Desserts area the fairy tales of the kitchen, a happily ever after....
Top 5 popular sweets
eaten in various parts of the world
PAKHLAVA
IN SHEKI, AZERBAIJAN
Pakhlava has
some distinctions in diverse regions grounded on the materials and baking
methods. Sheki is one of the most ancient cities in Azerbaijan and extremely
popular for its sweets. This sweet is shaped like a diamond (symbolizing fire)
pastry made of rice flour, tastes sweet and spicy and is moistened with butter
and generously soaked in syrup. A layer is rolled out from the pastry with
thickness of minimum 2 mm, put into baking tray, oiled and extravagantly
filled with a filling of nuts. This procedure is continued, until about 10
layers are achieved, some even make 14. The nuts that beautify the top of each
piece represent the star that illuminates up the commencement of a new life.
CHOCOLATES
IN BROC, SWITZERLAND
With outstanding
quality of raw material procured from numerous parts of the world, chocolates
here are distinct owing to their thoroughness and exquisiteness. Just a few
minutes by train, outside of Gruyere, is Broc; Maison Cailler, the
only milk chocolate factory of Cailler-Nestle in the world which
seems like a fantasy wonderland. The voyage over the factory depicts the record
of the finding of the cocoa beans and finally, discovery of Cailler chocolate.
The crusade paints a picture of cocoa beans which has been categorised
inversely in diverse eras. You can see how the good quality of milk from the La
Gruyere region is used in the chocolate. Each chocolate is prepared with
devotion and exactitude to pass the difficult test of perfection. Did I mention
that the tour, with plenty of chocolate tasting, is free?
KOUIGAMANN
IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
There’s nothing
quite like the ecstasy of biting into a sweet savoury Kouigamann as a breakfast
treat or a late night snack with a cup of coffee. It is a sort of cake, made
with copious amount of butter, so much so that the dough is puffed up by its
cooking that it looks more like a pastry. In fact it’s similar to a croissant –
though additional buttery and sugary one. It is known to originate from the
Brittany region of France but Kouign Amann Day became an official day in 2015,
submitted by San Francisco bakery b. patisserie. The best ones to have are at
the Bloom Chocolate Salon inside Dandelion factory on 16th Street.
STICKY
DATE PUDDING IN DUBAI, UAE
Dubai loves its
dates and these the soft and sticky ones have the power to make any dessert
slightly more comforting. For a sweet date treat with Morrocan flair, try the
one at Shangri-La’s coffee shop, sticky date pudding – a warm sponge with
vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Bateel Cafe is equally famed for its dates
and the pudding. And a place you definitely cannot miss eating this gooey
middle eastern delight is at Ayamna at Atlantis The Palm, hands down No 1 in
Dubai.
MANGO
STICKY RICE IN BANGKOK, THAILAND
This humble
sweet savoury combination of coconut flavoured sweet sticky rice with ripe
yellow mangoes is the most popular in Thailand. This is best eaten warm
and is frequently completed with a trickle of sweet coconut cream and
topped with a smidgeon of roasted sesame seeds or mung beans. This can be found
from various street food stalls to most old-style Thai restaurants and even as
part of the high end magnificent Sunday brunches offered by some of Bangkok’s
top hotels. Saffron at the Banyan Tree being one of the favourites.
My story first published in ET Travel
