Dessert

France

These thin pancakes are made with wheat flour, and have origins in the French region of Brittany. Although they are a French staple and a national dish, cr&ecirc;pes are so popular that they have spread worldwide since the turn of the 20th century, when white wheat flour became affordable. These delectable treats are made with flour, eggs, milk, and butter whipped into a thin batter, which is then poured in a cr&ecirc;pe pan and fried. The tradition is to flip them in the air as they cook, and they say that if you catch it in the pan, your family will be well-off for the rest of the year. The word cr&ecirc;pe is derived from the Latin root crispa, meaning curdled. Cr&ecirc;pes are one of the best-known French desserts, and they are commonly filled with various sweet fillings such as jam, chocolate, berries, or whipped cream. They can also be stuffed with savory ingredients such as ham, sausages, cheese, spinach, eggs, or mushrooms. Eaten hot or cold and found in cr&ecirc;peries throughout France and beyond, these delicious pancakes are a true worldwide hit.

Crêpes

Cr&ecirc;pes beurre sucre is a French dish of cr&ecirc;pes that have a butter and sugar filling. The preparation starts with making the cr&ecirc;pes. Once each individual cr&ecirc;pe is cooked, it is smeared with butter (typically, unsalted butter) and sugar, then folded twice to get a triangle shaped-pancake. Variations exist. For example, some variations only have a butter filling, and the sugar is sprinkled over the folded pancake, or instead of granulated sugar, powdered sugar is used. Also, once the cr&ecirc;pes beurre sucre are done, they can be shortly cooked in a mixture of sugar and butter for more flavor and aroma. It's a simple, yet classic dessert that can be found in any French cr&ecirc;perie.

Crêpes beurre sucre

Cr&ecirc;pes Mylene is a traditional dish originating from Normandy. The batter for the crepes is made with flour, eggs, milk, butter, sugar, salt, and lemon juice. The sauce for the cr&ecirc;pes consists of poached pears, orange juice, lemon juice, almonds, butter, sugar, and plum brandy. When the cr&ecirc;pes are done, a few slices of pears are placed into each, and they're then rolled and coated in the warm sauce. The rest of the plum brandy is spread over the cr&ecirc;pes, and they're then flamb&eacute;ed and garnished with toasted slivered almonds. This decadent and fruity dish is served immediately while still hot.

Crêpes Mylene

Cr&ecirc;pes Normande can best be described as apple pie inside a cr&ecirc;pe. For the filling, fresh, tart apples are browned in butter, sugar, and cinnamon, while the cr&ecirc;pes are made with a combination of flour, milk, eggs, sugar, and a pinch of salt. It is recommended to serve the cr&ecirc;pes topped with whipped cream, accompanied by a scoop of ice cream on the side, and it couldn't hurt to drizzle them with sweet caramel syrup to finish the whole thing.

Crêpes Normande

Cr&ecirc;pes sucr&eacute;es are sweet crepes, a type of very thin pancake originating from France. The term "sucr&eacute;es" means "sugared" in French, indicating that these crepes are meant to be served with sweet fillings or toppings. They are made from a simple batter consisting of flour, milk, eggs, a pinch of salt, and sometimes a bit of sugar and butter. Unlike their savory counterpart, known as "cr&ecirc;pes sal&eacute;es" (or "galettes" in some regions of France), sweet cr&ecirc;pes are usually made with white wheat flour and often have a bit of sugar added to the batter. Sweet crepes can be filled or topped with a variety of ingredients such as powdered sugar, whipped cream, fruit preserves, fresh fruits, nutella, honey, and maple syrup. Cr&ecirc;pes sucr&eacute;es are enjoyed as a dessert, a sweet snack, or even as a breakfast dish in France and around the world.

Crêpes sucrées

These delectable cr&ecirc;pes prepared &agrave; la flamb&eacute; are doused in beurre Suzette, a sauce made with butter, caramelized sugar, tangerine or orange juice, zest, and orange flavored liqueurs such as Grand Marnier or Cura&ccedil;ao. Cr&ecirc;pes Suzette were supposedly invented by Henri Charpentier in 1895 in Monaco. According to his own story, Charpentier&mdash;then a 15-year-old assistant waiter working at Monte Carlo's Caf&eacute; de Paris&mdash;accidentally set fire to a pan of cr&ecirc;pes he was preparing for the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII. After burning the sauce, Henri discovered that the cr&ecirc;pes tasted even better and decided to serve the dessert, naming it after the prince's companion, a beautiful French girl named Suzette. Larousse Gastronomique disputes this story, claiming that Charpentier could not have been old enough at the time to be serving royalty, but it was definitely him who popularized these flamb&eacute;ed French-style pancakes.

Crêpes Suzette

Algeria

Cr&eacute;ponn&eacute; is a traditional lemon sorbet, created by Gilbert Soriano of the Cr&egrave;merie l'Oranaise in Oran. It is made by mixing lemon zest and juice with boiling sugar syrup, leaving it to rest in the freezer for a couple of hours, and then mixing it again with whipped egg whites. The concoction is left in the freezer until the next day, although it is advisable to pull it out every half an hour for the first few hours of freezing to beat the mixture with the whisk until the sorbet sets. Cr&eacute;ponn&eacute; is a dessert usually made at home, but numerous street vendors and ice cream shops in Oran offer it during hot summer days.

Créponné

Italy

Crescionda is a traditional cake originating from Spoleto in Central Italy. This chocolate cake is enriched with amaretti biscuits and aniseed liqueur. It's usually made with a combination of eggs, sugar, flour, lemon zest, milk, Sambuca, dark chocolate, amaretti biscuits, salt, and icing sugar for dusting. The cake batter is mixed with whisked egg whites, and it's then baked until deep golden on top. Once done, the cake will sink a bit because the soft interior will set as the cake cools. It can be served cold or at room temperature, and it's usually eaten with a spoon, ideally with a glass of homemade limoncello on the side. Crescionda is also a staple at carnivals in the region of Umbria.

Crescionda

Crispelle is an Italian fried dough that is typically prepared in the southern parts of Italy. It consists of bread or pizza dough, and it can be plain or enhanced with other ingredients to make it savory or sweet. This specialty may come in various shapes - long strips, rings, or balls of dough - all of them deep-fried in hot oil until nicely colored. Typical ingredients in the filling include sheep ricotta, anchovies, salted cod, sardines, broccoli, and potatoes for the savory versions, while the sweet versions are often plain with just powdered sugar, filled with raisins, or topped with honey. A version of crispelle known as crispelle di riso are orange-and-cinnamon-flavored rice fritters that are usually soaked in sweet honey sauce. In its various forms, crispelle are traditionally enjoyed at local fairs, festivals, and on holidays such as Christmas.

Crispelle

United States

The unusual New Yorker creation known as a Cronut is a hybrid between a croissant and a doughnut, characterized by its soft and creamy interior, and flaky layers of pastry on the exterior. These treats are fried in oil, filled with cream, rolled in sugar, and glazed on top. Due to their short shelf life of about 6 hours, the cronuts are intended to be consumed as soon as they are made. The dessert was invented in 2013 by a French pastry chef named Dominique Ansel at his bakery in New York City, when a customer pointed out that his menu did not have any version of the American classic &ndash; doughnuts. Ansel had experimented for about two months before he made the perfect Cronut. He trademarked the name within nine days, and Cronut has been gaining huge popularity ever since. Recently, other bakeries have started making their versions of the trademarked Cronut, selling them under the following names: Dosant, Doughtssant, Dough'Ssant, Cro-Knot, Double Decker O-Nut, 100 Layer Donut, Crodough, Crullant, Cro-cr&egrave;me, French Donut, and Cro-Bar.

Cronut

A true show-stopping centerpiece, croquembouche consists of choux pastry profiteroles which are filled with custard cream and assembled into a cone-shaped tower, glued together with caramel. The final dessert is elaborately decorated with spun sugar, sugar-coated almonds, fondant flowers, fruit, or even macarons. Croquembouche was designed and popularized in the late 1700s by chef Antonin Car&ecirc;me, while its name is derived from the expression croque-en-bouche, which literally translates to crunch in the mouth, referring to the crunchy and caramelized bits and pieces. Because of its elegant, festive presentation, this majestic dessert is often served at French weddings and christenings instead of a classic cake, though it is also traditionally prepared for other large celebrations. Croquembouche is usually placed at the center of a table, and the attendees are encouraged to help themselves with individual profiteroles.

Croquembouche

This Italian dessert consists of cheese or cream and fruit in a crusty pastry, similar to fruit-filled pies. The most commonly-used fruit in crostata are cherries, berries, apricots, or peaches. It can be prepared as an open-faced dessert or covered with a top crust, usually in the form of a lattice. Its name is derived from the Latin crustata, which means crust. The earliest mentions of crostata in print can be found in cookbooks such as Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Martino da Como and Cuoco Napolitano, both from the 15th century. The most popular variety of crostata in the south of Italy is crostata di ricotta, while northern Italy favors the creamy, fruity crostata that originated in Rome. There are other varieties of crostata as well, such as crostata al limone (with lemon) and crostata di marmelata (with fruit jam). Crostata can be served without toppings, with a dollop of whipped cream, or even with a scoop of ice cream.

Crostata

Crostata al torrone is an Italian dessert that hails from Sarnano, Marche. The crostata is made with a pastry shell and a sweet filling that resembles nougat. The filling usually combines various nuts, such as walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, and pine nuts, along with candied fruit, fruit jam, honey, sugar, milk, and eggs. The origin of this dessert is not known, but it has been long associated with Sarnano, and many believe it dates to the Middle Ages. The dessert's name highlights its association with nougat as torrone is Italian nougat.

Crostata al torrone

Regarded as close cousins of pies, crumbles are simple and hearty baked creations made with sweet or savory ingredients. The sweet varieties usually consist of fruit that is placed on the bottom of the tray and topped with a crumbly mixture of butter, sugar, and flour. The savory variants employ meat or vegetables and use cheese as a replacement for sugar. Ground or chopped nuts and oats are a very common addition to the crumbly topping, which provides a more complex texture of the crispy cover. It is believed that the British crumble originated in the midst of the Second World War when original pie ingredients were hard to come by and were considered a luxury. From its humble beginning, crumble became one of the most popular British dishes, especially in its dessert form. With its rustic appeal, frugal ingredients, and quick preparation, it is one of the most common desserts found on the British Isles. It quickly outgrew the borders of its home location and became a dessert that is commonly eaten in the United States and France. The most common fruits used in a crumble are apples, followed by blueberries, plums, apricots, cherries, peaches, and blackberries. With a scoop of ice cream or warm custard on the side, crumble becomes a decadent, luxurious dish.

Crumble

Cs&ouml;r&ouml;ge are essentially the Hungarian version of angel wings. These sweet and crispy pastries are made with a dough consisting of egg yolks, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. The dough is traditionally twisted into thin bows or ribbons, and it is then deep-fried before being sprinkled with powdered sugar. Cs&ouml;r&ouml;ge are especially popular during the festive Christmas season.

Csöröge

Cubanitos (lit. little Cubans) is an Argentine sweet and crispy wafer tube oozing a sweet filling. Wafer pastry is made by combining flour, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and (sometimes) egg whites. Once baked, the wafer is rolled into the shape of a Cuban cigar, hence the name cubanitos. Although the most common filling is dulce de leche (a milky caramel spread), this treat may come with various other fillings such as chocolate, lemon-flavored cream, pasta bon o bon (peanut cream), or whipped cream. The filled wafer tubes are also often covered with chocolate and garnished with chopped nuts or sprinkles. A common street food fare, cubanitos can be enjoyed on their own, usually as a late-afternoon sweet snack, or served as accompaniments to helado de dulce de leche (milky caramel ice cream) or vanilla ice cream. In Argentina, these filled wafer tubes are typically prepared for special occasions, and they are commonly sold at fairs such as the Feria de Mataderos. A similar sweet is known as cuchufl&iacute; in Chile and barquillos in Spain.

Cubanitos

Cuccia or dolce di Santa Lucia is a unique Sicilian dessert consisting of wheat berries, ricotta cheese, and sugar. Some cooks like to add dark chocolate, cinnamon, or candied fruit into the combination in order to enhance the flavors. The dish is traditionally consumed on December 13, known as the Feast of Santa Lucia, celebrating the eponymous martyr who ended famine in Sicily by bringing a ship full of wheat to Syracuse. Cuccia requires a few days of preparation and it's traditionally served cold.

Cuccia

Cuccidati are traditional Sicilian cookies stuffed with figs. Flaky, rich, and delicious, they consist of flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and milk, while the filling is a combination of dried figs, raisins, dates, honey, chocolate, walnuts, and selected spices. These sweet treats can be found in most Italian bakeries during the festive Christmas season, when they are traditionally prepared for the occasion.

Cuccidati

Cucciole are traditional biscuits originating from Corsica. They're made with a combination of flour, sugar, baking soda, olive oil, white wine, and brandy. The crumbly dough is cut into thick diamonds, and it's then sprinkled with powdered sugar and baked until golden brown and crunchy. It's recommended to let cucciole cool down once they're out of the oven. Later on, the cookies are typically served on their own or with a cup of hot coffee. If desired, cucciole can be stored in an airtight container so that they last longer.

Cucciole

Cuchufl&iacute; are popular Chilean sweet snacks that look like thin, crispy tubes with a texture similar to that of wafers. They consist of sugar, flour, butter, egg whites, and vanilla flavoring. These sweet treats are often filled with dulce de leche, but they can also be covered in chocolate. Nowadays, cuchufl&iacute; can be found almost anywhere in Chile &ndash; from bakeries, grocery stores, and supermarkets to street vendors and beach food stands.