LONDON, 2021-Jul-13 — /Travel PR News/ — The world is full of delicious desserts and sweet treats unique to local culture and history. From Japanese biscuits to Tahitian mango pudding, discover 10 of the world’s most indulgent treats for your next foodie break.
JAPAN
Tsuruko Manju from Maneido sweet shop in Hachinohe
Maneido is a sweet shop in Hachinohe, most people flock here for the Tsuruko Manju that have been made using a recipe that’s transcended generations. The treat is filled with a sweet paste of red bean and dark sugar, and topped with rice flour and sugar shavings. It’s not too dissimilar to a macaroon. We would recommend the cream-cheese variation, it is the ideal snack to have after having walked part of the Michinoku Coastal Trail.
Fish-shaped sweet treats from Gifu
Gifu is famous for ayu-gashi sweets that were inspired by the ayu sweetfish that inhabit the clear waters of the local Nagaragawa River. The small fish-shaped treats are made by wrapping a layer of soft castella cake around a soft paste called gyuhi made from sticky rice, then stamping on its face with a hot iron. Ayu-gashi is sold at more than 30 shops in the Gifu area and is a widely recognised specialty of the region. In 2010, the Ayu-gashi Promotion Association introduced a cute mascot called Hi-ayu-maru to help publicise Gifu’s ayu-gashi across Japan.
Mikado Coffee’s Mocha Softcream, Nagano, Three-Star Road
Mikado Coffee is a famous coffee shop whose specialty is mocha soft serve ice cream. The coffee shop was born in Tokyo but has called Karuizawa in Nagano home for 65 years. This milk based ice cream hosts a subtle coffee flavour in keeping with the bean theme. Customers can eat it in a cone or in a cup, or in an iced coffee float. When served in a cup, mocha soft ice-cream is garnished with a dried Californian prune soaked in a special syrup adding a touch of fruitiness and originality making this a not-to-be-missed snack while strolling along Kyu Karuizawa Ginza Dori.
Momiji Manju on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima
Turn your dessert hunt into a pilgrimage in the Japanese prefecture of Hiroshima. Recognised as a symbol of the region, Momiji Manju is a star-shaped bun with a sweet bean paste filling. Perfected in 1906, the snack emulates the beauty of Miyajima’s autumn leaves. These days, Momiji Manju can be bought in flavours like chocolate, with special bamboo charcoal dough. Visitors can find them at stalls lining the footpath leading to Itsukushima Shrine – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
USA
Birthplace of the banana split – Pittsburgh
Historically, pharmacies often doubled as an ice cream parlour in the USA and in 1904, 23-year old Pittsburgher David Strickler invented the world’s most popular sundae – the banana split. Consisting of three scoops of ice cream (vanilla, strawberry and chocolate) nestled between a banana sliced lengthwise and topped with whipped cream, chopped nuts and a classic cherry, and is marked with an official statue and a plaque in the town it was created.
The Date Shake – Greater Palm Springs
www.visitgreaterpalmsprings.com
Home to many date farms, the humble date is a staple ingredient in this Southern California oasis. The caramel-like texture provides the perfect after dinner sweet treat. Many local eateries serve up creamy, ice-cold shakes with Shields Date Garden one of the most popular with a 60s-style counter. Sip yours while strolling through the 17-acre date groves and citrus trees, an Indio mainstay since 1924.
Pink Champagne Cake – SLO CAL
Madonna Inn, the wildly quirky, pink-themed hotel located in San Luis Obispo country along California’s central coast, has a world-famous bakery offering wonderfully unique cakes, cookies, pastries, dinner rolls, specialty breads & cream and fruit pies. The signature Pink Champagne Cake – as over the top as the name suggests – is made with layers of delicious Bavarian cream and fresh Whipped Cream, sandwiched between layers of light and spongy white cake. The cake is then enrobed in whipped cream and Pink Chocolate shavings and finished with Bavarian Cream stars and Pink Chocolate curl. Enjoy a generous slice in the pink restaurant.
Ginger Elizabeth – Sacramento
Ginger Elizabeth chocolate in Sacramento is the place to go for dessert. With over 20 years of training as a chocolatier and pastry chef, Ginger enjoys dissecting the science behind confections. The 24 bonbon flavours which include Wildflower Honey Yogurt, Bergamot Pale Ale and Grapefruit Fennel Pollen. Owner Ginger strives to be sustainable and careful with resources, working with local farmers for fruits, nuts, dairy, alcohol and olive oil, and the chocolate producers she works with all have programmes in place to help the farming communities from which they source cacao. Dessert aficionados should check out Ginger’s creative chocolate and cake instagram reels, which easily rack up 25k views.
EUROPE
Bled Cream Cake – Slovenia
Slovenian desserts are just as diverse as the towns and villages they originated in. The most famous and most photographed local desert is the Bled Cream Cake. Perfected in 1953 by local chef, Ištvan Lukačevič, former head of the Hotel Park pastry kitchen, the characteristic combination is a yellow layer of vanilla custard with a narrow layer of whipped cream, sandwiched between baked puff pastry with a dusting of icing sugar. Hotel Park pastry kitchen claims to have made more than 15 million original Bled cream cakes to date.
REST OF WORLD
Tahitian sweet treat Po’e’, The Islands of Tahiti
The Islands of Tahiti are renowned for their delicious fresh fruit and sweet vanilla desserts. Po’e’ is a popular fruit pudding found at traditional Tahitian tamara’a barbeques. Sweet and starchy, this pudding is made from papaya, mango and banana, topped with a rich coconut sauce. Originally, the pudding was wrapped in banana leaves and baked in the fire pit, and served at local festivals.