Global Eats

10 Tasty Pastries From Around the World

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Brent Furdyk

No matter where you travel in the world, you're bound to come across that particular country's signature pastry. From France's towering croquembouche to Portugal's delightful pastel de nata, these tasty international pastries boast histories as fascinating as they are delicious.

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India: Gulab Jamun

<p>Sort of like an Indian version of a doughnut, gulab jamun consists of deep-fried balls of dough that are drenched in a sweet honey syrup, and can be enjoyed hot, cold or at room temperature. The truth, however, is that gulab jamun is not actually an Indian dish at all, <a href="http://www.indiatimes.com/culture/food/the-heartbreaking-truth-about-indian-foods-that-are-not-indian-at-all-225103.html" target="_blank">at least not historically</a>. The dessert we know today actually originated in Persia and the Mediterranean, known as luqmat al qadi. When this dish was brought to India, it was eventually modified to become the gulab jamun we know today.</p>
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Greece: Baklava

<p>While Greece may lay claim to baklava (a flaky dessert consisting of layers of delicate phyllo pastry and ground nuts, and covered in a sweet syrup), so does Turkey, Lebanon and Armenia, with each country claiming its baklava to be the best. <a href="http://www.thebaklavaguy.com/history.htm" target="_blank">Conventional knowledge holds</a> that the dish originated in Assyria in eighth century A.D., and was reserved for special occasions by those who were wealthy enough to afford such a luxurious treat.</p>
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Austria: Linzer Torte

<p>One of the oldest cake recipes in history, <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/life-style/9054279/Linzer-Torte-enjoyed-for-centuries" target="_blank">Austria’s linzer torte</a> (torte in the German word for "cake") is distinctive for its lattice-like strips of pie crust atop rich layers of creamy, nut-flavoured pastry filling sandwiched with sweet jam, typically raspberry (although in Austria, black currant jam is more typical). The earliest recorded mention of the linzer torte dates back to the 1600s, and it’s believed that baker Johann Konrad Vogel was the first to mass produce the pie in the town of Linz, in 1823, resulting in the torte’s name.</p>
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South Africa: Koeksister

<p>A South African delicacy, koeksister consist of strips of pastry that have been braided together before being fried and soaked in flavoured syrup that's so sweet and rich, newbies are often warned that only a single koeksister should be eaten during one sitting.</p>
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Finland: Joulutortut

<p>A Finnish Christmas tradition, the joulutortut is a ricotta cheese puff pastry shaped like a star or a pinwheel, filled with plum or prune jam inside, and coated in a dusting of powdered sugar. The <a href="https://www.curiouscuisiniere.com/joulutorttu/" target="_blank">light and airy holiday treats</a> are typically paired with mulled wine.</p>
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Cuba: Pastelitos

<p>A traditional Cuban treat, these baked puff pastries contain either sweet or savoury fillings, depending on the baker’s predilections. Sweet fillings traditionally include cream cheese, guava, pineapple and coconut, while savoury varieties include such fillings as beef, chicken and ham.</p>
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Israel: Sufganiyot

<p>Essentially a doughnut without a hole, the plump, jelly-filled pastry enjoyed today is a decidedly Western variation on the original filled doughnuts, which were stuffed with savoury mixtures of meat, fish, mushrooms or cheese. Later in history, a German resident invented a metal pastry syringe, allowing for jelly to be injected into pre-fried doughnuts.</p>
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France: Croquembouche

<p>A French masterpiece that is commonly served at weddings, baptisms, first communions and other special occasions, croquembouche is a pyramid-like tower of cream-filled profiteroles, elaborately decorated with fine-spun threads of caramel. It can also be adorned with flowers, chocolate, sugared almonds and even macarons. The dessert’s name stems from the French words “croquet” and “bouche," which loosely translates to “crunch in the mouth.” </p>
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Brazil: Bolo de Rolo

<p>Bolo de rolo is an artisan-style cake from the Pernambuco state of Brazil, made from covering a thin layer of batter (egg, flour, butter and sugar) with guava paste, and tightly rolling it into a large cylinder resembling a Swiss roll. The log-shaped cake is then sliced and served, typically eaten at breakfast or as an after-dinner dessert.</p>
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Portugal: Pastel de Nata

<p>Small tarts filled with eggy custard, sprinkled with powdered cinnamon and sugar, Portugal’s pastel de nata is believed to be the creation of Catholic monks at the Jeronimos Monastery at some point before the 18th century. At that time, the tarts were a waste-not, want-not way to use leftover egg yolks after the monks utilized the egg whites to starch clothing and clarify their homemade wine.</p>
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