So we all had Japanese mochi, Turkish baklava and Italian gelato, but what are your favorite lesser knows desserts that you’d only know if you were from there?
I’ll start. Ukrainian Honey Cake [Medovik](https://veselka.com/products/medovyk) at Veselka, that tastes like a soft spongey honey cloud hug.
It’s something your grandmother would make for special occasions, because it takes 3 days to make it, it must have at least 8 layers if you want to be taken seriously, (and at least 12 if you want respect of your peers), and the cream between each layer is of course sour cream.
Best in fall in winter, with a cup of hot tea in the evening on a veranda, with soft music in the back and dimmed lights, in a company of an old friend with whom you reminisce about good old times (before Soviet union).
by gogobieber2020
13 Comments
That looks so good! One of my lesser known faves is ube flan from Purple Dough in Queens. If you’re an ube lover and flan isn’t your thing they also have cupcakes, doughnuts, cookies, etc as well as other Asian inspired flavors like pandan, Thai tea, etc. Highly recommend!
Georgian [Pelamushi ](https://www.chamamama.com/menus/#desserts) from Chama Mama – the most amazing grape pudding.
It’s super rare to find Pelamushi by itself, because technically it’s made as an ingredient for [Churchkhela ](https://cookingcounty.com/georgian-churchkhela/) – walnut candy wrapped in dried Pelamushi, that almost tastes like a grape fruit rollup with walnuts inside.
So when your mom makes churchkhela, and she just finished a batch of Pelamushi that needs to cool down, you can get a bowl of the thick grape pudding, put a few nuts on top and eat it with a spoon.
I love Chama Mama for serving it as a separate desert.
It’s mango sticky rice season! I’ve noticed that local Thai places have started carrying it. Khao Nom is probably the most famous place with it (and other thai sweets). SriPraPhai also has a good version packaged for take-out.
Ube “bouncy” cheese cake (Japanese cheesecake?).
Vanitsa (Bulgaria)
Fong On for tofu pudding
Hungarian [flodni](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fl%C3%B3dni) from [Andre’s](https://www.google.com/search?q=hungarian+bakery+near+me&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS986US986&oq=hungarian+bak&aqs=chrome.2.0i512l4j46i175i199i512j0i512l4j69i57.5250j0j4&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#trex=m_t:lcl_akp,rc_f:rln,rc_ludocids:10183665700838808550,ru_gwp:0%252C7,ru_lqi:ChhodW5nYXJpYW4gYmFrZXJ5IG5lYXIgbWUiA5ABAUiH3r6SvrmAgAhaJhAAEAEYABgBGAIYAyIYaHVuZ2FyaWFuIGJha2VyeSBuZWFyIG1lkgEGYmFrZXJ5mgEjQ2haRFNVaE5NRzluUzBWSlEwRm5TVVJvZFdWcVRFWjNFQUWqAWMKCi9tLzAyd3Y2dGgQASoUIhBodW5nYXJpYW4gYmFrZXJ5KAAyHxABIhvMbE-XoXZGu6-DYpo1e-fEA0o0rWBPq3G6DAgyHBACIhhodW5nYXJpYW4gYmFrZXJ5IG5lYXIgbWXgAQA,ru_phdesc:QuiLD3SoAkA,trex_id:W6FQsb&lpg=cid:CgIgAQ%3D%3D)
Sour cream cake??
Both the Kaiserschmarrn and the Salzburger nockerl at Wallse are authentic and pretty well made
Admittingly, what one person feels is common might be what another person never had. For instance, I didn’t have Baklava until I was like in my mid 20s, but I’ve had various Romanian and Chinese cakes before then.
Southeast Asian – I personally like pulut hitam, a malaysian black rice dessert. It’s also known in indonesian as bebur ketan hitam.
East Asian – Sichuan Ice Jelly (bing fen) is also very good since it combines everything to a gelatinous fruity dessert (try it at queens night market)
Hispanic – Not sure how “common” this is but Dominican cake is fantastic. I say common because I know people tend to go for churros or flan for these kind of desserts.
Also fuck /u/spez
Kuih Cafe has a rotating selection of Malaysian desserts on weekends. If you’ve never had these, you’ll understand why Asians say “not too sweet” to compliment desserts.
Not sure where to find these, but sekerpare (or some variant of syrup-soaked semolina cookies) run in the opposite direction by being absurdly sweet with a fudgy grainy texture (in a good way!).
Toast is a great dessert. People who’ve never had dessert toast might be puzzled at the idea, but it is supremely satisfying! Warm, cold, soft, fluffy, crunchy, browned, buttery… so many contrasts. Spot sells them, but I don’t remember what their version tastes like.
These are NOT lesser known but:
Sujeonggwa (Korean cinnamon punch) – I used to not like it but as I get older my taste buds have changed. Some Korean restaurants (Chilsung Garden) serve it at the end of meals, and Atoboy has a granita version
Mango pomelo sago – Mango Mango
Gulab jamun (kind of Indian doughnut soaked in syrup) – had it in Astoria but I forget where. Its flavor profile is very similar to a Korean cookie called yagwa
Kkwabaegi (Korean twisted doughnut covered in sugar) – most Korean bakeries sell them
Castella (Japanese honey sponge cake) – I wouldn’t list this but a friend had no idea what they are the other day. It’s made with bread flour so there’s a slight chew. Korean/Japanese bakeries and grocery stores sell it.
These are probably not lesser known, but as far as Belgian desserts go, the waffles from Wafels en Dinges are legit (they’re Liège waffles, the best kind of course). The owner is Belgian. Another Belgian guy is making delicious chocolate mousse. His shop is called Mojo and it’s in East Harlem. They have the standard milk chocolate mousse, but also hazelnut mousse and passion fruit. All absolutely delicious.
Little Grace Bakery has the BEST burnt basque cheesecake on the planet.