Travelling around the world is easier than you’d think, not so expensive, but oh, so very delicious. Sometimes all it takes is some dulce de leche prepared the traditional way to take you straight to Buenos Aires or a decadently sweet baklava to teleport us to Turkey.
People have been perfecting hundreds of years old dessert recipes and adapting them to satisfy sweet teeth of all levels. Traditional decadent desserts have been transformed into lighter treats and vice versa, because some like their dessert sweeter, while others prefer a little less sugar, a bit more flavor.
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From the baklava to the subtly sweet Po’e of Tahiti, here are some of the world’s most popular desserts to get you thinking about your next travel destination.
Baklava – of Assyrian origin, but perfected by the Ottomans, baklava is a dessert consisting of paper-thin layers of phyllo dough that are filled with chopped nuts and covered in honey.
The baklava that the Assyrians made was of rough dough with a bread-like texture. The recipe was improved by the Greeks, who when introduced to this dessert, developed a technique to roll the dough in the thin layers we known today. The Greeks helped perfect the recipe, which is why often times they are credited with inventing baklava, but no, that credit must go to the Assyrians.
Baklava is sold in the United States in many supermarkets and can also be found at some bakeries.
Linzer Torte – also Linzertorte is a pie-like dessert from Austria, and it comes from the city of Linz. It’s made with crumbly buttery dough flavored with cinnamon, lemon zest and lemon juice, and ground nuts. The filling is usually raspberry jam, although other jams are used too. Criss-cross strips of pastry cover the preserve.
It is said that Linzer Torte is the oldest cake in the world. True or untrue, it’s a most beloved dessert in Austria, where it’s often eaten at Christmas time as a holiday staple, and in North America, where it’s often sold in bakeries. Bakers have been offering variations of this recipe since Linzer Torte was first brought into the country in the 1850s.
Po’e – is a fruit pudding that hails from Tahiti and is often enjoyed by those who prefer natural sugars with their regular sugar. This is a very popular dessert in Tahiti, often served during barbecues.
Initially, Po’e was wrapped in banana leaves and baked in the fire pit, but nowadays it’s baked in the kitchen. Po’e can be made with any fruit, although most common are bananas. The bananas are pureed, and a mixture of brown sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla is added, then the mixture is baked and served with coconut cream on top.
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Po’s can also be made with other tropical fruits including mangoes, papaya, and pineapple. Po’e is one of the easiest desserts to make at home and is extremely popular with vegans and vegetarians given the ingredients. Po’e is also gluten free.