Sobremesa

Australia

This popular treat from New Zealand consists of two crisp, chocolate biscuits sandwiched together with coconut-flavored cream. Produced by Griffin&rsquo;s Foods, currently owned by the Universal Robina Corporation, the cookies are small in size and come packed in 250 g single packs.

Cameo Creme

Camotes Enmielados is a traditional dessert known for its simplicity and delightful taste. The name translates to "candied sweet potatoes". This dish is particularly popular in Mexico and is often served during the Day of the Dead (D&iacute;a de Muertos) celebrations, but it can be enjoyed year-round. The main ingredient is sweet potatoes, which are slowly cooked or simmered in a syrup typically made from piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar) and cinnamon. The process involves cooking the sweet potatoes until they become tender and absorb the flavors of the syrup, resulting in a sweet, sticky, and flavorful treat. Camotes Enmielados can be enjoyed as a dessert or a sweet snack. Its preparation may vary slightly in different regions of Mexico, with some variations including the addition of other spices like orange zest, cloves, or anise.

Camotes Enmielados

United States

Glossy, red, and sweet, candied apples, also known as jelly apples, were invented in New Jersey in 1908, when William Kolb, a candy maker from Newark, made a syrup with melted sugar, red coloring agent, and cinnamon flavoring. He dipped some apples into the syrup and placed them on his shop's window display. As the treats were priced at a nickel a piece, they spread to the Jersey Shore and were soon adopted by traveling circuses and numerous candy shops throughout the country. The best candied apples should pair the sweetness of their thin and shiny coating with a tart and crisp varieties of apples such as Gala, Granny Smith or McIntosh. Traditionally speared on wooden sticks, the apples are synonymous with Halloween in the United States, but they have also spread internationally - in China, where candied apples are a popular street food sold by bicycle vendors, and in England, where they are a traditional snack consumed on Guy Fawkes Day. Simple, nutritious, and convenient, the only downside of this delicious dessert is getting the sticky coating off your face.

Candied Apples

France

Canel&eacute; is a little cake with a rich, custardy interior, and a thin, caramelized exterior, invented by an anonymous cook from Bordeaux in France. There is a theory that the dessert originated in the convent of the Annunciation in Bordeaux, specializing in the production of candied nuts and sweet sticks known as canelets. Canelets were traditionally made by the nuns and given to the poor. In 1790, the nuns left their convent, but the recipe was rediscovered and improved by Bordeaux cooks in 1830. Today, canel&eacute; is an emblematic symbol of the city of Bordeaux, kept as the city's specialty, but it can also be found in numerous Parisian p&acirc;tisseries. Canel&eacute; is usually accompanied by cocktails, champagne, tea, and many types of wine.

Canelé

Canestrelli are simple, yet delicious Italian butter cookies of ancient origin &ndash; they have been prepared since the Middle Ages, often used as a gift on festive occasions such as weddings or religious feasts. The origin of the name is unclear, but it might come from the word canestro, referring to a straw basket in which they were left to cool down after baking. They are made all over Italy using significantly different recipes, but the cookies are most commonly associated with Liguria, where the most recognizable variety is made - the pale, flower-shaped shortbread cookie with a hole in the center. Other popular varieties include hard, waffle-shaped canestrelli traditionally prepared all over Piedmont, or those from Biella, made with two thin chocolate wafers connected with chocolate hazelnut cream.

Canestrelli

Italy

Canestrelli Biellesi have been produced in the picturesque Piedmontese town of Biella since the 1800s. They consist of two thin, crispy chocolate wafers joined together with a layer of chocolate-hazelnut cream in the middle. This luscious chocolate cookie is even protected as a traditional agricultural product of the region, and to assure their authenticity, the top wafer is usually stamped with a mark of canestrelli Biella, combined with the name of the pastry shop that prepared them.

Canestrelli Biellesi

With a texture somewhere between a cookie and a pastry, canestrello di Avosso is a crunchy, golden brown treat traditionally prepared in Avosso di Casella near Genoa. The dough is made with wheat flour, butter, and sugar, and it must be kneaded by hand, rolled and cut with a cookie stamp, then brushed with milk and tossed in sugar before baking. Although nowadays they might seem as a simple sweet, in the eastern part of Liguria, they used to be a symbol of abundance, prepared for religious feasts such as Palm Sunday: together with hazelnut necklaces, apples, and dried fruit, canestrelli di Avosso were used to decorate olive branches that people would take to church for a blessing.

Canestrelli di Avosso

Liguria, especially the area around Montoggio, is a home to a special variety of canestrelli cookies made with chestnut flour. Once a poor man's cookie made with locally available ingredients, these buttery cookies with a distinctive flavor of chestnut and honey are nowadays one of the most famous local treats. Their preparation is taken very seriously: the dough must be kneaded by hand, left to rest for a long time, and it is then baked in wood-fired ovens.

Canestrelli di castagne

Although they are most commonly associated with Liguria and Piedmont, canestrelli cookies are also an ancient tradition in Emilia-Romagna, especially in Piacenza - it is believed that the recipe spread from Aveto valley to the neighboring Trebbia Valley before it finally reached Piacenza. The recipe is very similar to the one prepared in Ligurian Santo Stefano d&rsquo;Aveto, made with flour, butter, eggs, and a touch of salt, with the only difference between the two is that those from Piacenza are additionally flavored with rum. Serving suggestions are also slightly different: while canestrelli are usually served with milk, tea or coffee, in Emilia-Romagna, they are traditionally paired with sweet local wines.

Canestrelli (Emilia-Romagna)

Canestrelli liguri are ancient Ligurian flower-shaped butter cookies with a hole in the center, allegedly named after canestro, a straw basket in which they were left to cool down after baking. Although they are quite simple, made only with flour, sugar, butter, and hard-boiled yolks, these cookies are very popular, so much that they are even recognized as a traditional agricultural product of the region. Local varieties of the recipe also exist, such as canestrelli di Santo Stefano D'Aveto, Acquasanta, or Torriglia, where the basic dough is enriched with ground almonds, lemon zest, orange blossom water, or a topping of granulated sugar before baking. Canestrelli liguri are traditionally enjoyed generously rolled in powdered sugar, accompanied by a cup of coffee or tea.

Canestrelli (Liguria)

The Piedmontese version of canestrelli is a waffle-shaped hard cookie made with white flour, butter, eggs, and lemon zest, named after canesterl&egrave;, a type of iron press in which they were baked. The small ball of dough was placed in the middle, pressed and then baked on the fire until golden brown and crunchy. Nowadays, the basic dough is often additionally enriched with rum, vermouth, marsala wine, cloves, nutmeg, or vanilla.

Canestrelli (Piedmont)

Canjica or mugunz&aacute; is a sweet Brazilian dish made with dry white maize kernels. It is usually cooked in milk and resembles a pudding or a porridge. Traditionally, Brazilians spice it with cinnamon and grated coconut, and occasionally, with condensed or coconut milk. Even though the dish is popular and commonly eaten in all parts of Brazil, it is known under two different names. In the north of Brazil it is usually called mugunz&aacute;, and in the south, it is known under the name canjica. A similar dish from the northern parts of Brazil which also carries the name canjica, or curau, is made with the same ingredients, but with a slightly different method of preparing &ndash; the juice of unripe maize is cooked with milk and sugar, which results in a yellow, custard-like dessert. Regardless of the regional name differences, this sweet Brazilian pudding is a national favorite that is enjoyed throughout the year. However, it is usually associated with Festa Junina, the annual Brazilian festivity celebrated throughout June, marking the end of harvest season and the beginning of Brazilian winter. During these festivities, it is usually offered at local fairs and sold at numerous food stands.

Canjica

These decadent, crispy fried pastry tubes filled with luscious ricotta cheese cream are perhaps one of Sicily's best known desserts outside of Italy. Cannoli are believed to have originated around Palermo during the 9th century, while Sicily was under Arab rule. Legend has it that they were originally prepared by the women of the ancient city of Qal'at al-Nisā' (lit. castle of women), the modern-day Caltanissetta, which at the time served as the harem of a Saracen emir. Later on, the recipe later somehow found its way to the monasteries of Palermo where nuns would prepare this lavish dessert during the carnival season. Cannoli have come a long way since then, becoming incredibly popular not only throughout Italy, but also in North America, where they were introduced by Sicilian immigrants in the late 19th century. Furthermore, thanks to one of the most famous lines from the movie The Godfather &mdash; "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." &mdash; by the end of the 1970s, this dessert had attained a truly iconic status. Although people in the United States are familiar with different variations of this classic recipe, cannoli in Sicily are still prepared in a more traditional way. The crispy pastry shells are typically flavored with cocoa, suet, and Marsala wine, while the delicate freshness of the sweetened ricotta is sometimes enriched with orange blossom water, candied orange peel, chocolate, zuccata candied pumpkin, or finely chopped pistachios. The name is derived from canna, a cane reed that&rsquo;s cut into sections and used as a mold for frying the pastry shells, although metal cylinders have mostly replaced canna nowadays. And last, but certainly not least, cannoli shells are always filled just before serving to prevent them from getting soggy, ensuring the perfect feel of crunchiness against the creamy filling.

Cannoli

These hard almond biscuits visually resemble tiny slices of bread, or cantellus in Latin, which is how they gained the name cantuccini, though they are also known as biscotti, meaning twice-baked. Cantuccini supposedly originated in the Tuscan city of Prato in the 16th century, and they were even served at the Medici court. However, according to some historical records, they did not contain any almonds, being similar to the already famed biscuits from Pisa and Genova. Almonds were added to the recipe towards the end of the 19th century, after which Tuscan bakers started using butter and leavening agents to give the cantuccini a longer shelf life and make them suitable for export. Cantuccini are an excellent after-meal snack, and they are typically accompanied by a glass of Vin Santo, a popular Italian dessert wine, though they are also often enjoyed for breakfast, dipped in milk, coffee, or tea.

Cantuccini Toscani

Aromatic capirotada is the Mexican version of bread pudding, consisting of old bread, chunks of nuts and fruits, cinnamon, brown sugar, sweet syrup, and cheese on top. The combination of these ingredients is traditionally baked in an oven. Fruits might include coconuts, apples, bananas, raisins, and dates, while nuts range from peanuts to pine nuts. Capirotada was originally a savory dish in pre-colonial Spain, when it was mostly associated with the Jewish people and the Moors. Over time, the dish made its way to the New World, where it became the tasty dessert that we know today. It is closely associated with Lent, being a great way to use up all of the leftovers before fasting. Capirotada is traditionally consumed on Fridays and Holy Days, and numerous Mexican people associate it with the Passion of Christ &ndash; the bread symbolizes Christ's body, the syrup is for blood, raisins are for nails, while the cheese symbolizes the Holy Shroud.

Capirotada

Carac is a small Swiss pastry prepared with shortbread pie crust, chocolate, cream, and green icing. It is especially popular in the French part of the country. Even though most of these pastries are prepared in smaller sizes, they can also be enlarged for festive events and gatherings, when they are served sliced, just like regular pies or cakes. The origin of carac is still quite murky, but it is known that the pastry was available in the early 20th century, while the name carac is phonetically linked to caraque, referring to a type of cocoa of high quality.

Carac

Caramel cake is a traditional layer cake with southern roots. Layers of soft and buttery yellow sponge cake are stacked on each other with sweet caramel icing or frosting slathered in between them and all over the cake. What makes this southern classic special is not the cake itself, but the caramel frosting which is quite tricky to prepare and requires practice. If made properly, the caramel frosting will set nicely on the cake, and it will harden at room temperature. The cake batter, which is traditionally baked in round cake pans, is usually a mix of butter, flour, eggs, milk, sugar, salt, baking powder, and vanilla extract. This rich cake has been an all-time favorite dessert for many Southerners (especially those living in the Mississippi Delta region), who commonly prepare it for various special occasions and holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Caramel Cake

Carlota de lim&oacute;n is a refreshing Mexican no-bake dessert consisting of alternating layers of crumbled Maria cookies and cream made from lime juice and milk. The cream should be frozen to the point where it almost reaches the consistency of ice cream. This flavorful dessert is traditionally served during Easter and Christmas seasons.

Carlota de limón

Spain

Carquinyolis are traditional Catalan versions of biscotti, similar to the Tuscan cantuccini. They are made with a mixture of flour, eggs, sugar, and toasted almonds, and sometimes anise and lemon. The almonds used should be left unpeeled and soaked in water before being added to the mix. The resulting biscuits, about 1 cm thick, are typically baked twice. Carquinyolis are served as a dessert, typically accompanied by a glass of sweet wine on the side. Variations on these biscuits, apart from the original cantuccini, also exist in Aragon, the Balearic Islands, Occitania, and Sicily.

Carquinyolis

Carrageen moss pudding is a traditional dessert. It's made with Carrageen moss as the key ingredient, which comes in two varieties &ndash; Gigartina Stellata and Chondrus Crispus. The moss is brown-black or dark green, and it grows on the rocks at low tide line. Other ingredients for this dessert include milk, sugar, eggs, and either vanilla, chocolate, or citrus. The moss is soaked, then cooked with milk and vanilla until the moss begins to extrude a thick jelly-like substance. The combination is strained onto beaten egg yolks for the custard, then mixed with beaten egg whites and chilled. Once it has set, the moss pudding should have a light base and a bubbly, foamy top.