Central

A sweet bun pastry with raisins

Hazelnut cake with a condensed milk cream and covered with a red glaze, named the official cake of Moscow in 2015

Pryanik refers to a range of traditional sweet-baked goods in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and some neighboring countries such as in Poland (Polish: piernik) and Lithuania (Lithuanian: meduolis). It is also a popular Czech and Slovak sweet. Traditionally, pryaniks are made from flour and honey. While some Russian-English dictionaries translate pryanik as gingerbread, ginger is an optional pryanik ingredient, unlike honey. Sugar is often used instead of honey in industrial pryaniki production and modern home-cooking. Related to pryanik is kovrizhka (коврижка), known in western countries as a "fudge", sweet bread with similar ingredients. The word pryanik is from Old East Slavic пьпьрянъ, an adjective from Old East Slavic пьпьрь 'pepper', which makes it etymologically similar or related to German Pfefferkuchen. In Germany, ginger was added[dubious – discuss] to Christmas or Easter cookies – this is how the first gingerbread, or "lebkuchen", appeared[dubious – discuss]. In France, the inventor of gingerbread is considered to be Gregory of Nikopol, who in 992 allegedly moved to this country from Armenia and taught the local monks this recipe.

Ptasie mleczko or bird's milk is a Central European confectionery originating in Poland. It is a small, chocolate-covered bar with a soft marshmallow-like interior. E. Wedel is one of the most recognized chocolate confectioneries in Poland, having exclusive rights for the name Ptasie mleczko. Other confectionery producers also make similar candies named differently (e.g., Alpejskie mleczko, "Alpine milk"). Nonetheless, Ptasie mleczko is often used to refer to similar candies with vanilla, cream, lemon or chocolate flavour. In Russia, ptichye moloko (птичье молоко) is both a popular candy and a famous soufflé cake. The brand was introduced in the 1960s during the Soviet era, and continues to be used by companies operating the factories which produced these candies and cakes since that time. The confectionery is also produced in other post-Soviet states.

Raf coffee is a popular coffee drink in some countries of the former USSR, which appeared in the late 1990s in Russia. Prepared by adding cream and vanilla sugar to a single shot of espresso and then foaming the mix with a steam heater. The main differences from latte are the use of vanilla sugar and cream instead of milk and the fact that the whole mix is foamed together instead of just milk. Vanilla sugar is often substituted with syrup. First, some syrup is poured into the coffee container, then 35 ml of espresso is added. Then warmed cream is added with a fat content of no more than 30% with the addition of vanilla sugar, all the ingredients are heated to 66 °C (151 °F) degrees in a pitcher. Often, ready-made raf is sprinkled with ground cinnamon. There are various variations of the drink with the addition of specific ingredients: alcohol, honey instead of sugar, lavender etc. Raf coffee appeared in 1996-1997 as a result of experiments in the Moscow coffeehouse "Coffee Bean". One of their regular customers, Raphael Timerbaev, asked the barista to serve him something new. As a result of the experiment of three baristas Gleb Neveikin, Artem Berestov and Galina Samokhina, a new beverage was created, first named as "coffee for Raf". Later, visitors began to ask for "the same coffee as for Raf", and gradually the name was shortened to "Raf coffee" or simply "Raf". After a while, this coffee drink became popular in all coffeehouses throughout Russia. It is considered a very popular coffee drink in Moscow. By 2018, raf coffee has spread beyond the borders of Russia - coffeehouses in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Belarus also prepare it. Outside the CIS, raf coffee is practically unknown, although according to some sources, this drink is also made in some Czech coffeehouses, in Israel, Cyprus, Romania, and in Indonesia.[citation needed]

Rye and wheat bread

Doctor's sausage is a popular variety of emulsified boiled sausage in Russia and the former Soviet republics, corresponding to GOST standard 23670-79, similar in size to bologna, mortadella or Jagdwurst but much lower in fat. It is considered a diet product, with pale pink color and low fat content. In accordance with the legislation of the Eurasian Economic Union, no meat products may be released using names that are similar to the names of meat products established by interstate (regional) standards, with the exception of meat products manufactured according to these standards. In the technical regulations, as an example of such a name, "Doctor's sausage" (along with some others) is given. This sausage was first produced in 1936, after the All-Russian Research Institute of the Meat Industry developed a recipe for sausage and the technology for its production. Its first production run was carried out at the Moscow Meat Processing Plant named after Anastas Mikoyan. The sausage was intended to be a dietary supplement for people exhibiting signs of prolonged starvation (specifically "patients with compromised health as a result of the Civil War"), hence its name. Because it was a mild-tasting, inexpensive and relatively healthy source of meat, Doctor's Sausage became very popular in the USSR. It is still produced today in Russia and many post-Soviet states.