Sweet Latin American snacks are great, especially if you want a quick nibble, but desserts go harder and they’re better at satisfying a sweet tooth. Desserts are just on another level and Latinos really know what they’re doing. If you haven’t explored the world of Latin American desserts yet, you’re in for a surprise and you will find plenty of new favorites. Here are 10 must-try options for sweet tooths:
Tres Leches Cake
Image Credits: Nestlé Recipes
Tres leches cake is a staple in Mexico and for good reason! It’s also very popular in other Latin American countries, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, and more. Tres leches cake is very simple but it’s bursting with flavor. It consists of a sponge cake soaked in a mixture of evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. That’s why it’s called “tres leches” (“three milks”)! The cake is topped with a type of icing known as “suspiro,” which consists of beaten egg whites and sugar, though it can sometimes be whipped cream. In some countries, a splash of rum is added to the milk mixture, which makes the flavors more complex. There’s also a version of this cake called “Cuatro Leches,” which involves caramel sauce, so it’s even sweeter and more delicious.
Pastel de Nata
Photo by helmut.weigel on Wikimedia Commons
Pastel de nata, also known as Portuguese custard tart or egg tart, is a delicious Brazilian dessert that will blow your mind with its simplicity. It’s a flaky pastry tart filled with a creamy custard made from egg yolks, sugar, and milk. The contrast between the texture of the pastry and custard makes for a very satisfying bite and it’s perfectly sweet. It’s one of the most popular desserts in Brazil and we guess it will become one of your favorites.
Arroz con leche
Photo by manuel m. v. on Flickr
If you’re used to eating rice the savory way, this dessert is a great way to get out of your comfort zone. Arroz con leche is a kind of rice pudding and it’s enjoyed all over Latin America. It’s very easy to make at home because it just consists of rice cooked in milk with sugar and cinnamon. In some countries, like Venezuela, cloves are added to the mix to deepen the flavor and make it more aromatic. It’s also common to add raisins to this, but you can skip them if you don’t like them and your arroz con leche will still be amazing. It’s milky, sweet with a hint of spice from the cinnamon and cloves, and super creamy.
Cocadas
Photo by Bogotá, Kolumbien on Wikimedia Commons
Calling all coconut fans! This one’s for you. A cocada is a coconut confectionery made from shredded coconut that’s cooked until caramelized, condensed milk, and sugar. The result is a perfectly chewy treat that’s bursting with coconut flavor and a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. They’re particularly popular in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. Cocadas are super sweet, so you might want to pair it with a nice coffee or tea, and eat just one at a time though you’ll be tempted to eat a whole bunch.
Quesillo
Photo by Alfredo on Wikimedia Commons
Quesillo is a traditional Venezuelan dessert that will easily become a go-to to satisfy your sweet tooth. It’s somewhere between a flan and crème brûlée, so it’s a fantastic little treat. Quesillo is very easy to make because it just consists of blending condensed milk, milk, eggs, a splash of rhum, and a little vanilla extract. The star of the quesillo is the caramel top layer, which is made with water and sugar. This dessert is soft and it melts in your mouth! The quesillo itself has a mild, vanilla flavor, but the caramel makes it more complex, smoky, and sweet. You won’t be able to have just one piece, that’s for sure.
Chocoflan
Photo by Christian Frausto Bernal on Flickr
Originating in Mexico, chocoflan is an absolute delight of a dessert. It consists of chocolate cake and flan, so it has two layers of pure goodness. The impressive thing about this dessert is that it defies logic because when the flan mix is poured over the cake batter, you’d think that they would mix during cooking. But no, when it comes out of the oven and it’s flipped over, there’s a perfect layer of soft flan over moist chocolate cake. The texture is amazing and the flavors go super well together!
Picarones
Photo by medea_material on Flickr
Picarones come from Peru and they’re known for being super flavorful. This is a deep-fried dessert, so it’s similar to a donut, but it’s in a league of its own. What makes picarones special is that the dough isn’t made with just flour and eggs, it’s actually a combination of a local Peruvian squash, “macre,” and sweet potatoes. They’re shaped into rings, fried, and then covered with a sweet syrup made with chancaca (solidified molasses) and flavored with cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, and orange. They can also be covered only with powdered sugar, like a beignet.
Golfeados
Photo by nelson suarez on Flickr
Golfeados are the Venezuelan version of sticky buns, except they’re superior. Golfeados look very similar to cinnamon rolls, but they’re nothing alike. The golfeado dough is made with plain flour, yeast, butter, and panela, which is unrefined cane sugar. Panela has a distinct flavor and it’s quite aromatic, and it’s what makes golfeados stand out. It’s similar to sweet molasses with caramel undertones. The filling of the golfeado consists of a mix of cheese, butter, and panela, which is also where the magic comes from. Last but not least, golfeados are drenched in syrup that’s also made with panela and water. This dessert is a flavor bomb and it’s deliciously sticky and sweet, often served with soft cheese on the side for a nice balance.
Chocotorta
Photo by Ezarate on Wikimedia Commons
Chocolate lovers will enjoy the chocotorta from Argentina. This dessert has been popular in the country since 1982 and it’s very simple but irresistible. It consists of layering chocolate biscuits dipped in coffee and a rich filling made with dulce de leche (caramel) and mascarpone cheese. It doesn’t require any baking, it just has to sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours before you cut it. The flavor combination is insane for such a simple cake!
Bombocado
Photo by Rodrigo.Argenton on Wikipedia
Last but not least, we have the bombocado, which translates to “good bite.” It’s another Brazilian dessert, but this one’s made with flour, grated coconut, shredded parmesan cheese, milk, eggs, and sugar. This mixture is baked and then sliced, so they’re perfectly sweet and salty bites that will blow you away. They’re made for Brazil’s Independence Day, but they can be enjoyed at any time of the year. They go well with whipped cream on top and a hot cup of coffee.
Lupe Ontiveros (as Carmen Garcia) and America Ferrera (as Ana Garcia) in Real Women Have Curves (2002) directed by Patricia Cardoso (HBO)
Venecia Troncoso and Fenessa Pineda in “Mosquita y Mari” (2012) directed by Aurora Guerrero (THE FILM COLLABORATIVE)
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