The World's Most Popular Desserts Have A Fascinating History:

Sweet stories:

Which dessert or cake is your favourite? Whether you have a soft spot for smooth crème brûlée or zesty Key lime pie, you've probably never thought about where your favourite dessert came from. However, your winning pudding may have a fascinating history, ranging from being the product of a delightful mishap to the charming development of a centuries-old treat over time.

Key Lime Pie:

A famous Florida treat are zesty Key lime pies. However, as is often the case, this dessert's history is unclear. It has long been believed that the pie was created in the 19th century by a cook known as "Aunt Sally," who prepared the delicious delicacy for her employer, Florida millionaire William Curry, using a lot of condensed milk. Surprisingly, though, there is disagreement over Florida's claim to the Key lime pie. (This image from the 1950s depicts a classic Key Largo tea store advertising Key lime pie.)

Key Lime Pie:

The first known recipe from the Key West area dates back to 1939. However, Stella Parks, the author of Brave Tart: Iconic American Desserts, speculates that the Borden condensed milk plant in New York City may have been the inspiration behind the zesty pie. Its recipe, from 1931, is the same as the traditional dessert except that it calls for lemons. To no effect, Key West historians have been attempting to unearth a regional recipe that existed before Borden's. Keep an eye on this space.

Sacher Torte:

To visit Vienna and not indulge in a slice of Sacher torte—a decadent chocolate cake with a hint of apricot jam—would be a sin. For nearly 200 years, patrons of the coffee shops in the Austrian capital (see sample above) have been indulging in this dessert. The dessert's creator and namesake, Franz Sacher, was a courageous young chef's apprentice who invented it in 1832.

Pastéis De Nata:

Portugal's national dish is pastéis de nata, which are exquisite small pastry tarts filled with sweet, creamy set custard and dusted with cinnamon. Though their origins go back centuries, they are now served everywhere from hip dining halls to classic old-school bakeries across the nation. It appears that the monks of Santa Maria de Belém's Jerónimos Monastery (seen) fashioned them by starching their garments with egg whites.

Pastéis De Nata:

Due to their propensity for doing laundry, the monks had an abundance of leftover egg yolks, which they decided to whip into these delicious pastries with custard instead of discarding. The monastery's ancient recipe was sold to a sugar refinery, which went on to establish Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém, after the convent finally closed in the 19th century. Pastéis de nata are still made at the bakery today using this time-honoured, top-secret recipe.

Tiramisu:

Although it’s hard to imagine an Italian dessert menu without tiramisu, the punchy caffeinated dessert (which roughly translates from Italian as 'pick me up') was only invented in the 1970s. It’s made up of coffee-soaked ladyfingers (sponge fingers) layered with sweet mascarpone and dusted with a healthy amount of cocoa powder. And, according to lore, it was created by accident.

Tiramisu:

As usual, there are several origin tales, but the most well recognized one credits Ado Campeol, the owner of the Le Butcheries restaurant in Treviso, northeastern Italy, with creating it. While making vanilla ice cream, Campeol—who died at the end of 2021 -accidentally put some mascarpone cheese into a mixture of sugar and eggs. When Campeol and his spouse combined the mixture with ladyfingers dipped in espresso, the tiramisu was created. A tiramisu from Le Beccherie is pictured.

Churros:

These are a popular dish in Spain and Latin America, deep-fried dough tubes packed full of sugar crystals that are typically served with a pool of sweet, melted chocolate. Despite being extremely fashionable right now, the delectable morsels have been served for decades. However, there are differences of opinion on their precise origins. Some accounts claim that Spanish shepherds invented churros by cooking dough cords over an open flame.

Churros:

These dough tubes, drenched in sugar crystals and deep-fried, are a traditional dish in Spain and Latin America, typically served with a mound of melting chocolate. These mouthwatering morsels have been served for ages, despite being in style now. However, there are differences of opinion on their precise origins. Some accounts claim that Spanish shepherds invented churros by cooking dough cords over an open flame.

Baklava:

Baklava is a delicacy made of layers of filo dough, chopped almonds, and delectably sweet syrup. The dessert's history is as multifaceted as the meal itself. When it comes to the origin tale, nations and cultures collide: the Greeks and Turks both claim it, but the history of the candy is actually far more nuanced. The Assyrians, whose dominion spanned much of the Middle East and included parts of modern-day Turkey, are claimed to have invented the pastry treat in the eighth century BC.