What are some desserts called?

Desserts come in many different varieties and go by many different names. Some of the most popular and commonly known desserts include cakes, pies, cookies, doughnuts, ice cream, pudding, and candy. But the world of desserts goes far beyond just these staples. Here we will explore some of the many types of desserts and what they are called.

Table of Contents

Cakes

Cakes are one of the most popular and beloved desserts in many cultures around the world. From birthday cakes to wedding cakes, cakes are used to celebrate special occasions. There are countless different types of cakes including:

Sponge Cake – Made from eggs, sugar, and flour. They are light and airy.
Angel Food Cake – A type of sponge cake made without egg yolks and leavened only by beaten egg whites.
Bundt Cake – Made in a Bundt pan to create a ring shape. Popular flavors include chocolate and lemon.

Sheet Cake – A simple single-layer cake baked in a sheet pan and frosted.
Pound Cake – Contains one pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar resulting in a dense cake.
Genoise – A French sponge cake made solely from butter, eggs, and sugar.

Chiffon Cake – Uses oil or vegetable shortenings instead of butter and additional leavening agents to create an extra light texture.
Carrot Cake – Contains grated carrots mixed into the batter, usually frosted with cream cheese frosting.
Red Velvet Cake – Distinctively reddish cake with origins in the Victorian era. It uses beet powder or red food coloring.

Fruitcake – Contains candied fruit and often nuts. It’s commonly eaten around the holidays.
Coffee Cake – Refers to cakes containing coffee as a flavoring. They are great for breakfast.
Cheesecake – Has a filling made primarily of cheese (usually cream cheese) over a pastry crust base.

Pies

Pies are desserts with sweet or savory fillings covered in pastry crust. Some popular types of pie include:

Apple Pie – Filled with apples and often cinnamon, it is considered one of America’s classic desserts.
Pecan Pie – Made with pecans and a sweet filling made of eggs, sugar, and corn syrup.

Key Lime Pie – Made with key lime juice, condensed milk, and egg yolks in a pie shell. It’s named after the Florida Keys.
Cherry Pie – Sweet cherry filling, popularized by the song “Cherry Pie.”
Pumpkin Pie – Filled with pumpkin puree and served at Thanksgiving in America.

Lemon Meringue Pie – Meringue (egg whites and sugar) topping over a lemon custard filling.
Chicken Pot Pie – Savory pie with poached chicken and vegetables in a creamy sauce.
Shepherd’s Pie – Originating in the UK, it’s lamb and vegetables topped with mashed potatoes.

Quiche – Savory custard pie made with eggs, milk or cream, and cheese baked in a pastry shell.
Beef Pot Pie – Filled with beef, vegetables, and gravy. Often topped with a biscuit crust.
Banoffee Pie – An English pie made of bananas, cream, and toffee (dulce de leche) on a crisp base.

Cookies

Cookies come in an endless variety. Some all-time favorites include:

Chocolate Chip Cookies – The classic cookie with chocolate chips baked inside.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – Made with oats and raisins in a chewy cookie.

Snickerdoodles – Soft sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking.
Peanut Butter Cookies – Packed with peanut flavor thanks to chopped peanuts or peanut butter.
Sugar Cookies – Simple classic recipes that are decorated into different shapes.

Gingersnaps – Crisp, gingery cookie with a distinctive snap texture.
Biscotti – Twice-baked Italian almond cookies often enjoyed with coffee.
Shortbread – Crumbly, buttery cookies from flour, sugar and butter.

Fortune Cookies – Crisp cookies with a slip of paper inside, commonly served at Chinese restaurants.
Thumbprint Cookies – Small rounded cookies with a thumbprint indentation for filling with jam.
Molasses Cookies – Chewy, crispy cookies with a distinctive molasses flavor.

Doughnuts

Also spelled “donuts”, doughnuts are fried dough confections with many different types and flavors including:

Glazed – Covered in a sweet glaze of icing sugar and hot water.
Chocolate – Glazed with chocolate icing or rolled in chocolate sprinkles.

Jelly – Filled with jelly or jam.
Powdered Sugar – Dusted with powdered sugar.
Maple – Glazed with maple syrup icing.

Sour Cream – Made by incorporating sour cream in the batter before frying.
Apple Fritter – Contains apple chunks in the doughnut batter.
Bear Claw – Named for its shape, it contains sweet almond filling.

French Cruller – An oblong-shaped doughnut made from choux pastry dough.
Old Fashioned – Dense cake doughnut without icing, often dusted with sugar.
Cronut – Trademarked by Chef Dominique Ansel, it’s a croissant-doughnut hybrid.

Ice Cream

Ice cream is one of the most beloved frozen desserts. Popular flavors include:

Vanilla – The most common flavor, often used as a base.
Chocolate – Simple and satisfying.

Cookies and Cream – Vanilla ice cream with crushed up cookies mixed in.
Mint Chocolate Chip – Peppermint and chocolate pieces in vanilla ice cream.
Strawberry – Sweet, fruity flavor.

Neapolitan – A flavor trio of strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla side-by-side.
Rocky Road – Chocolate ice cream with almonds and marshmallows.
Coffee – Made with freshly brewed coffee.

Butter Pecan – Buttery, with roasted pecans.
Pistachio – Distinctive green color and flavor.

Pudding

Pudding encompasses a wide array of thick, custard-like desserts including:

Chocolate Pudding – Smooth chocolate custard.
Tapioca Pudding – Tapioca pearls suspended in a creamy vanilla pudding.
Rice Pudding – Made from rice, milk, sugar and often cinnamon.

Bread Pudding – A bread-based dessert made with breadcrumbs, milk, eggs, and often dried fruit.
Sticky Toffee Pudding – A British steamed cake with dates, covered in a sweet toffee sauce.
Banana Pudding – Layers of cookies, banana slices, and vanilla pudding.

Panna Cotta – An Italian chilled cream custard dessert, often served with fruit syrup.
Flan – A baked egg custard from Spanish and Hispanic cuisines that is inverted and unmolded before serving.
Black Pudding – Sausage-like savory pudding made with pig’s blood and oats.

Hasty Pudding – A historic American pudding made from milk or cream and stir-fried cornmeal. It can be sweet or savory.

Candy

Candy refers to many types of sugar confections including:

Chocolate Truffles – Cocoa-dusted balls of chocolate ganache.

Fudge – Creamy confection of sugar, butter, and milk or cream.
Cotton Candy – Candy floss made from spun sugar that resembles cotton.
Lollipops – Hard candy on a stick.

Candy Canes – Striped red-and-white minty hard candy sticks.
Peanut Brittle – Toffee-like candy with peanuts.
Toffee – Buttery candy made by boiling butter and sugar.

Taffy – Chewy candy made by stretching boiled sugar, butter, and flavorings.
Caramels – Chewy candies made from caramelized sugar and cream.
Marshmallows – Sweet, pillow-like confections made from sugar and gelatin.

Fruit Desserts

Fruits make wonderful fresh desserts and are often featured in cakes and other desserts. Some fruit-focused desserts include:

Cobbler – Fruit filling topped with a biscuit crust.
Crumble – Fruit topped with a crumbly oat topping.

Baked Apples – Apples cored and filled with spices, sugar, and chopped nuts then baked.
Poached Pears – Pears simmered in a sugar syrup.
Fruit Crisp – Fruit baked under an oat and flour topping.

Bananas Foster – Bananas cooked tableside in rum, brown sugar, and butter then served over ice cream.
Ambrosia – A fruit salad made with citrus, pineapple, and coconut.
Fruit Pizza – A sugar cookie crust topped with a cream cheese spread and fresh fruit.

Peach Melba – Peaches, raspberry sauce, and vanilla ice cream named for the opera singer Nellie Melba.
Lemon Sorbet – Light, refreshing frozen dessert made from sweetened lemon juice and water.

Tarts and Pastries

Tarts and pastries make an elegant presentation for dessert. Popular options include:

Tart Tatin – Upside-down tart with caramelized apples on pastry crust.
Macarons – Almond meringue cookies sandwiched with buttercream or jam.
Éclair – Obong pastry filled with custard or whipped cream.

Napoleon – Layers of puff pastry filled with pastry cream.
Palmier – Palm-shaped cookies made from puff pastry layered with sugar.
Profiterole – Cream puffs filled with ice cream, pastry cream, or whipped cream.

Cannoli – Tubular fried pastry shells filled with sweetened ricotta cheese.
Baklava – Flaky filo dough layered with nuts and honey syrup.
Croissant – The iconic crescent-shaped French pastry.

Danish Pastries – Flaky pastries topped with fruits, custards, or icings.

Other Desserts

Some other sweet treats and beloved desserts include:

Brownies – Dense, fudgy chocolate squares.

Rice Krispie Treats – Marshmallows and rice cereal bars.
Whoopie Pies – Two round chocolate cakes sandwiched with cream.
Tiramisu – Ladyfingers soaked in espresso and coffee liqueur then layered with sweetened mascarpone.

Trifle – Sponge cake and fruit layered with custard, whipped cream, and jelly.
Parfait – Layers of cream, ice cream, yogurt, granola, and fruit in a tall glass.
S’mores – Toasted marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched between graham crackers.

Crème Brulee – Rich baked custard with a caramelized sugar topping.
Sticky Date Pudding – Steamed cake filled with dates, similar to British sticky toffee pudding but made with dates instead of only toffee.
Pavlova – Crispy meringue shell topped with whipped cream and fruit named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova.

Conclusion

As you can see, dessert encompasses a huge variety of sweet and decadent treats! There are countless creative combinations of flour, sugar, chocolate, fruits, nuts, and so many other ingredients that go into the favorite desserts enjoyed around the world. From simple homemade cookies to elaborate layered cakes and ornate pastries, desserts are loved by people of all ages and help make special celebrations or just an ordinary day a little sweeter.