Dessert

Maltese nut fudge hails from the time when the island was under Arabian rule, and over time it became an important part of local cuisine. Ħelwa tat-tork is made by dissolving tahini and sugar in water to form a dense paste which is then studded with whole roasted almonds. In Malta, this delicious nut fudge is traditionally served after lunch or dinner, and it is typically enjoyed with coffee.

Ħelwa tat-tork

United States

Hermits are traditional American cookies originating from New England, and they're especially popular in Maine. The cookies are made with a combination of flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, butter, sugar, eggs, molasses, raisins, and chopped pecans or walnuts. The butter, sugar, eggs, and molasses are beaten together, then mixed with the sifted dry ingredients in order to make a smooth batter. The raisins and nuts are then folded in, and the batter is spread in a pan or dropped on a baking sheet by teaspoonfuls. The cookies are baked until golden brown before they're cooled and enjoyed. It is believed that these dense and moist cookies originated in the 1800s.

Hermit Cookies

Serbia

Herovke are traditional sweet treats from Vojvodina, and they are especially popular in the region's Slovak community. They are made with flour, sugar, egg yolks, salt, sour cream, and rakija (local schnapps). The dough shouldn't be too hard nor too soft. It is rolled thinly and cut into strips. The strips are rolled into small balls, and they are then placed inside a special tool (a long spoon with a rounded, pierced top part, which can be opened) before being deep-fried in hot oil until golden brown and crispy. After the deep-frying process, herovke are rolled in powdered sugar and vanilla sugar. It is recommended to shake herovke well so that the sugar also comes to the interior of these crispy balls. In the old days in the Slovak community, herovke used to be prepared for weddings, where they were brought instead of big wedding cakes. There is also a savory, salty version of herovke, but it is not as popular as the sweet one.

Herovke

Herrencreme is a simple German dessert made with vanilla pudding, whipped cream, and grated bittersweet chocolate. It is usually flavored with an aromatic alcoholic beverage such as rum, whiskey, or cognac. Sweet and creamy, the dessert is typically served chilled in cups or bowls, topped with fruit, and sprinkled with chocolate shavings. A typical after-lunch sweet treat, herrencreme is also often served on festive occasions such as christenings, weddings, or Christmas.

Herrencreme

Hertzoggies are South African cookies consisting of light and puffy pastry tarts filled with apricot jam meringue. The crust is made with flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, nutmeg, butter, and egg yolks, while the filling contains apricot jam, sugar, beaten egg whites, and desiccated coconut. These delectable cookies are named after General J.B.M. Hertzog, who was Prime Minister of South Africa from 1924 to 1939. In the country, hertzoggies are usually served with a cup of English tea on the side.

Hertzoggie

Higashi are traditional, pressed, dry Japanese sweets usually consisting of sugar and rice flour and often containing 10% or less moisture, meaning they have a very long shelf life. They belong to the group of wagashi - traditional, small Japanese sugary treats. If higashi is made with wasabon (Japanese premium sugar), it is regarded as the finest variety of higashi. The sweets are characterized by their shape, due to them being pressed into wooden molds, so the sweets take the shape of the mold, mostly flowers and other decorative, natural objects. Higashi is often served alongside tea, and the recipes for the sweets are typically heavily guarded secrets of the confectionery shops that produce them.

Higashi

Hindb&aelig;rsnitter is a traditional dessert consisting of raspberry bars. These raspberry bars can be found in almost any caf&eacute; or bakery in the country, and they&rsquo;re usually made with a combination of flour, raspberry jam, ground almonds, sugar, vanilla, butter, eggs, and milk. The dough is made with a mixture of flour, almonds, sugar, vanilla, butter, and eggs. It&rsquo;s wrapped in cling film and left to cool in the fridge for about half an hour. A bit later, the dough is rolled out, pricked with a fork, and spread with raspberry jam. Another disk of dough is placed on top, pricked, and the surface is brushed with a glaze consisting of egg yolks and milk. The dessert is sprinkled with sugar and baked until golden brown. Once cooled, it&rsquo;s cut into bars and served.

Hindbærsnitter

Saudi Arabia

Hininy is a traditional Arabian dish consisting of dates, butter, and brown bread. The whole concoction is then additionally flavored with spices such as saffron and cardamom. The dish is a specialty of Najd, where it is usually prepared during winter.

Hininy

Hishi mochi is a diamond-shaped Japanese treat made with glutinous mochi base. It usually consists of three different layers: the jasmine-flavored pink layer, the plain white layer infused with water chestnuts, and the bottom green layer flavored with mugwort. Hishi mochi is a highly symbolic festive treat which is usually associated with Girl&rsquo;s Day, a traditional Japanese holiday which celebrates the success and prosperity of young girls.

Hishi mochi

South Korea

These walnut cookies are a winter staple in South Korea. They consist of a walnut shell that is prepared with a thin walnut-based batter and a filling which combines pieces of walnuts and sweet red bean paste. The cookies were first invented in 1934 by a young couple from Cheonan, and in the 1970s they became available in other parts of the country and were mainly enjoyed as a street snack. However, the original Cheonan hodu-gwaja remains a local specialty.

Hodu-gwaja

Australia

Hokey pokey is a New Zealander ice cream variety consisting of vanilla-flavored ice cream with small lumps of honeycomb toffee dispersed throughout it. Although it is produced in New Zealand, this ice cream variety is regularly exported to Japan, where it has achieved a quite popular status over the years. The name hokey pokey refers to the New Zealand term denoting honeycomb toffee.

Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

Honey toast, also known as Shibuya toast, is a decadent dessert originating in Japan, particularly in Tokyo's Shibuya district, whose distinct feature is thick slices of bread, typically shokupan, either cut halfway through without being hollowed out or hollowed out to form a box. If not hollowed out, the bread is spread with butter and honey and then baked under a broiler. If hollowed out, the removed bread is cubed, toasted, coated with honey or butter, then placed back into the hollowed bread. It's topped with drizzled chocolate or ice cream, but honey or syrup, whipped cream, fresh fruits like strawberries or bananas, and sometimes nuts or chocolate chips can also be used. In cafes across Japan, Tawain, and Singapore, honey toast is usually prepared in the form of a honey toast box, meaning it usually consists of half a loaf of bread, meant as a dessert to be shared, not eaten alone.

Honey toast

China

Red bean cake is a traditional dessert which incorporates glutinous rice flour and lightly sweetened red bean paste. The base of the cake employs sweet rice flour and eggs, which are then combined with smooth or coarse red bean mixture. Most commonly, red beans are evenly distributed in the cake, but occasionally they can only be used as a filling, coated in the glutinous batter. Chinese red bean cake is usually steamed or baked in various molds and pans. Because of its custard-like consistency, it is regarded as a special delicacy which is mainly associated with Chinese New Year, when it is commonly prepared and shared among relatives and friends.

Hong dou gao

Red bean soup is a classic Chinese soup that is commonly consumed as a dessert, made from red azuki beans, lotus seeds, and tangerine or orange peel. The soup isn't too sweet, and has a subtle sweetness instead, ideal for rounding off a large Chinese meal. Red bean soup can be served hot in winter or cool during summer. Dates, sago, longan, and coconut milk can all be added in the preparation of this soup, which is considered to be one of the healthiest soups in China because it is rich in vitamins, boosts immunity, and helps against constipation.

Hong dou tang

Czech Republic

Hořick&eacute; trubičky are rolled wafers produced in the town of Hořice and neighbouring municipalities in the Czech Republic. The rolls are from 5 to 19 centimetres long and light beige in colour. They have the scent and taste of a wafer, with a crunchy, smooth and porous texture. The wafers are made from only six ingredients - wheat flour, powdered milk, sugar, water, egg yolks and vegetable oil. They come in different varieties, so the rolls can be filled, half-coated, coated and sprinkled. When filled, the filling consists of whipped butter cream with cocoa powder and vanilla. When sprinkled, they are coated with melted butter mixed with honey and sprinkled with sugar or hazelnuts, almonds, cinnamon, raisins, cocoa powder and vanilla. The recipe for this delicacy exists since 1812 when Napoleon's wounded general and chef gave it to a local woman as a reward for healing his wounds. To eat them as the locals do, dip them in a cup of warm, melted chocolate.

Hořické Trubičky

Hoşaf is a traditional compote of dried fruit &ndash; usually apricots, figs, prunes, and raisins. The fruits are simply boiled with sugar, and the concoction is then left to cool down. The longer the dish sits in the fridge, the tastier it will become. Hoşaf is especially popular during the month of Ramadan, and it is recommended to pair it with b&ouml;rek.

Hoşaf

H&ouml;şmerim is a simple Turkish dessert made with roasted semolina, milk, water, sugar, and dil peyniri &ndash; an unsalted cheese similar to mozzarella, praised for its good melting properties, although any type of fresh unsalted cheese can be used. The melted cheese is combined with other ingredients, and the combination is then cooked until it develops the desired consistency. Before serving, h&ouml;şmerim is traditionally topped with almonds. The dessert is usually consumed after a big meal, and it is recommended to serve it with a glass of Turkish tea on the side.

Höşmerim

A take on the classic ice cream sundae, hot fudge sundae consists of ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream. In this sundae version, a helping of warm, gooey chocolate sauce is poured over scoops of cold ice cream (traditionally vanilla ice cream) - a step that creates a nice temperature contrast and elevates the sensory pleasure offered by the creamy dessert. A dollop or more of light and fluffy whipped cream goes on top of the ice cream drenched in chocolate sauce, and the whole thing is then garnished with sprinkles, toasted nuts, or a red maraschino cherry if desired. This simple yet rich dessert has been around since 1906 when it is believed to have been invented by Los Angeles-based candy maker, Clarence Clifton Brown, who, at that time, owned a store called C. C. Brown&rsquo;s Ice Cream Shop on Hollywood Boulevard. Hot fudge sundae has since been among the favorite desserts of many generations, and it&rsquo;s even got its own National Hot Fudge Sundae Day, celebrated on July 25th each year.

Hot Fudge Sundae

Hot jam donut is an Australian specialty hailing from Melbourne, which is why it's also affectionately known as the Melbourner. Unlike most other donuts, these ones are always served hot, usually from the window of a street food van at the Queen Vic Market. The donuts are made with yeasted dough that's proved twice and filled with red jam before it goes in the fryer. They're designed to be eaten fresh and hot, and once cooked, crispy on the outside and pillowy on the inside, the donuts are coated in sugar and served in white paper bags.

Hot jam donuts

Hot milk cake is an old-fashioned American dessert consisting of beaten eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla flavoring, milk, butter, and a bit of salt. It is not recommended to frost this cake as it is considered to be plain food that is easy and simple to prepare. Hot milk cake is often served with yellow tomato conserve, whipped cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but in the American South it is usually topped with powdered sugar or fresh fruit.