Sweets & Confections
Sweetness came from honey long before it came from sugar — the rock painting at Cuevas de la Araña shows a honey harvest 8,000 years ago. Sugarcane was domesticated in New Guinea and carried west, and India learned to crystallize its juice into transportable sugar by about 500 CE. Confectionery as a craft follows that crystal: once sweetness could be stored and shipped, it could be shaped.
Explore Sweets & Confections
Gabonese banana frittersGambian couscous-yogurt dessertGeorgian grape-and-nut confectionGhanaian sweet doughnutGreek honey doughnutsGrenadian nutmeg ice creamGuatemalan plantain-and-bean frittersGuava paste confectionGuinea-Bissau sweet corn couscousGulf syrup or date-molasses doughnutsGuyanese pineapple pastryHaitian coconut tablet
High-fructose corn syrupHonduran cheese rings in syrupHoney-bound fried dough confectionHořice wafer rollsHungarian layered caramel cakeIndian syrup coilsIndonesian palm-sugar rice ballsIraqi date-filled cookieIrish fruit tea bread
Jaggery / gurJamaican coconut candyJapanese red-bean pancake sandwichJordanian cream-filled filo pastryKazakh toasted-grain confectionKiribati coconut candyKittitian-Nevisian coconut tartKorean honey pastryKosovar syrup-soaked fried pastryKuwaiti cinnamon wafer rollsKyiv hazelnut-meringue cakeLatvian rye carrot-potato tartLiberian coconut candyLibyan flour pudding with date syrup or honeyLithuanian spit cakeLübeck marzipanLuxembourg plum tartMacedonian semolina syrup cakeMadagascan banana-peanut rice cakeMalaysian layered steamed cakeMaldivian sweet rice puddingMaltese date-filled pastry
Maple sugar and syrup
Maple syrupMarshallese coconut candyMauritanian millet-and-cultured-milk sweetMauritian jam sandwich biscuitMexican amaranth seed candyMicronesian coconut candyMillet-and-yogurt sweetMoldovan dark baked pudding cakeMonégasque orange-blossom sweet breadMongolian fried dough biscuitsMontenegrin fried dough with honeyMoroccan sesame-honey pastryMozambican cashew-potato cakeNablus cheese knafehNauruan coconut puddingNepalese sweet rice ring bread
High-fructose corn syrupHonduran cheese rings in syrupHoney-bound fried dough confectionHořice wafer rollsHungarian layered caramel cakeIndian syrup coilsIndonesian palm-sugar rice ballsIraqi date-filled cookieIrish fruit tea breadJaggery / gurJamaican coconut candyJapanese red-bean pancake sandwichJordanian cream-filled filo pastryKazakh toasted-grain confectionKiribati coconut candyKittitian-Nevisian coconut tartKorean honey pastryKosovar syrup-soaked fried pastryKuwaiti cinnamon wafer rollsKyiv hazelnut-meringue cakeLatvian rye carrot-potato tartLiberian coconut candyLibyan flour pudding with date syrup or honeyLithuanian spit cakeLübeck marzipanLuxembourg plum tartMacedonian semolina syrup cakeMadagascan banana-peanut rice cakeMalaysian layered steamed cakeMaldivian sweet rice puddingMaltese date-filled pastryMaple sugar and syrupMaple syrupMarshallese coconut candyMauritanian millet-and-cultured-milk sweetMauritian jam sandwich biscuitMexican amaranth seed candyMicronesian coconut candyMillet-and-yogurt sweetMoldovan dark baked pudding cakeMonégasque orange-blossom sweet breadMongolian fried dough biscuitsMontenegrin fried dough with honeyMoroccan sesame-honey pastryMozambican cashew-potato cakeNablus cheese knafehNauruan coconut puddingNepalese sweet rice ring bread