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Belgium

Belgium, located in Western Europe, is known for its medieval towns, Renaissance architecture, and as the political heart of the European Union, hosting Brussels, where the EU's headquarters are situated. The country is famously divided linguistically and culturally between Flemish-speaking Flanders in the north and French-speaking Wallonia in the south, with a small German-speaking community in the east. Belgium is celebrated for its chocolate, beer, and waffles, and it's also home to NATO's headquarters.

Belgium

Featured Dishes from Belgium

Baghrir

Baghrir

Baghrir or beghrir , also known as ghrayef or mchahda, is a pancake consumed in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. They are small, spongy, and made with semolina or flour; when cooked correctly, they are riddled with tiny holes (which soak up whatever sauce they are served with). The most common way to eat baghrir in Algeria and Morocco is by dipping them in a honey-butter mixture, but they can also be cut into wedges and served with jam. Baghrir is popular for breakfast, as a snack, and for iftar during Ramadan. On the 9th day of Ramadan, the Mozabite people of Algeria exchange baghrir as a form of tradition, which they call m'layin; they are also distributed to the poor. In the Maghreb, this type of pancake is also known under other names: gh'rayf, in Tunisia and eastern Algeria (Constantine, Collo, Skikda), kh'ringu in Morocco and Algeria, [grifa, gh'rayf]; [m'layn, s. m'layna]; [gh’rayf]; [gh’rayf]; [kh’ringu, kh’ringu]; [khringu] in Algeria. This lexical diversity undoubtedly denotes a rich and ancient regional tradition. As for the word baghrir, it seems to be typical of Maghrebi-Western Arabic dialects (Morocco, Algeria), in any case it is unknown to us elsewhere. The lexicographer Mohamed Sbihi considers, in his Mu'djam, that the word baghrir is in some way an alteration of the Arabic baghir of the verb baghara; the baghir, according to the classic Arabic dictionaries, is the one who drinks without being able to quench his thirst (generally said of an animal). It is possible that the word was used in this case by allusion to the great absorbability of these pancakes, which have holes like a sponge.

Baguette

Baguette

A baguette is a long, thin type of bread of French origin that is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust. A baguette has a diameter of about 5 to 6 cm (2–2+1⁄2 in) and a usual length of about 65 cm (26 in), but can be up to 1 m (39 in) long.

Beschuit

Beschuit

Muisjes are aniseed comfits and are a traditional Dutch bread topping. While customary on bread, they are traditionally eaten on beschuit, or rusk. Muisjes is a registered trademark of Koninklijke De Ruijter BV. Muisjes are made of aniseeds with a sugared and colored outer layer. They are currently only produced by the Dutch food processing company De Ruijter [nl], a brand acquired by Heinz in 2001. It's uncertain why the name "little mice" was chosen. It may have been that the stem of the seed reminded people of a mouse's tail, or it may have been that the mouse's fast reproductive cycle was further used as symbolism for healthy childbirth. In Belgium it refers to droppings of the mice.[citation needed]

Chausson aux pommes

Chausson aux pommes

Cheese

Cheese

Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk . During production, milk is usually acidified and either the enzymes of rennet or bacterial enzymes with similar activity are added to cause the casein to coagulate. The solid curds are then separated from the liquid whey and pressed into finished cheese. Some cheeses have aromatic molds on the rind, the outer layer, or throughout. Over a thousand types of cheese exist, produced in various countries. Their styles, textures and flavors depend on the origin of the milk (including the animal's diet), whether they have been pasteurised, the butterfat content, the bacteria and mold, the processing, and how long they have been aged. Herbs, spices, or wood smoke may be used as flavoring agents. Other added ingredients may include black pepper, garlic, chives or cranberries. A cheesemonger, or specialist seller of cheeses, may have expertise with selecting, purchasing, receiving, storing and ripening cheeses.

Chia pudding

Chia pudding

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.

Chipolata

Chipolata

A chipolata is a type of fresh sausage, likely created in France. Sausages by that name appear in the 1903 edition of Escoffier's Le guide culinaire. Chipolatas are often prepared as a relatively thin and short sausage. Chipolatas are typically made from coarse-ground pork seasoned with salt and pepper together with herbs and spices—according to the particular recipe—such as sage, thyme, pimento, or nutmeg. : 289 The word is French and probably derives from the Italian cipollata, which essentially means "made with onions" and according to some sources may have referred to an onion stew with sausages. Chipolatas are common in the United Kingdom. They frequently appear as part of a Christmas dinner wrapped in streaky bacon as pigs in blankets.

Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially available. There are also various coffee substitutes. Typically served hot, coffee has the highest sales in the world market for hot drinks. Coffee production begins when the seeds from coffee cherries are separated to produce unroasted green coffee beans. The "beans" are roasted and then ground into fine particles. Coffee is brewed from the ground roasted beans, which are typically steeped in hot water before being filtered out. It is usually served hot, although chilled or iced coffee is common. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways (e.g., espresso, French press, caffè latte, or already-brewed canned coffee). Sugar, sugar substitutes, milk, and cream are often added to mask the bitter taste or enhance the flavor.

Confitures

Confitures

A confiture is any fruit jam, marmalade, paste, sweetmeat, or fruit stewed in thick syrup. Confit, the root of the word, comes from the French word confire which means literally preserved; a confit being any type of food that is cooked slowly over a long period of time as a method of preservation.

Cramique

Cramique

Sweet raisin bread, top with butter, chocolate paste, speculoos paste, serve with coffee or chocolate milk

Croissant

Croissant

A croissant wæsɒ̃/, French: [kʁwasɑ̃] ⓘ) is a French pastry in a crescent shape made from a laminated yeast dough similar to puff pastry. It is a buttery, flaky, viennoiserie pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian kipferl, but using the French yeast-leavened laminated dough. Croissants are named for their historical crescent shape. The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a thin sheet, in a technique called laminating. The process results in a layered, flaky texture, similar to a puff pastry.

French toast

French toast

French toast is a dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, and poor knights . When French toast is served as a sweet dish, sugar, vanilla, or cinnamon are also commonly added before pan-frying, and then it may be topped with sugar (often powdered sugar), butter, fruit, or syrup. When it is a savory dish, it is generally fried with a pinch of salt or pepper, and it can then be served with a sauce such as ketchup or mayonnaise.

Harcha

Harcha

Harcha is a griddle- or pan-cooked semolina flatbread native to the Middle Atlas in Morocco. It is also found in Algeria. The cakes are made from a dough of semolina, butter, and milk or water, and leavened with baking powder. The dough may also contain some sugar. The dough is formed into rounds and then cooked on a hot griddle or flat pan. The use of semolina gives harcha a crumbly texture comparable to cornbread. In the Rif, Morocco, buttermilk or yogurt, thinned with water, can be used instead of milk. Harcha can be made into small breads, or large ones the size of a truck tire. Harcha is commonly smeared with honey and butter, and served with mint tea during breakfast or as a snack. It is also one of the breads consumed during Ramadan. It can also be served like a sandwich, stuffed with cheese or with meat confit. It can be crumbled and used as a tender bed for stew.

Honey

Honey

Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants or the secretions of other insects, like the honeydew of aphids. This refinement takes place both within individual bees, through regurgitation and enzymatic activity, and during storage in the hive, through water evaporation that concentrates the honey's sugars until it is thick and viscous. Honey bees stockpile honey in the hive. Within the hive is a structure made from wax called honeycomb. The honeycomb is made up of hundreds or thousands of hexagonal cells, into which the bees regurgitate honey for storage. Other honey-producing species of bee store the substance in different structures, such as the pots made of wax and resin used by the stingless bee.

Hot chocolate

Hot chocolate

Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved or melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener. It is often garnished with whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate made with melted chocolate is sometimes called drinking chocolate, characterized by less sweetness and a thicker consistency.

Koffiekoeken

Koffiekoeken

Pastries that go well with coffee, many different types

Lange suisse

Lange suisse

Brioche pastry filled with pastry cream and raisins

Méloui

Méloui

Msemmen or rghaif (رغايف), is a traditional flatbread originally from the Maghreb, commonly found in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. It is folded into square pancakes with multiple internal layers and cooked on a griddle, usually served with honey or a cup of aromatic morning mint tea or coffee. M'semmen can also be stuffed with meat (khlea) or onion and tomatoes. The small msemmen pancakes are of Berber origin. There is a variety that is made from pulling the dough into strands and forming a disk that is also called mlewi in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.

Muesli

Muesli

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.

Nutella on bread

Nutella on bread

Nutella is a brand of brown, sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread. Nutella is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero and was introduced in 1964, although its first iteration dates to 1963. Pietro Ferrero owned a bakery in Alba, an Italian town known for the production of hazelnuts. In 1946, he sold the initial 300-kilogram (660 lb) batch of Pasta Gianduja, derived from gianduja. Originally sold as a solid block, Ferrero started to sell a creamy version in 1951 as Supercrema gianduja. In 1963, Ferrero's son Michele Ferrero, alongside Francesco Rivella, revamped Supercrema gianduja with the intention of marketing it throughout Europe. Its composition was modified, and it was renamed "Nutella". The first jar of Nutella left the factory in Alba on April 20, 1964. The product was an instant success and remains widely popular.

Orange juice

Orange juice

Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. As well as variations in oranges used, some varieties include differing amounts of juice vesicles, known as "pulp" in American English, and " bits" in British English. These vesicles contain the juice of the orange and can be left in or removed during the manufacturing process. How juicy these vesicles are depend upon many factors, such as species, variety, and season. In American English, the beverage name is often abbreviated as "OJ". Commercial orange juice with a long shelf life is made by pasteurizing the juice and removing the oxygen from it. This removes much of the taste, necessitating the later addition of a flavor pack, generally made from orange products. Additionally, some juice is further processed by drying and later rehydrating the juice, or by concentrating the juice and later adding water to the concentrate.

Pain au chocolat

Pain au chocolat

Pain au chocolat , also known as chocolatine ( French: [ʃɔkɔlatin] ⓘ) in the south-west part of France and in French speaking parts of Canada, couque au chocolat in Belgium, or chocolate croissant in the United States, is a type of Viennoiserie pastry consisting of a cuboid-shaped piece of yeast-leavened laminated dough, similar in texture to a puff pastry, with one or two pieces of dark chocolate in the center. The chocolate usually has a slight bite to the texture. Pain au chocolat is made of the same layered doughs as a croissant. Often sold still hot or warm from the oven, they are commonly sold alongside croissants in French bakeries and supermarkets.

Pain aux raisins

Pain aux raisins

Pain aux raisins , also called escargot ( pronounced [ɛskaʁɡo] ⓘ) or pain russe, is a spiral pastry often eaten for breakfast in France. Its names translate as "raisin bread", "snail" and "Russian bread" respectively. It is a member of the pâtisserie viennoise family of baked foods. In France, it is typically a variant of the croissant or pain au chocolat, made with a leavened butter pastry with raisins added and shaped in a spiral with a crème pâtissière filling. However, in many areas of Northern Europe and North America, it is generally made with sweetened bread dough or brioche dough, rather than pastry. It is often consumed for breakfast as part of a continental breakfast.

Peperkoek

Peperkoek

An ontbijtkoek , peperkoek ( pronounced [ˈpeːpərˌkuk] ⓘ; 'pepper cake') or kruidkoek ( pronounced [ˈkrœytkuk] ⓘ; 'spice cake') is a Dutch and Flemish spiced cake. Rye and dark brown basterdsuiker are its most important ingredient, coloring the cake light brown. It is often spiced with cloves, cinnamon, ginger, succade and nutmeg. Several parts of the Netherlands have their own local recipe, of which the most famous is oudewijvenkoek (old woman's cake), which is mostly eaten in the northern regions, and is flavored with aniseed. Ontbijtkoek is traditionally served at breakfast with a thick layer of butter on top, as a replacement for bread, however, due to its sweet taste it is also served as a snack. It is best eaten the day after it is baked, but has a shelve life of several weeks at room temperatures, without it spoiling, due to the pH, sugar content and used spices. Ontbijtkoek resembles somewhat a soft gingerbread cake, but then with much less ginger, hardly any fat and more sugar. The sugar used is the typical Dutch basterdsuiker, an aromatic, moist and fine sugar, which gives a baking product its typical brown color and smooth texture. Basterdsuiker is protected by the EU and acknowledged as a Traditional speciality guaranteed. Its also used for koekhappen, the Dutch traditional game.

Pistolet

Pistolet

The pistolet is a typical Belgian variety of bread consisting of a small and round bread roll. The crust is usually hard and crispy, while the inside of the roll is soft. To make the bread roll, the dough must rise for 12 hours, and is also manipulated with a small stick. The bread should be light, airy and delicate on the inside, with a crisp crust. The pistolet roll is filled with a typical selection of meats, cheeses and condiments, which may include: cervelas sausages, boudin sausages, Ardennes ham, the Plattekaas cheese of Walschot, Ghent mustard, pickles, mayonnaise, local shrimp, farm butter, Red Flanders beef, kipkap (a kind of head pressed jelly), potjesvlees (meat in gelatin), Pipe d’Ardennes sausages, Bloempanch (black sausage obtained from pig blood), Herve raw milk cheese, and more. It might also be eaten with butter and jam for weekend breakfasts.

Riz au lait

Riz au lait

Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and commonly other ingredients such as sweeteners, spices, flavourings and sometimes eggs. Variants are used for either desserts or dinners. When used as a dessert, it is commonly combined with a sweetener such as sugar. Such desserts are found on many continents, especially Asia, where rice is a staple. Some variants are thickened only with the rice starch, while others include eggs, making them a kind of custard. Rice puddings are found in nearly every area of the world. Recipes can greatly vary even within a single country. The dessert can be boiled or baked. Different types of pudding vary depending on preparation methods and the selected ingredients. The following ingredients are usually found in rice puddings:

Sirop de liège

Sirop de liège

Sirop de Liège is a Belgian jam or jelly-like spread. Apple and pear are principally used, often with dates: other fruit such as apricot can be used as well. Sugar and other sweeteners are not normally needed. Cored fruit is cooked slowly until it falls apart, releasing the pectin from the skin. The compote is then pushed through a passoir, removing the skin, and breaking the fruit into mush. It is then reduced by slow cooking over several hours until the pectin sets, in the same way jam is, then tested by dropping a test piece into cold water. Typically, 6–8 kilograms (13–18 lb) of fruit produce 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of syrup. The slow cooking process is essential; one guide says that cooking down 12.5 U.S. gal (47 L; 10.4 imp gal) should take about 10 hours. Sirop de Liège, as its name would suggest, comes from the Liège region of Belgium, which roughly corresponds to the modern Liège Province. Many syrup makers were historically found there, though today syrup makers are primarily concentrated in the Pays de Herve region in the northeast of the province. The largest producer is Meurens in the Aubel municipality, producing two thousand tonnes of it per year under the trademark Vrai Sirop de Liège/Echte Luikse stroop. The area is rich in smaller producers including Charlier in Henri-Chapelle, or Delvaux in Horion-Hozémont.

Tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and northern Myanmar. Tea is also made, but rarely, from the leaves of Camellia taliensis. After plain water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. There are many different types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the third century AD, in a medical text written by Chinese physician Hua Tuo. It was popularised as a recreational drink during the Chinese Tang dynasty, and tea drinking subsequently spread to other East Asian countries. Portuguese priests and merchants introduced it to Europe during the 16th century. During the 17th century, drinking tea became fashionable among the English, who started to plant tea on a large scale in British India.

Uitsmijter

Uitsmijter

Strammer Max is a sandwich dish in German cuisine. The original Strammer Max is a slice of bread, sometimes fried in butter, covered with ham and fried egg. The ham may also be pan-fried; it is also possible to replace the ham with a slice of roast beef, in which case the dish is sometimes called Strammer Otto. Cheese and tomato are sometimes used, but these are later additions to the original recipe. Outside of the Berlin region, the term is also used for several other dishes. Regional variations of the term are not set in stone, and it is not always possible to tell in advance what dish will be served after ordering Strammer Max in a restaurant.

Wentelteefje

Wentelteefje

French toast is a dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, and poor knights . When French toast is served as a sweet dish, sugar, vanilla, or cinnamon are also commonly added before pan-frying, and then it may be topped with sugar (often powdered sugar), butter, fruit, or syrup. When it is a savory dish, it is generally fried with a pinch of salt or pepper, and it can then be served with a sauce such as ketchup or mayonnaise.

Yaourt

Yaourt

Yogurt is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and characteristic tart flavor. Cow's milk is most commonly used to make yogurt. Milk from water buffalo, goats, ewes, mares, camels, and yaks is also used to produce yogurt. The milk used may be homogenized or not. It may be pasteurized or raw. Each type of milk produces substantially different results. Yogurt is produced using a culture of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus bacteria. Other lactobacilli and bifidobacteria are sometimes added during or after culturing yogurt. Some countries require yogurt to contain a specific amount of colony-forming units (CFU) of bacteria; for example, in China the requirement for the number of lactobacillus bacteria is at least 1 million CFU per milliliter. Some countries also regulate which bacteria can be used: for example, in France, a product can only be labeled as "yaourt" or "yoghourt" if it has been fermented exclusively by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, a requirement that aligns with the international definition of yogurt in the Codex Alimentarius on fermented milk (CXS 243-2003.

Antwerpse handjes

Antwerpse handjes

Hand-shaped shortcrust cookies made with almonds, white and brown sugar

Apfelstrudel

Apfelstrudel

Apple strudel is a traditional Viennese strudel, a popular pastry in Austria, Switzerland, Bavaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Northern Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and other countries in Europe that once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1918). Strudel, a German word, derives from the Middle High German word for "swirl", "whirlpool" or "eddy". The apple strudel variant is called strudel di mele in Italian, strudel jabłkowy in Polish, jablečný štrúdl in Czech, strudel de mere in Romanian, jabolčni zavitek in Slovenian, štrudla od jabuka or savijača s jabukama in Croatian,almásrétes in Hungarian, strudel da mëiles in Ladin and Apfelstrudel in German.

Appelbeignet

Appelbeignet

Apple fritters, common during New Year's Eve

Appelflap

Appelflap

Pastry containing diced apples and cinnamon, with sugar, lemon peel and rum powder on top. Use Golden Delicious or Schone van Boskoop (Goudreinet) apples. Serve with hot or iced coffee

Appeltaart

Appeltaart

Baba au rhum

Baba au rhum

A rum baba or baba au rhum is a small yeast cake saturated in syrup made with hard liquor, usually rum, and sometimes filled with whipped cream or pastry cream. It is most typically made in individual servings but sometimes can be made in larger forms similar to those used for Bundt cakes. The batter for baba includes eggs, milk and butter.

Babelutte

Babelutte

A Babelutte is a sort of long toffee flavoured with honey or vergeoise from Veurne, in Westhoek (West Flanders, Belgium). The candy is closely related to Butterscotch. The name is likely to come from the Flemish "babbelen", speaking a lot, and "uit", finished because when you eat the toffee, you cannot speak anymore (either because you are enjoying it or because you cannot open the mouth). An opposing but similar explanation attributes the origin of the word to "babbelle" (which means "chatty" in Ch'ti). The candy originates from the 19th century, from a couple that prepared and sold it to tourists on Belgian coastal beaches.

Babka

Babka

A babka is a sweet braided bread which originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine. It is popular in Israel and in the Jewish diaspora. It is prepared with a yeast-leavened dough that is rolled out and spread with a filling such as chocolate, cinnamon, fruit, or cheese, then rolled up and braided before baking. Babka developed in Poland and next in the Jewish communities of Central and Eastern Europe in the early 19th century.[citation needed] Extra challah dough was rolled up with fruit jam or cinnamon and baked as a loaf alongside the challah. Chocolate was not originally used, as it was not generally available; the chocolate babka was likely a mid-20th century American development. Its name (though not necessarily the dish itself) may be related to a type of Easter cake popular in Poland and Ukraine known as baba or the diminutive babka, which means "grandmother", related to the Yiddish bubbe. Although the Polish and Ukrainian babka are mutually synonymous with their Jewish counterparts, the appearance and preparation of each babka is drastically different. The Eastern European babka is known for its tall, stout, fluted sides formed in a traditional pan, and reminiscent of a grandma's skirt. In comparison, the variant introduced by émigrés to New York consists of strands of rich yeasted dough interwoven and baked in a loaf tin.

Banane au four

Banane au four

Baked bananas or plantains

Banket

Banket

Banket is a type of sweet pastry filled with almond paste, which originated in the Netherlands. It is made in several forms, each of which goes by various names. One variety consists of long bars or loaves which are sliced into individual servings – also referred to in English as almond rolls or almond patties, and in Dutch as banketstaven. Another variety are rolled logs shaped into letters – also referred to in English as Dutch letters, banket letters, almond letters, or butter letters; and in Dutch as banketletter or boterletter. It is sometimes made as individual banket or almond patties. Banket is made by rolling pastry dough around an almond paste filling, then baking it. The pastry has a porous, airy, and flaky texture, with a dense granular filling. In the Netherlands and in ethnic Dutch communities in the Midwestern United States, it is most popular during Christmas season. It is also popular during Dutch festivals in the United States.

Belgische boterkoek

Belgische boterkoek

A croissant-like pastry, may contain raisins, the Belgian boterkoek pastry is different from the Dutch butter cake of the same name

Berliner

Berliner

A Berliner or Krapfen is a German jam doughnut with no central hole, made from sweet yeast dough fried in lard or cooking oil, with a jam filling, and usually covered in powdered sugar. Sugar was very costly until the 16th century, and early doughnuts were usually stuffed with savory fillings like cheese, meat and mushroom. When imports from Caribbean sugar plantations made sugar more affordable, fruit preserves gained in popularity. In 1485, the first German-language cookbook to be published in printed form Kuechenmeisterei was published in Nuremberg and remained in print at least until 1674 with 20 editions . It was one of the first cookbooks printed using the Gutenberg press and contains the first known recipe for a jelly doughnut, called Gefüllte Krapfen made with jam-filled yeasted bread dough deep-fried in lard. It's unknown whether this innovation was the author's own or simply a record of an existing practice. The yeast dough contains a good deal of eggs, milk and butter. For the classical Pfannkuchen made in Berlin the dough is rolled into a ball, deep-fried in lard, whereby the distinctive bright bulge occurs, and then filled with jam. The filling is related to the topping:[citation needed] for plum-butter, powdered sugar; for raspberry, strawberry and cherry jam, sugar; for all other fillings, sugar icing, sometimes flavoured with rum. Today the filling usually is injected with a large syringe or pastry bag after the dough is fried in one piece.

Bernardins

Bernardins

Oval-shaped almond cookies

Biétrumé

Biétrumé

Toffee caramel with roasted hazelnuts

Blancmange

Blancmange

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]

Bomboloni

Bomboloni

Bombolone is an Italian filled doughnut (similar to Berliner and pączek), eaten as a snack food and dessert. The pastry's name is etymologically related to bomba (lit. 'bomb'), and the same type of pastry is also called bomba (pl.: bombe) in some regions of Italy. While bomboloni may be primarily connected to Tuscany, they are traditional to other regions of Italy, although with slight variations on the recipe. In those areas that used to be under Austrian rule, such as Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the tradition of bomboloni is believed to have originated from that of Austrian "krapfen" (i.e., Berliner), and the recipe includes eggs, which are not found in the Tuscan variety.

Boterkoekjes

Boterkoekjes

Boule de Berlin

Boule de Berlin

Round doughnut filled with pastry cream, jam or marmalade and topped with powdered sugar or sugar glaze

Broodpudding

Broodpudding

Bread pudding is a bread-based dessert popular in many countries' cuisines. It is made with stale bread and milk or cream, generally containing eggs, a form of fat such as oil, butter or suet and, depending on whether the pudding is sweet or savory, a variety of other ingredients. Sweet bread puddings may use sugar, syrup, honey, dried fruit, nuts, as well as spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, or vanilla. The bread is soaked in the liquids, mixed with the other ingredients, and baked. Some other names bread pudding goes by is "poor man's pudding", "bread and butter pudding" or just "pudding". Savory puddings like breakfast strata may be served as main courses, while sweet puddings are typically eaten as desserts. In other languages, its name is a translation of "bread pudding" or even just "pudding", for example "pudín" or "budín". In the Philippines, banana bread pudding is popular. In Mexico, there is a similar dish eaten during Lent called capirotada. In Liverpool in the United Kingdom, a moist version of Nelson cake, itself a bread pudding, is nicknamed "Wet Nelly".

Brownies

Brownies

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.

Bûche de Noël

Bûche de Noël

A Yule log or bûche de Noël is a traditional Christmas cake, often served as a dessert, especially in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Vietnam, and Quebec, Canada. Variants are also served in the United States, United Kingdom, Cambodia, Scandinavia, Portugal, Spain, and Japan. Made of sponge cake, to resemble a miniature actual Yule log, it is a form of sweet roulade.

Café liégeois

Café liégeois

Café liégeois is a French cold dessert made from lightly sweetened coffee, coffee-flavoured ice cream and Chantilly cream. Refrigerate a large glass filled with the required amount of sweetened coffee, and add the ice cream and Chantilly just prior to serving. Often crushed roasted coffee beans are put on top of the Chantilly as decoration.

Carrot cake

Carrot cake

Carrot cake is cake that contains carrots mixed into the batter. The origins of carrot cake is disputed. Published in 1591, there is an English recipe for "pudding in a Carret [sic] root" that is essentially a carrot stuffed with meat, but it includes many elements common to the modern dessert: shortening, cream, eggs, raisins, sweetener (dates and sugar), spices (clove and mace), scraped carrot, and breadcrumbs (in place of flour). Many food historians believe carrot cake originated from such carrot puddings eaten by Europeans in the Middle Ages, when sugar and sweeteners were expensive and many people used carrots as a substitute for sugar.

Charlotte Russe cake

Charlotte Russe cake

A charlotte is a type of bread pudding that can be served hot or cold. It is also referred to as an "icebox cake". Bread, sponge cake, crumbs or biscuits/cookies are used to line a mold, which is then filled with a fruit puree or custard. The baked pudding could then be sprinkled with powdered sugar and glazed with a salamander, a red-hot iron plate attached to a long handle, though modern recipes would likely use more practical tools to achieve a similar effect. The variant charlotte russe also called charlotte parisienne, created by the French chef Antonin Carême, uses a mold lined with ladyfingers and filled with Bavarian cream. Classically, stale bread dipped in butter was used as the lining, but sponge cake or ladyfingers may be used today. The filling may be covered with a thin layer of similarly flavoured gelatin.

Chausson aux pommes

Chausson aux pommes

Chebakia

Chebakia

Shebakia or Chebakia, also known as Griwech or Griouech, is a Maghrebi pastry made of strips of dough rolled to resemble a rose, deep-fried until golden, then coated with a syrup made of honey and orange blossom water and sprinkled with sesame. It is typically consumed during Ramadan and religious celebrations. Chebakia is from the Ottoman desserts culture. Chebakia is made using yeast spiced with anise, cinnamon, and saffron. The dough is made from ground sesame seeds mixed with flour and maybe squeezed through a pastry tube or twisted by hand to achieve the flower-like shape. It is then fried like a donut. The pastry is often produced in large batches at the start of Ramadan. Although it is sweet and is often paired with coffee and tea, Moroccans also eat chebakia with spicy food such as harira.

Chocoladekoek

Chocoladekoek

Square croissant filled with pastry cream (Chocoladekoek met crème) and topped with chocolate

Chocoladetaart

Chocoladetaart

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.

Chocolate

Chocolate

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.

Choux à la crème

Choux à la crème

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.

Churro

Churro

A churro is a type of fried dough from Spanish and Portuguese cuisine, made with choux pastry dough piped into hot oil with a piping bag and large closed star tip or similar shape. They are also found in Latin American cuisine, Philippine cuisine and in other areas that have received immigration from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries, especially in France and the Southwestern United States. In Spain, churros can either be thin (and sometimes knotted) or long and thick, where they are known as porras, jeringos, or tejeringos in some regions. They are normally eaten for breakfast dipped in coffee, or in hot chocolate for an afternoon snack. There are also two slightly different snacks in Portugal, called porra and fartura, which are filled with jelly instead of the doce de leite traditional to Brazilian churros.

Congolaiskes

Congolaiskes

Diamond-shaped prailines covered in dark chocolate

Couque de Dinant

Couque de Dinant

Very hard pressed cookies made with wheat flour and honey

Crème brûlée

Crème brûlée

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.

Crème glacée

Crème glacée

Gelato is the common word in Italian for all types of ice cream. In English, it specifically refers to a frozen dessert of Italian origin. Artisanal gelato in Italy generally contains 6–9% butterfat, which is lower than other styles of frozen dessert. Gelato typically contains 35% air (substantially less than American-style ice cream) and more flavoring than other types of frozen desserts, giving it an intense flavor with creamy, smooth texture, density and richness that distinguishes it from other ice creams. In Italian, gelato means simply 'frozen' and is the generic word for any type or style of ice cream. In English, however, the term has come to be used to refer to a specific style of ice cream derived from the Italian artisanal tradition.

Crepe

Crepe

A crêpe or crepe is a dish made from unleavened batter or dough that is cooked on a frying pan or a griddle. Crêpes are usually one of two varieties: sweet crêpes (crêpes sucrées) or savoury galettes (crêpes salées). They are often served with a wide variety of fillings such as cheese, fruit, vegetables, meats, and a variety of spreads. Crêpes can also be flambéed, such as in crêpes Suzette. The French term "crêpe" derives from crispa, the feminine version of the Latin word crispus, which means "curled, wrinkled, having curly hair."

Crêpes Suzette

Crêpes Suzette

Crêpes Suzette is a French dessert consisting of crêpes with beurre Suzette ( pronounced [bœʁ syzɛt]), a sauce of caramelized sugar and butter, tangerine or orange juice, zest, and Grand Marnier, triple sec or orange Curaçao liqueur on top, flambéed tableside. The origin of the dish and its name is disputed. One claim is that it was created from a mistake made by a 14-year-old assistant waiter, Henri Charpentier, in 1895 at the Maitre at Monte Carlo's Café de Paris. He was preparing a dessert for the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (then Prince of Wales), whose guests included a beautiful French girl named Suzette. This story was told by Charpentier himself in Life à la Henri, his autobiography, although later contradicted by the Larousse Gastronomique. Different sources (like the Larousse Gastronomique) however doubt that Charpentier, rather than the head waiter, was serving the prince, because he would have been too young. A less fantastical version emerges from Elsie Lee's interview with him in the 1950s. There, Charpentier explained at length that "his complicated version began as the dish of pancakes with fruit sauce his foster mother made on very special occasions." The addition of liqueur was common among chefs in Paris at the time.

Cuberdon

Cuberdon

A cuberdon is a cone-shaped Belgian candy and a popular local delicacy in Ghent. In Dutch it is also known as a neus , Gentse neus ("Ghent nose"), or neuzeke ("little nose") for its likeness to a human nose. In French, cuberdons are also called chapeau-de-curé and chapeau-de-prêtre (priest's hat). Cuberdons are traditionally made with gum arabic candy crust with a soft, raspberry-flavored filling. Their color is purple, though more recently differently colored and flavoured variants have been available as well. They are traditionally about 2.5cm (1 inch) wide and weigh approximately 10 to 18 grams (0.35 to 0.63 oz), although smaller versions are also produced. The outside is relatively hard, whereas the inside is gelatinous. In recent years, various derivative food products have been made, including cuberdon-flavored jenever, ice cream, dessert sauce, and cookies.

Cuernos de gacela

Cuernos de gacela

Crescent-shaped cookies filled with almond paste

Dame blanche

Dame blanche

Dame blanche is the name used in Belgium and the Netherlands for a sweet dessert consisting of vanilla ice cream with whipped cream, and warm molten chocolate. In Germany and in Switzerland, the same type of dessert is known as a Coupe Dänemark. The dessert is similar to the American sundae. The original dish that was created by Auguste Escoffier actually consisted of almond milk ice cream, poached peach, lemon sorbet and white currants.[citation needed]

Éclair

Éclair

An éclair is a pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with a flavored icing. The dough, which is the same as that used for profiterole, is typically piped into an oblong shape with a pastry bag and baked until it is crisp and hollow inside. Once cool, the pastry is filled with custard (crème pâtissière), whipped cream or chiboust cream, then iced with fondant icing. Other fillings include pistachio- and rum-flavoured custard, fruit-flavoured fillings, or chestnut purée. The icing is sometimes caramel, in which case the dessert may be called a bâton de Jacob (lit. 'Jacob's staff'). A similar pastry in a round rather than oblong shape is called a religieuse. The word comes from the French éclair, meaning 'flash of lightning', so named because it is eaten quickly (in a flash); however some believe that the name is due to the glistening of the frosting resembling lightning. The éclair originated during the 19th century in Lyon, France where it was called pain à la Duchesse ('Duchess-style bread') or petite duchesse ('little duchess') until 1850. The word is first attested both in English and in French in the 1860s.

Eierkoek

Eierkoek

Egg cake, small cookie-shaped cakes typically flavored with vanilla, lemon

Fekkas

Fekkas

Biscotti, traditionally made with almonds, raisins (fekkas msseoues)

Flan

Flan

Custard dessert topped with a layer of caramel sauce, variations include coconut, chestnut, chocolate

Floating island

Floating island

A floating island or île flottante is a dessert consisting of soft meringue floating on crème anglaise (a vanilla custard). The meringue used is baked in a bain-marie. It may be served at room temperature or chilled. Œufs à la neige ("eggs in snow", [øz‿a la nɛʒ]) is a similar dessert where the meringue is in egg-sized pieces and poached, rather than in one large baked piece. The earliest known English language reference to the dessert is in The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747) by Hannah Glasse. Her recipe, entitled The Flooting Island [sic], is made with sweetened thick cream, sack and lemon peel whipped into a froth, then layered with thin slices of bread alternating with jelly, piled high with the stiffened froth. Fruits and sweetmeats are arranged in a ring around the edge of the dish that is presented as a centerpiece for the table with candles all around it.

Fraisier

Fraisier

Layered sponge cake (genoise) with fresh strawberries and mousseline (pastry cream mixed with butter)

Frangipane

Frangipane

Frangipane n) is a sweet almond-flavoured custard, typical in French pastry, used in a variety of ways, including cakes and such pastries as the Bakewell tart, conversation tart, Jésuite and pithivier. A French spelling from a 1674 cookbook is franchipane, with the earliest modern spelling coming from a 1732 confectioners' dictionary. Originally designated as a custard tart flavoured by almonds or pistachios, it came later to designate a filling that could be used in a variety of confections and baked goods. It is traditionally made by combining two parts of almond cream (crème d’amande) with one part pastry cream (crème pâtissière). Almond cream is made from butter, sugar, eggs, almond meal, bread flour, and rum; and pastry cream is made from whole milk, vanilla bean, cornstarch, sugar, egg yolks or whole eggs, and butter. There are many variations on both of these creams as well as on the proportion of almond cream to pastry cream in frangipane. On Epiphany, the French cut the king cake – a round cake made of frangipane layers – into slices to be distributed by a child known as le petit roi (the little king), who is usually hiding under the dining table. The cake is decorated with stars, a crown, flowers and a special bean hidden inside the cake. Whoever gets the piece of the frangipane cake with the bean is crowned "king" or "queen" for the following year.

Galetten

Galetten

Thin wafer-like waffles

Gateau au yaourt

Gateau au yaourt

Gaufre de Bruxelles

Gaufre de Bruxelles

Waffles made with an egg white- or yeast-leavened batter, serve warm and dust with confectioner's sugar

Gaufres de liège

Gaufres de liège

The most common waffle in Belgium, made with brioche dough and pearl sugar, there are plain, vanilla and cinnamon variations

Gayettes du Pays Noir

Gayettes du Pays Noir

Dark chocolate truffles filled with butter cream

Gingerbread

Gingerbread

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.

Gogoși

Gogoși

Gogoși , known as pancove in Transylvania, pampuște in Bukovina and croafne/crofne in Banat are Romanian sweet pastries similar to filled doughnuts. Gogoși is the plural form of the Romanian word gogoașă ([ɡoˈɡo̯a.ʃə]). Gogoși are pieces of dough shaped into a flattened sphere that are deep-fried in oil and optionally dusted with icing sugar. They have a fluffy and airy consistency, no hole and are often filled. Gogoși fillings include chocolate, apricot jam, strawberry jam, cream cheese, or feta cheese.

Griesmeelpudding

Griesmeelpudding

Sweet semolina pudding, often with red berry sauce

Hagelslag

Hagelslag

Sprinkles confections, used on bread, sandwiches, desserts

Halva

Halva

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".

Hangop

Hangop

Sweet buttermilk or yogurt dessert, commonly served with fruit

Keikopjes

Keikopjes

Almond meringue cookies

Kletskoppen

Kletskoppen

Thin, praline-like almond or peanut confections, also made with cheese

Koekjes

Koekjes

A cookie or biscuit (British English) is a baked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat, and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, or nuts. Most English-speaking countries call crunchy cookies "biscuits", except for the United States and Canada, where "biscuit" refers to a type of quick bread. Chewier biscuits are sometimes called "cookies,” even in the Commonwealth. Some cookies may also be named by their shape, such as date squares or bars.

Krakelingen

Krakelingen

Sweet pretzel-shaped cookies, also commonly in the form of an 8

Larmuseau sneeuwballen

Larmuseau sneeuwballen

Confections created by Auguste Larmuseau, made with an airy vanilla and butter honeycomb center that is covered in chocolate and powdered sugar

Liers vlaaike

Liers vlaaike

Small tart-shaped pastry filled with a mixture of breadcrumbs, flour, syrup and milk, from Lier, Belgium

Macaron

Macaron

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).

Marron glacé

Marron glacé

Marron glacé is a confection originating in France or Italy that consists of a chestnut candied in sugar syrup and glazed. It is an ingredient in many desserts and is also eaten on their own.

Massepain

Massepain

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.

Mattentaart

Mattentaart

Small puff pastry cakes filled with curd cheese

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