Dessert

Italy

Cartellate are traditional Italian holiday treats consisting of fried pastry shells filled with a variety of ingredients such as roasted almonds, chocolate, spices, and honey. They are a staple on every Apulian Christmas table, often coated in dried fig syrup and cinnamon. In Apulia, cartellate are usually prepared in the shape of a rose, which is ideal for absorbing syrups or cooked wine.

Cartellate

Brazil

Cartola is a traditional dessert originating from Pernambuco, but popular across the country &ndash; it can be found both in restaurants and home kitchens. The name of the dish means top hat. It's made with sweetened and fried bananas in combination with cheese. The cheese should brown and bubble, but not melt, so queijo coalho cheese is most often used for this dish. In texture, it's like a firm feta, but without the saltiness in flavor. The bananas are cut lengthwise, then fried in butter, while the cheese is sprinkled with a combination of sugar and cinnamon before it's heated through. When served, the cheese goes on top of the bananas, and it's recommended to accompany the dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the ultimate indulgence.

Cartola

Casadinhos are traditional bite-sized cookies originating from Brazil, where they're a staple at weddings because the name of these cookies means married in Portuguese. The cookies are usually made with a simple combination of butter, flour, eggs, and sugar, while lemon zest and vanilla can be used for extra flavor. Pieces of dough are rolled into little balls that are slightly flattened and baked until golden. The cookies are then traditionally filled with either dulce de leche or guava paste (the filling is sandwiched between two flat, often heart-shaped cookies).

Casadinhos

Round, sweet, and chewy cascaron is a deep-fried Filipino delicacy usually served doused in sugary syrups. Often referred to as bitsu bitsu, this traditional treat is made with sweet glutinous rice flour, shredded coconut, and coconut milk. The dough is shaped into small round balls and deep-fried until golden and crispy on the outside. Although they can be served plain, these luscious balls are often smothered in various sweet syrups, such as the simple sticky caramel sauce or the traditional Filipino latik, the creamy glaze made with coconut milk and sugar. The incredible variety of textures and the mild flavor of coconut make cascaron one of the most popular Filipino desserts. Even though they are commonly prepared at home as a quick after-dinner treat, they are often sold as street food by numerous vendors who traditionally serve them skewered on bamboo sticks.

Cascaron

Arguably Sicily&rsquo;s most famous dessert, this traditional cake consists of liqueur-drenched genoise sponge cake layered with sweetened ricotta and fruit preserves, decorated with a marzipan shell and colorful candied fruits. It is believed that cassata originated as a simple sugar, egg, and ricotta cheesecake while its name is thought to have been derived from the Arabic word qas&rsquo;ah, which refers to the bowl used to make the cake. This is traditionally a winter and spring specialty, and it is most often served around Easter. It&rsquo;s usually chilled for 3 hours before serving. By the 14th century, cassata had become a dessert of the aristocracy, and even today, few people outside of the culinary world are brave enough to prepare this elaborate delicacy at home. Other varieties of cassata exist today&mdash;cassata Catanese is quite popular in the Catania region of Italy, while cassatella di Sant&rsquo;Agata is traditionally consumed during the feast of Saint Agatha, characterized by its small size, green marzipan, and a single cherry on top.

Cassata

Cassata al Forno is a traditional Sicilian baked dessert and a simpler variation of the iconic cassata siciliana. Unlike the more elaborate version with marzipan and candied fruits, cassata al forno is baked and has a rustic charm, particularly popular in Palermo and other parts of Sicily. It features a buttery shortcrust pastry (pasta frolla) shell filled with a mixture of sweetened ricotta cheese, chocolate chips, and sometimes candied citrus peel. The dough is rolled out to line a baking dish, and the ricotta mixture is placed inside, covered with another layer of pastry or latticework, and baked until golden. The result is a dessert with a crisp exterior and a creamy, tangy-sweet filling, blending the richness of chocolate and the freshness of ricotta. Typically served at room temperature or slightly chilled, it is often dusted with powdered sugar and enjoyed during holidays, family gatherings, and special occasions. Predating the more ornate cassata siciliana, cassata al forno reflects Sicily&rsquo;s rich culinary heritage, influenced by Arab, Norman, and Italian traditions. Its simplicity highlights the quality of its ingredients, making it a beloved example of Sicilian pastry artistry.

Cassata al forno siciliana

Cassatelle or casateddi are deep-fried Italian pastries that consist of a sugary filling enclosed within two thin layers of dough, which is enriched with white wine or Marsala. Often considered to be the sweet version of ravioli pasta, cassatelle originated in the Sicilian province of Trapani, where they are still traditionally prepared with a lemon-flavored filling that combines ricotta cheese and chocolate drops. Apart from the traditional version, different varieties of this classic treat are widespread across Sicily. The most popular ones include cassatelle Agira, prepared with a cocoa-and-almond filling, and different varieties are made with pumpkin, figs, or chickpeas. Cassatelle are usually prepared for the Carnival and during the months leading up to Easter. These deep-fried pastries are best enjoyed warm, while the exterior is firm and crispy, and they are typically served dusted with powdered sugar or cinnamon.

Cassatelle

Cassava pone is a sweet, moist, and gummy dessert made from cassava root, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, coconut, sugar, nutmeg, butter, and milk. Not much is known about the origin of this dessert, but it's believed it first appeared somewhere on Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago or in Guyana, although most probably at all of these territories at the same time. Today, cassava pone is so popular that it is regularly the first dessert to sell out at bake sales, and it is said that if you ask any local about pone, you are almost guaranteed to be regaled with a cherished childhood memory.

Cassava pone

This traditional Italian chestnut cake is prepared with chestnut flour, olive oil, rosemary, raisins, and (occasionally) pine nuts. The recipe does not call for any other type of flour or sugar, making this cake a gluten-free and sugar-free delicacy. Some varieties may use other dried fruits, but the traditional version only includes raisins. All the ingredients used in castagnaccio create a dense, not overly sweet cake with a crunchy exterior and chewy interior. Originally, the cake was created as a poor man's dessert and was prepared seasonally, most commonly in winter months, when chestnuts are at their peak. Castagnaccio has been present in Italian culinary history since Roman times, with Tuscany believed to be the place of its origin. The cake is best when made with local ingredients, and it is typically paired with Italian dessert wines.

Castagnaccio

These luscious little balls of sweet fried dough are one of the most recognizable Italian carnival sweets. Their name derives from the word castagne, meaning chestnuts, referring to their shape and size rather than the use of real chestnuts in the recipe. Castagnole can be either fried or baked in the oven, filled with cream, or topped with honey. They can also be filled with chocolate, ricotta, or coffee. Crunchy on the outside, yet soft and pillowy on the inside, they are best enjoyed while still warm and after they have been rolled in powdered sugar.

Castagnole

Light and airy cavacas are simple Portuguese desserts that usually consist of flour, oil, and eggs. They are baked in individual molds and result in puffed, hollowed pastries that resemble popovers. Each pastry is then generously glazed with sugar, which can occasionally be enriched with lemon. Although cavacas have been present in traditional Portuguese cuisine for centuries, not much is known about their origin.

Cavacas

Portugal

Also known as bolos de gema, these traditional Portuguese cookies hail from Margaride, but they are commonly prepared in the entire Felgueiras area. Their soft base is made with a simple egg-based batter that is flavored with lemon zest and cinnamon. When baked, each cookie is coated with a thick lemon-flavored glaze. Although they were usually associated with Easter, cavacas de Margaride are nowadays enjoyed throughout the year.

Cavacas de Margaride

These traditional Italian Christmas cookies were originally invented in Siena. They have a soft texture and consist of flour, nuts, candied fruit, and various spices. Originally, cavallucci were prepared without nuts or candied fruit &ndash; only flour, sugar, honey, and anise seeds were used. The name is believed to be a derivation of the word cavallo, meaning horse &ndash; this is either a reference to their shape, which is reminiscent to a horse hoof, or because they were imprinted with a tiny horse on top in the past.

Cavallucci

Caviadini are traditional Italian cookies originating from Valsassina. They&rsquo;re usually made with a combination of flour, butter, sugar, eggs, baking powder, milk, and salt. The flour, sugar, butter, eggs, salt, and baking powder are mixed into a homogenous dough that&rsquo;s wrapped in cling film, left to rest in the fridge, and it&rsquo;s then rolled out and cut out into rectangular or rhomboid shapes. An incision is made in the center of each cookie, and it&rsquo;s slightly enlarged with the fingers. The cookies are brushed with milk, sprinkled with granulated sugar, and baked in the oven until golden.

Caviadini della Valsassina

Cazuela is a traditional pie made with a combination of pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and coconut milk. The pie is usually made with full-fat coconut milk, and it is traditionally cooked in a banana leaf. Interestingly, it contains no top crust. In Puerto Rico, cazuela is usually prepared during the festive Christmas season.

Cazuela

Cendol is a traditional Southeast Asian dessert that appears in numerous variations throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar. In its basic form, the dessert consists of thin strips of jelly noodles that are typically tinted and flavored with pandan leaves and are then served in a sweet combination of coconut milk, palm sugar syrup, and usually crushed ice. Due to its popularity, the variations may include numerous additional ingredients such as red beans, jackfruit, or durian, while the jelly noodles can be made with tapioca, and rice or mung bean flour. The origin of cendol is vague, but it is believed that it was modeled on a similar Javanese dessert known as dawet, though the first written mention of cendol is found in Malaysia, and it dates back to 1932.

Cendol

Ceremito is a traditional cookie originating from Elba. The cookies (or small cakes, depending on who you ask) are usually made with a combination of flour, olive oil, aniseed, honey or sugar, walnuts, grated orange peel, eggs, yeast, salt, and pepper. Once prepared, the dough is rolled into cylinders that are wrapped around themselves a few times, so that a large hole remains on top. The two ends are then rolled and twisted to look similar to a snail or a phallic symbol. Ceremito is baked in the oven until golden brown, and it's traditionally prepared for Easter.

Ceremito

Ćetenija is a traditional sweet treat from the Balkans, particularly popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in parts of Serbia and Montenegro. Made from simple ingredients like sugar, water, and flour, ćetenija is a delicacy typically prepared during the winter months. The process involves cooking sugar and water into a thick syrup, which is then poured over a bed of baked flour. After cooling, the mixture is kneaded by hand for hours, a labor-intensive process often done communally, bringing people together in a festive atmosphere. This kneading transforms the mixture into a light, airy, and fluffy mass with a pale color. Once ready, ćetenija is served in small portions, often accompanied by coffee or tea. Beyond its delicate, melt-in-your-mouth texture and subtle sweetness, ćetenija holds cultural significance as a symbol of warmth, hospitality, and community, reflecting the importance of food in social gatherings in the Balkans.

Ćetenija

Churchkhela is a traditional Caucasian candy that is shaped into a sausage. This candy is made by dipping a long string of nuts (usually walnut halves) in concentrated grape juice, then leaving the concoction to dry. It is so healthy and so nutritious that, in the past, it was even carried by Georgian warriors on their long journeys. Although walnuts are usually used in the preparation of churchkhela, they can be replaced by almonds, hazelnuts, or raisins.

Cevizli sucuk

Cezerye is a Turkish dessert originating from Mersin. It is made with caramelized grated carrots, sugar, and nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts, or pistachios, although hazelnuts are the most traditional option. The name cezerye is derived from the word cezer, meaning carrot. Once prepared, the concoction is either rolled into balls or shaped into flat, rectangular disks. Regardless of the shape, cezerye is typically covered with shredded coconut before consumption. In T&uuml;rkiye, this sweet confectionery is often thought of as an aphrodisiac and it is especially popular on special occasions.