Dessert

Melkkos is a South African staple made by boiling milk and combining it with a mixture of flour, salt, and butter. The dish is vigorously stirred until lumps develop, and it is then left to rest. It can be served as a dessert or a light meal in itself, and it is recommended to serve it hot with some cinnamon sugar on top. Melkkos is especially popular during the colder, winter days.

Melkkos

Creamy and sweet, melktert is a South African dessert consisting of a pastry crust filled with a combination of sugar, flour, eggs, and milk. The name melktert means milk tart. The dish can be served either hot or cold, and it is recommended to sprinkle it with powdered cinnamon or cinnamon sugar on top.

Melktert

Spain

Melocot&oacute;n en almibar is a traditional dessert hailing from Andalusia, and it&rsquo;s especially popular in M&aacute;laga. The dessert is made with a combination of large yellow Andalusian peaches, orange peel, vanilla, sugar, and water. The peaches are scalded in boiling water and the skins are taken off. They&rsquo;re then poached in a mixture of water, sugar, vanilla, and orange peel. The fruit is left to cool down in its own syrup, and it&rsquo;s then served, usually with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fried dough cookies called borrachuelos.

Melocotón en almibar

Melocotones al vino is a traditional dish hailing from Aragon, where the people have been growing a type of yellow-fleshed peach with a sweet flavor since medieval times. For this dish, they are macerated in red wine. The dish is made with large, firm peaches and some sweet white or red wine such as Moscatel. The peaches are blanched, peeled, cut into quarters, and placed into wine glasses. The wine is poured over the peaches and the combination is then left to macerate for a few hours. After some time in the refrigerator, the dessert is ready to be served.

Melocotones al vino

Though they are thought to have originated in ancient Phoenicia, melomakaronas are nowadays a typical Greek Christmas treat. These delicious semolina cookies are traditionally flavored with honey, orange zest, cinnamon and other spices, olive oil, and cognac. Immediately after baking, melomakarona cookies are doused in honey syrup, then sprinkled with ground walnuts. Although some argue that another Greek treat that goes under the name finikia refers to a slightly different dessert, occasionally fried and served without walnuts, today both names are used interchangeably.

Melomakarona

Greece

Translated as honey pie, this light Greek dessert is traditionally associated with the island of Sifnos, but its varieties can be found in other Greek regions as well. The pie combines fresh cheese, preferably mizithra based on sheep or goat milk, eggs, and honey, and it is usually baked as a round, crustless cake. It is recommended to garnish melopita with a sprinkle of cinnamon and an additional drizzle of honey.

Melopita

One of Scotland&rsquo;s teatime staples, melting moments are traditional vanilla-flavored oat biscuits or cookies that are typically made by combining butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, vanilla extract, and oatmeal. The mixture is shaped into small, slightly flattened balls, which are then coated with either rolled oats (which is the traditional way) or desiccated coconut, and garnished with glac&eacute; cherries or other candied fruit before they are baked until nicely colored. Apart from being an all-time favorite tea treat, these scrumptious, buttery biscuits are also commonly prepared for parties and are the perfect accompaniment to a glass of milk.

Melting Moments

The sweet, airy, featherweight delicacy known as meringue is made with a handful of ingredients: egg whites, sugar, some kind of acid such as cream of tartar or vinegar, and the most important, although invisible component - air. Meringue is incredibly versatile and it is mostly prepared to turn desserts into works of art: it can be whipped into frostings for cakes, spooned on pies, incorporated into cakes to make them fluffy, or mixed with chocolate, fruits, and ground nuts for extra flavor. The origins of meringue are still somewhat shrouded in mystery, but the Larousse Gastronomique claims it was either invented by a Swiss pastry chef with Italian origins, named Gasparini, or by King Stanislas I Leszcynski's chef, because some believe that the word meringue comes from the Polish word marzynka. There are also other sources claiming that meringue is an English invention. Regardless of the origins, most food historians agree on the fact that meringue was shaped with a spoon until the early 19th century, and the famous French chef Antoine Car&ecirc;me first started using a pastry bag in order to form this decadent dessert into a more aesthetically pleasing shape. Meringue can be consumed in its soft or hard form, and is usually prepared using French, Italian, or Swiss methods, which all differ from one another. These three methods gave life to a wide variety of popular desserts, including the beloved meringue cake.

Meringue

These soft dumplings consist of whole apricots that are wrapped in a thin layer of leavened, potato, or fresh cheese dough. Always served warm, the dumplings are usually complemented with melted butter, cinnamon sugar, poppy seeds, or sweetened cheese. Although they can be enjoyed as the main course, these dumplings also make an excellent and nutritious dessert.

Meruňkové knedlíky

Meskouta is a traditional cake originating from Morocco. This orange and almond cake is made with a combination of almonds, eggs, sugar, honey, orange juice, lemon juice, orange flower water, oil, flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Once prepared, the batter is poured into a pan and baked until golden. This cake is traditionally prepared in the winter, when oranges ripen. It's often accompanied by hot mint tea or coffee on the side.

Meskouta

This famous classic borrows the name from the fragrant Meyer lemons, the star ingredient which provides it with rich citrus flavors and a vibrant yellow color. The cake appears in numerous versions and forms, but it is traditionally prepared as a simple, buttery sponge cake that is baked in loaf or bundt pans, then served drizzled with a creamy sugar and lemon glaze. It is believed that the cake rose to fame in the 1990s, when the originally Chinese Meyer lemons were introduced to the American culinary tradition.

Meyer Lemon Cake

M&eacute;zes kr&eacute;mes is a delightful, honey-flavored dessert filled with semolina cream and apricot jam. This dish serves as an excellent representative of typical Hungarian cakes that are made from kneaded dough and cooked filling. It can be tricky to make as it requires very thin cake layers and, due to its honey content, all the ingredients have to be heated, and the dough has to be kept warm. After assembling the cake, it should stay in the fridge overnight to become soft and mellow.

Mézes krémes

M&rsquo;hanncha or snake cake is a traditional dessert in which warqa pastry is filled with a delicious almond paste, then shaped into a snake-like form. Although there are numerous recipes for the almond paste, it is typically prepared with almonds, sugar, cinnamon, mastic powder, butter, and orange flower water. M&rsquo;hanncha can be shaped into small coils, but at social gatherings and festive occasions, it is made in a large version, so the guests can enjoy it by breaking off smaller portions from the end of the coil. When baked, the pastry is often dusted with powdered sugar or brushed with warm honey. It is recommended to garnish the snake cake with sliced or ground almonds and pair it with a cup of sweet mint tea.

M'hanncha

Italy

Miascia is an ancient cucina povera dessert originating from the area of Lago di Como. This little known staple of cucina povera has no fixed ingredients, but it's usually made with a combination of day-old or stale bread (pan poss in local dialect), butter, milk, eggs, lemon zest, apples, pears, sultanas, sugar, flour, polenta flour, and rosemary. The bread is cut into cubes and soaked in milk, then mixed with the eggs, lemon zest, apple and pear slices, sugar, sultanas, and both types of flour. Once baked, the cake is often sprinkled with chopped rosemary, giving miascia its unique flavor. In the past, miascia was served on special occasions, but nowadays it is often enjoyed as a simple breakfast. Accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream and paired with a fortified wine, it can also be transformed into an even better dessert than it already is.

Miascia

Türkiye

Midye Baklava is a Turkish dessert that belongs to the baklava family, distinguished by its mussel-like (midye) shape. It is made by layering thin sheets of phyllo dough, stuffing them with finely ground pistachios or walnuts, and baking them until golden brown. The final step involves soaking the pastry in a sweet syrup made of sugar, water, and lemon juice. Midye Baklava is particularly popular in Gaziantep, a city renowned for its baklava craftsmanship, and is enjoyed during festive occasions and special gatherings.

Midye Baklava

Ecuador

Miel con quesillo is one of the simplest Ecuadorian desserts originating from the Loja region. It consists of a slice of fresh local cheese with a crumbly texture, called quesillo, that is drizzled with sweet chancaca syrup made from sugar cane.

Miel con quesillo

Moist, creamy, and characterized by subtle hints of lemon, migliaccio is a typical Italian carnival cake that is mostly prepared in Naples and the surrounding areas. The texture of migliaccio is quite similar to that of a cheesecake, and it is traditionally prepared with semolina and ricotta instead of flour. Although limoncello is the most authentic addition in terms of flavorings, it can be replaced by lemon juice. Once it has been properly baked, the cake can be served either warm or chilled.

Migliaccio

This Argentinian dessert combines layers of crispy puff pastry with dulce de leche. The layers are occasionally coated with cr&egrave;me p&acirc;tissi&egrave;re, while the top is sometimes decorated with Italian meringue. It is believed that the cake was modeled on mille-feuille &ndash; a classic French dessert consisting of thin layers of pastry and cocoa, almond, or vanilla icing. Apart from Argentina, similar milhojas varieties are also enjoyed in other South American countries.

Milhojas de dulce de leche

Milkshakes are usually described as flavored milk and ice cream beverages, usually lavishly decorated and served cold. The first written mention, dating from 1885, was somewhat different, and the word was used to refer to a whiskey drink, similar to eggnog, which was used as a health remedy. At the end of the 19th century, milkshakes were already prepared as milk-based drinks made with flavored syrups. The invention of malted milk powders which contained dried milk, malted barley, and wheat flour, along with the popularization of electric blenders, inspired the creation of a more familiar milkshake version. These inventions transformed the old-fashion milkshake into a creamy and airy form that we are more familiar with today. The final contribution to the modern milkshake was made by Ivar &ldquo;Pop&rdquo; Coulson, an employee at the Walgreens supermarket, who added scoops of vanilla ice-cream to the already famous malted drink. The creamy, cold drink became an instant hit among the Americans, especially teenagers, who would regularly enjoy their milkshakes in diners and fast-food restaurants. The soda fountains equipped with different flavored milkshakes were also put in drugstores as a quick and convenient refreshment. Although not as popular as they were in the 1950s and the 1960s, they are still a crucial part of American culture, reminiscent of youth and enjoyment. This frothy, refreshing beverage is also favored in Australia and the United Kingdom, where it is usually sold in fast-food restaurants and specialized establishments. Modern-day milkshakes, on the other hand, include some unusual varieties such as mango or mocha, and might include luxury ingredients or even be spiked with alcohol. The recent growth in popularity has led to the emergence of numerous artisan shops which create show-stopping milkshake creations infused with popular candies, whipped cream, marshmallows, and even bacon or blended doughnuts!

Milkshake

Creamy, flaky, and delicate, this French dessert can be literally translated as a thousand leaves. Mille-feuille consists of thin layers of pastry and fillings topped with cocoa, almond, or vanilla icing. Fillings may include jam, whipped cream, custard, pur&eacute;ed fruit, or nut paste. The first recipe for this decadent dessert appeared in La Varenne&rsquo;s 1651 cookbook Le Cuisinier Fran&ccedil;ois. Mille-feuille&rsquo;s alternative name, the Napoleon, refers not to the emperor but to the Italian city of Naples, which is known for its layered desserts. There is also a savory version of the mille-feuille filled with cheese and spinach, and it is usually served as an appetizer, especially in Italy and the United States.