuit of nuts and fruit. It was most likely invented in France in the 17th century and not in Italy (despite their name). Florentines are made of nuts (typically hazelnuts and almonds) and candied cherries mixed with sugar melted together with butter and honey, cooked in an oven. They are often coated on the bottom with chocolate, which is traditionally scored in a wave pattern with the tines of a fork for decoration. Other types of candied fruit are used as well. They typically contain neither flour nor eggs.

Fudge is a type of dessert bar that is made by mixing sugar, butter and milk. It has its origins in the 17th century United States, and became popular in American women's colleges in the late 19th century. Fudge can come in a variety of flavorings depending on the region or country it was made; popular flavors include fruit, nut, chocolate and caramel. Fudge is often bought as a gift from a gift shop in tourist areas and attractions. The term fudge is said to have originated in the 17th century from the verb fadge and means "to fit together in a clumsy manner". During this period, fudge was used as an interjection by sailors to respond to nonsense or untruth. Fudge as a confection gained traction in the United States during the late 19th century; recipes for fudge were printed in many periodicals and advertisements during the 1880s. Its inexpensive, unrefined qualities made it popular among people looking for an alternative that fell between expensive candies and the cheapest sweets. Specialized fudge shops began opening in tourist places such as Mackinac Island, Michigan, in 1887. The increase in fudge's popularity was partly due to the accessibility of its production process: ordinary people were able to make it in their homes without any specialized equipment. In addition, the cost of refined white sugar had been decreasing at the time, cutting production costs.

Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp as a ginger snap. Originally, the term gingerbread referred to preserved ginger. It then referred to a confection made with honey and spices. Gingerbread is often used to translate the French term pain d'épices (lit. 'spice bread') or the German and Polish terms Pfefferkuchen and Piernik respectively (lit. 'pepper cake' because it used to contain pepper) or Lebkuchen (of unclear etymology; either Latin libum, meaning "sacrifice" or "sacrificial bread," or German Laib for loaf or German for life, Leben). Pepper is also referenced in regional names like Norwegian pepperkaker or Czech perník (originally peprník). The meaning of gingerbread has evolved over time. For centuries the term referred to a traditional European pastry, very like a modern cookie, traditionally used to make gingerbread men. In the United States the first known recipe for "Soft gingerbread to be baked in pans" is found in Amelia Simmons' 1796 cookbook, American Cookery.

Halva is a type of confectionery that is widely spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, the Balkans, Central Asia, and South Asia. The name is used for a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made from flour, butter, liquid oil, saffron, rosewater, milk, turmeric powder, and sweetened with sugar. The word halva entered the English language between 1840 and 1850 from Romanian, which came from Ottoman Turkish: حلوى, romanized: helva, itself ultimately derived from Arabic: حلوى, romanized: ḥalwā, a sweet confection. The root in Arabic: ح ل و, romanized: ḥ-l-w, means "sweet". The original name for the confection was Persian: روغن خورديگ, romanized: rōɣn khordīg, meaning "oil food".

A hamantash is an Ashkenazi Jewish triangular filled-pocket pastry associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim. The name refers to Haman, the villain in the Purim story. In Hebrew, hamantashen are also known as אוזני המן (oznei Haman), meaning "Haman's ears". "Haman's ears" also refers to a Sephardic Purim pastry, "Orejas de Haman", thought to originate in Spain and Italy, that is made by frying twisted or rolled strips of dough. Traditionally, the dough for hamantashen was made with yeast. With the invention of baking powder during the 1840s and its wide adoption during the first half of the twentieth century, baking powder supplanted yeast, and hamantashen dough became a cookie rather than pastry dough. To shape a hamantash, a filling is placed in the center of a circle of dough, which is then either folded in half and shaped into a triangle or the sides are brought to the center to form a triangle. The oldest and most traditional filling is mohn (poppy seed paste), with powidl or lekvar (prune jam) a close second. The cookie dough variety has spawned many different fillings, traditionally sweet (although savory varieties have become popular as well). Most popular are various jams, especially apricot and raspberry, but also date, raisins, apple, vanilla pastry cream with chocolate chips, cherry, fig, chocolate, dulce de leche, halva, caramel, or cheese. The dough varies from hard like shortbread to a soft yeast dough.

A Hertzoggie /hɜːrtsɒxi/, also known in Afrikaans as a Hertzogkoekie or in English as a Hertzog cookie, is a jam-filled tartlet or cookie with a coconut topping commonly served on a cup-like pastry base. The cookie is a popular dessert in South Africa where it is often eaten with a cup of English tea. In the Cape Malay community the dessert is often eaten during Eid. It is often baked at home as part of a dessert-baking cottage industry in the country and sold alongside other popular South African desserts such as koeksisters.

Sweet bread made with ice cream

Cooked maize and pumpkin, a side dish, also used in some dessert recipes

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. Jaggery comes from Portuguese terms jágara, jagra, borrowed from Malayalam ശർക്കര , which is borrowed from Sanskrit शर्करा (śarkarā). It is a doublet of sugar.

Jalebi [a] is a popular sweet snack in the Indian subcontinent, West Asia and some parts of Africa. It goes by many names, including jilapi, zelepi, jilebi, jilipi, zulbia, zoolbia, jerry, mushabak, z'labia, or zalabia. The south Asian variety is made by deep-frying maida flour batter in pretzel or circular shapes, which are then soaked in sugar syrup. Jalebi is eaten with curd or rabri (in North India) along with optional other flavors such as kewra (scented water).

A jam cake in the United Kingdom often refers to a sponge cake filled with jam, commonly raspberry or strawberry, and sometimes accompanied by whipped cream. The Victoria sponge cake is a classic example, named after Queen Victoria, and is a popular choice for afternoon tea.

A cake-like dessert soaked in an orange and vanilla sauce, named after a well-known Springbok rugby player in the 1960s and 1970s

Buttermilk pudding

Kheer, also known as payasam or payesh, is a pudding or porridge popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice. It can be additionally flavoured with dried fruits, nuts, cardamom and saffron. Instead of rice, it may contain cracked wheat, vermicelli , sago or tapioca (sabudana). In Southern India, it is known as payasam and it is made in various ways. The most popular versions are the ones made with rice and vermicelli (semiya).

Kichel is a slightly sweet cracker or cookie in Jewish cuisine. Made from eggs, flour, and sugar, the dough is rolled out flat and cut into bow-tie shapes. Commercially prepared kichel are dry, bow-tie shaped pastries sprinkled with sugar. They are traditionally served at the kiddush in synagogues after Shabbat services and are also a popular dessert at Rosh Hashanah. Kichlach seem to have developed in central or eastern Europe in Ashkenazi Jewish communities by the nineteenth century and subsequently gained popularity around the world with the diaspora and migrations in the twentieth century. Kiddush in early twentieth-century Ashkenazi synagogues centered around kichlach, pickled herring, and schnapps. Jews in South Africa still serve kichel with chopped herring, also a common practice in American synagogues until the 1950s. Kichlach are sometimes eaten with another kind of savoury dip or topping.

Coconut tart

A koeksister is a traditional Afrikaner confectionery made of fried dough infused in syrup or honey. There is also a Cape Malay version of the dish, which is a fried ball of dough that is rolled in desiccated coconut called a koesister. The name derives from the Dutch word "koek", which generally means a wheat flour confectionery. Koeksisters are prepared by frying plaited dough strips in oil, then submersing the hot fried dough into ice cold sugar syrup. Koeksisters have a golden crunchy crust and liquid syrup centre, are very sticky and sweet, and taste like honey.

A koesister or koe'sister is a traditional Cape Malay pastry often described as a spicy dumpling with a cake-like texture, finished off with a sprinkling of coconut. The inaugural World Koesister Day was celebrated on Sunday, 1 September 2019 at an event hosted at the Radisson RED Hotel V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa, in partnership with Vannie Kaap. World Koesister Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in September. Cape Malay koe'sisters are prepared from balls of dough including yeast and flavoured with cinnamon, aniseed, ginger, cardamom and dried tangerine skin powder, deep-frying in oil, allowing to cool, then cooking for a minute in boiling syrup and rolling in desiccated coconut.

Kugel is a baked casserole, most commonly made from lokshen (לאָקשן קוגל lokshen kugel) or potato (קארטאפל קוגל kartufl kugel). It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on Shabbos and Jewish holidays. American Jews also serve it for Thanksgiving dinner. The name of the dish comes from the Middle High German kugel meaning 'sphere, globe, ball'; thus the Yiddish name likely originated as a reference to the round, puffed-up shape of the original dishes (compare to German Gugelhupf—a type of ring-shaped cake). However, nowadays kugel is often baked in square pans. Litvaks (Jews from Lithuania, northeastern Poland and northern Russia) call the pudding kugel, Galitzianers (Jews from southeastern Poland and western Ukraine) call it kigel.

Kulfi is a frozen dairy dessert from the Indian subcontinent. It is often described as "traditional Indian ice cream". Kulfi originated in 16th-century Delhi during the Mughal era. It is part of the national cuisines of India and Pakistan.[citation needed] It is also popular in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East.[better source needed]

A lamington is an Australian cake made from squares of butter cake or sponge cake coated in an outer layer of chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut. The thin mixture is absorbed into the outside of the sponge cake and left to set, giving the cake a distinctive texture. A common variation has a layer of cream or strawberry jam between two lamington halves. Lamingtons are believed to be named after either Lord Lamington, who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901, or his wife, Lady Lamington. Most sources incline to the former. The earliest known reference to the naming of the lamington, from June 1927, links the cake to Lord Lamington.

Lemon meringue pie is a dessert pie consisting of a shortened pastry base filled with lemon curd and topped with meringue. Fruit desserts covered with baked meringue were found beginning in the 18th century in France. Menon's pommes meringuées are a sort of thick apple sauce or apple butter covered with baked meringue in his 1739 cookbook. A custard flavored with "citron" and covered with baked meringue, crême meringuée, was published by 1769 in English, apparently a translation of an earlier edition of Menon (1755?). Similar recipes cooked in a crust appear in 19th century America: apple pie covered with meringue, called 'apple a la turque' (1832) and 'apples meringuées' (1846). A generic 'meringue pie' based on any pie was documented in 1860. The name 'Lemon Meringue Pie' appears in 1869, but lemon custard pies with meringue topping were often simply called lemon cream pie. In literature one of the first references to this dessert can be found in the book 'Memoir and Letters of Jenny C. White Del Bal' by Rhoda E. White, published in 1868. A chocolate meringue variant exists. A stiff lemon-flavored custard is prepared with egg yolks, lemon zest and juice, sugar, and sometimes starch and baked in a pie crust. Uncooked meringue, usually shaped into peaks, is spread over the top, sometimes with a sprinkle of sugar, and briefly baked.

A macaron or French macaroon (/ˌmækəˈruːn/ MAK-ə-ROON) is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and often food colouring. Since the 19th century, a typical Parisian-style macaron has been a sandwich cookie filled with a ganache, buttercream or jam. As baked, the circular macaron displays a smooth, square-edged top, a ruffled circumference—referred to as the "crown" or "foot" (or "pied")—and a flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth. Macarons can be found in a wide variety of flavours that range from traditional sweet such as raspberry or chocolate to savoury (as a foie gras).

A macaroon is a small cake or cookie, originally made from ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar, but now often with coconut or other nuts. They may also include jam, chocolate, or other flavorings. The name macaroon is borrowed from French macaron, in turn from the Sicilian maccarone, a variant form of maccherone, the same word as macaroni. The origin of that is unclear; it may be from medieval Greek μακαρία, 'barley broth', or μακαρώνεια, 'funeral chant'. The etymology connecting it to Italian maccare, 'to bruise' is now rejected. The origin of the word may also have referred to a sort of gnocchi.[citation needed] Macaroons can be traced to a French monastery of the 8th century in the city of Cormery. Later, two Benedictine nuns, Sister Marguerite and Sister Marie-Elisabeth, came to Nancy, France seeking asylum during the French Revolution. The two women paid for their housing by baking and selling macaroons, and thus became known as the "Macaroon Sisters".

Madeira cake is a sponge or butter cake in traditional British cookery. It is sometimes mistakenly thought to originate from the Madeira Islands but was in fact named after Madeira wine from the islands, popular in England in the mid-1800s and often served with the cake. Madeirans produce their own traditional cake – bolo de mel, dark, spicy and honey-flavoured – which is very different. The cake has a firm yet light texture. It is eaten with tea or for breakfast and is traditionally flavoured with lemon. Nowadays, the English Madeira cake is often served with tea or liqueurs. Dating back to an original recipe in the 18th or 19th century, Madeira cake is similar to a pound cake or yellow cake. One of the earliest published recipes was by Eliza Acton in her Modern Cookery for Private Families (1845):

Malva pudding is a sweet pudding of South African origin. It contains apricot jam and has a spongy caramelised texture. A cream sauce is always poured over it while it is hot, and it is usually served warm with cold custard and/or ice-cream. Many South African restaurants offer this pudding, which is thought to originally be of Dutch then Cape Dutch origin, and is synonymous with the Cape. The pudding gained popularity on the West Coast of the United States after Oprah Winfrey's personal chef, Art Smith, served it for Christmas dinner in 2006 to pupils of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Cooked papaya, coated with sugar

Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal , sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables. It can also be used in biscuits or rolled into thin sheets and glazed for icing cakes, primarily birthday cakes, wedding cakes and Christmas cakes. Marzipan may also be used as a baking ingredient, as in stollen or banket. In some countries, it is shaped into small figures of animals as a traditional treat for New Year's Day or Christmas. Marzipan is also used in Tortell, and in some versions of king cake eaten during the Carnival season.

A spiced milk dessert or snack thickened with flour or sago, made with milk, cinnamon, cardamom, sugar, flour, top with butter and cinnamon sugar

Melktert is a South African dessert originally created by the Dutch settlers in the "Cape" (South Africa) consisting of a sweet pastry crust containing a custard filling made from milk, flour, sugar and eggs. The ratio of milk to eggs is higher than in a traditional Portuguese custard tart, British custard tart or Chinese egg tart, resulting in a lighter texture and a stronger milk flavour. The dessert originated among settlers at the Dutch Cape Colony in the 17th century, and is believed to have developed from the Dutch mattentaart, a cheesecake-like dessert which was included in the cookbook Een Notabel Boexcken Van Cokeryen (A Notable Book of Cookery) published by Thomas van der Noot around 1514. Some recipes require that the custard be baked in the crust, while others call for the custard to be prepared in advance, and then placed in the crust before serving. Cinnamon is often sprinkled over its surface, and the milk used for the custard may also be infused with a cinnamon stick before preparation. A staple at church fetes and home industries, and commonplace in South African supermarkets, melktert may be served chilled or at room temperature, or slightly warmed.

Small shortbread biscuits/cookies, may contain jam, icing, be turned into sandwich cookies

A mince pie is a sweet pie of English origin filled with mincemeat, being a mixture of fruit, spices and suet.[a] The pies are traditionally served during the Christmas season in much of the English-speaking world. Its ingredients are traceable to the 13th century, when returning European crusaders brought with them Middle Eastern recipes containing meats, fruits, and spices; these contained the Christian symbolism of representing the gifts delivered to Jesus by the Biblical Magi. Mince pies, at Christmas time, were traditionally shaped in an oblong shape, to resemble a manger and were often topped with a depiction of the Christ Child. The early mince pie was known by several names, including "mutton pie", "shrid pie" and "Christmas pie". Typically, its ingredients were a mixture of minced meat, suet, a range of fruits, and spices, such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Served around Christmas, the savoury Christmas pie (as it became known) was associated with supposed Catholic "idolatry", and during the English Civil War was frowned on by the Puritan authorities. Nevertheless, the tradition of eating Christmas pie in December continued through to the Victorian era, although by then its recipe had become sweeter and its size markedly reduced from its once large oblong shape. Today, the mince pie, usually made without meat (but often including suet or other animal fat), remains a popular seasonal treat enjoyed by many across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The ingredients for the modern mince pie can be traced to the return of European crusaders from the Holy Land. Middle Eastern methods of cooking, which sometimes combined meats, fruits and spices, were popular at the time. Pies were created from such mixtures of sweet and savoury foods; in Tudor England, shrid pies (as they were known then) were formed from shredded meat, suet and dried fruit. The addition of spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg was, according to the English antiquary John Timbs, "in token of the offerings of the Eastern Magi." Several authors, including Timbs, viewed the pie as being derived from an old Roman custom practised during Saturnalia, where Roman fathers in the Vatican were presented with sweetmeats. Early pies were much larger than those consumed today, and oblong shaped; the jurist John Selden presumed that "the coffin of our Christmas-Pies, in shape long, is in Imitation of the Cratch [Jesus's crib]", although writer T. F. Thistleton-Dyer thought Selden's explanation unlikely, as "in old English cookery books the crust of a pie is generally called 'the coffin'."

A mousse is a soft prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. Depending on preparation techniques, it can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick. A mousse may be sweet or savoury. Sweet mousses are typically made with whipped egg whites, whipped cream, or both, and flavored with one or more of chocolate, coffee, caramel, puréed fruits, or various herbs and spices, such as mint or vanilla. In the case of some chocolate mousses, egg yolks are often stirred into melted chocolate to give the final product a richer mouthfeel. Mousses are also typically chilled before being served, which gives them a denser texture. Additionally, mousses are often frozen into silicone molds and unmolded to give the mousse a defined shape. Sweetened mousse is served as a dessert or used as an airy cake filling. It is sometimes stabilized with gelatin. Savoury mousses can be made from meat, fish, shellfish, foie gras, cheese, or vegetables. Hot mousses often get their light texture from the addition of beaten egg whites.

Orange cake is a moist and flavorful dessert made with fresh orange juice and zest, giving it a bright citrus flavor. It can be prepared in various styles, such as a loaf, bundt, or layered cake, often topped with a sweet orange glaze.

Panna cotta is an Italian dessert of sweetened cream thickened with gelatin and molded. The cream may be aromatized with coffee, vanilla, or other flavorings. The name panna cotta is not mentioned in Italian cookbooks before the 1960s, yet it is often cited as a traditional dessert of the northern Italian region of Piedmont. One unverified story says that it was invented by a Hungarian woman in the Langhe in the early 19th century. An 1879 dictionary mentions a dish called latte inglese (lit. 'English milk'), made of cream cooked with gelatin and molded, although other sources say that latte inglese is made with egg yolks, such as crème anglaise; perhaps the name covered any thickened custard-like preparation. The dish might also come from the French recipe of fromage bavarois from Marie-Antoine Carême in le pâtissier royal parisien, which is the same as the modern panna cotta, except that one part of the cream is whipped to make chantilly and included in the preparation before adding the gelatin.

A pannenkoek ˌkuk] ⓘ; plural pannenkoeken [-ˌkukə(n)] ⓘ) or Dutch pancake is a style of pancake with origins in the Netherlands. Pannenkoeken are usually larger (up to a foot in diameter) and much thinner than their American or Scotch pancake counterparts, but not as thin as crêpes.[citation needed] They may incorporate slices of bacon, apples, cheese, or raisins. Plain ones are often eaten with treacle (syrup made of sugar beets), appelstroop (an unspiced Dutch variety of apple butter) or (powdered) sugar and are sometimes rolled up to be eaten by hand or with cutlery. Basic ingredients are flour (plain, self-rising or both), milk, salt, and eggs. The addition of buckwheat flour (up to 50 percent) is traditional, but much less common nowadays. Milk can be replaced with soy milk without changing the end result. The ingredients are beaten into a batter of a fairly liquid consistency. A ladle of batter is then pan fried in butter or oil. Once the top of the pannenkoek is dry and the edges start to brown, it can be flipped over. The first one is often less than perfect. At home a stack of pannenkoeken can be made in advance so everyone can eat at the same time, or people can take turns at the stove.

Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce to the thick pastry cream (crème pâtissière) used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used in custard desserts or dessert sauces and typically include sugar and vanilla; however, savory custards are also found, e.g., in quiche. Custard is usually cooked in a double boiler (bain-marie), or heated very gently in a saucepan on a stove, though custard can also be steamed, baked in the oven with or without a water bath, or even cooked in a pressure cooker. Custard preparation is a delicate operation because a temperature increase of 3–6 °C (5.4–10.8 °F) leads to overcooking and curdling. Generally, a fully cooked custard should not exceed 80 °C (176 °F); it begins setting at 70 °C (158 °F). A bain marie water bath slows heat transfer and makes it easier to remove the custard from the oven before it curdles. Adding a small amount of cornflour (U.S. corn starch) to the egg-sugar mixture stabilises the resulting custard, allowing it to be cooked in a single pan as well as in a double-boiler. A sous-vide water bath may be used to precisely control temperature.

Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert. Originating in either Australia or New Zealand in the early 20th century, it was named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. Taking the form of a cake-like circular block of baked meringue, pavlova has a crisp crust and soft, light inside. The confection is usually topped with fruit and whipped cream. The name is commonly pronounced /pævˈloʊvə/ pav-LOH-və or /pɑːvˈloʊvə/ pahv-LOH-və, and occasionally closer to the name of the dancer, as /ˈpɑːvləvə/ PAHV-lə-və.

Peanut butter cake is a moist and rich dessert made primarily with peanut butter, flour, sugar, and eggs, often topped with a creamy peanut butter frosting. It's a favorite among peanut butter lovers and is perfect for gatherings and celebrations.

South African cuisine reflects the diverse range of culinary traditions embodied by the various communities that inhabit the country. Among the indigenous peoples of South Africa, the Khoisan foraged over 300 species of edible food plants, such as the rooibos shrub legume, whose culinary value continues to exert a salient influence on South African cuisine. Subsequent encounters with Bantu pastoralists facilitated the emergence of cultivated crops and domestic cattle, which supplemented traditional Khoisan techniques of meat preservation. In addition, Bantu-speaking communities forged an extensive repertoire of culinary ingredients and dishes, many of which are still consumed today in traditional settlements and urban entrepôts alike. The San peoples were hunter-gatherers, who mostly depended on foods like tortoises, crayfish, coconuts and squash. Agriculture was introduced to South Africa by the Bantu peoples, who continue in the cultivation of grain, starch fruit and root tubers — in the manner of maize, squash and sweet potatoes, following their introduction in the Columbian exchange, displacing the production of many Old World food crops. Mabele and madumbe (cocoyam, taro, or arrowroot) also continue to be widely cultivated.

Pineapple tart is a small, bite-size tart filled or topped with pineapple jam, commonly found throughout different parts of Southeast Asia such as Indonesia , Malaysia (Baba Malay: kueh tae or kuih tair, Malay language: kuih tat nanas; Jawi: تت نانس/ننس‎), Brunei and Singapore in various forms. The pineapple tart may have been invented in the 16th century. This is around the time the pineapple, a fruit native to South America, was introduced to Asia and the Malay Peninsula by Portuguese merchants. The pastry consists of a large proportion of butter and egg yolk, and some corn starch, giving it a rich, buttery, tender and melt-in-the-mouth texture. The pineapple jam is usually made through a slow reduction of grated fresh pineapple that is caramelized with a mix of sugar and spices, usually cinnamon, star anise and cloves.

Pudding or dessert, many different kinds

A profiterole , chou à la crème ( French: [ʃu a la kʁɛm]), also known alternatively as a cream puff (US), is a filled French choux pastry ball with a typically sweet and moist filling of whipped cream, custard, pastry cream, or ice cream. The puffs may be embellished or left plain or garnished with chocolate sauce, caramel, or a dusting of powdered sugar. Savory profiterole are also made, filled with pureed meats, cheese, and so on. These were formerly common garnishes for soups. The various names may be associated with particular variants of filling or sauce in different places. Choux pastry dough is piped through a pastry bag or dropped with a pair of spoons into small balls and baked to form largely hollow puffs. After cooling, the baked profiteroles are injected with filling using a pastry bag and narrow piping tip, or by slicing off the top, filling them, and reassembling. For sweet profiteroles, additional glazes or decorations may then be added.

British and Irish queen cakes are cupcakes or sweet buns with, for example, currants, chocolate chips, topped with frosting, South African queen cakes are cupcakes, served plain or topped with sprinkles, traditionally served with tea

Chocolate and coconut cookies with a chocolate filling

Rosettes are thin, cookie-like fritters made with iron molds that are found in many cultures. They are crispy and characterized by their lacy pattern. The batter is a blend of wheat, flour, eggs, sugar, and whole milk. Rosette cookies are formed with a rosette iron. This specialized tool has a long handle and with a metal shape, commonly stars, flowers, snowflakes or Christmas trees. In Kerala, India, Rosette cookies known as Achappam are made using rice flour.

A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a wheat-based food additive. In Argentina, rusk is called tostadas de mesa , slices of twice-baked bread generally available in supermarkets in plain and sweetened variants. Cake rusk is called bay biscuit; its ingredients are egg, sugar, oil, self-rising flour, and vanilla.

Sago pudding is a sweet pudding made by combining sago pearls with either water or milk and adding sugar and sometimes additional flavourings. It is made in many cultures with varying styles, and may be produced in a variety of ways. Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia and Malaysia, produces the majority of sago. In Malaysia, sago gula melaka is a sago pudding made by boiling pearl sago in water and serving it with syrup of palm sugar and coconut milk. In Myanmar, thagu byin is a sago pudding made with sago, coconut milk and condensed milk.

Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Shortbread does not contain any leavening, such as baking powder or baking soda. Shortbread is widely associated with Christmas and Hogmanay festivities in Scotland, and some Scottish brands are exported around the world. Shortbread originated in Scotland. Although it was prepared during much of the 12th century, and probably benefited from cultural exchange with French pastry chefs during the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland, the refinement of shortbread is popularly credited to Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century. Despite the enduring popular association, evidence for any connection between Mary and shortbread's origin is sparse. Triangular wedges of shortbread became known as "petticoat tails", and this form of shortbread has become particularly associated with Mary, Queen of Scots. It has been suggested that a French term for the wedges of shortbread was petits gâteaux or petites gatelles – little cakes, and this became "petticoat tails". It is now thought the Scots term derives from the decorated round edge of the segments which resemble petticoats.

Chocolate cake