Ahh… pastries. Who doesn’t love sinking their teeth into a warm, buttery, slightly crunchy yet soft pastry with or without a delicious filling of sweet richness. Pastries are also a pretty versatile dish and countries all around the world have their own versions of this amazing culinary creation. The one thing they all have in common? They all have the ability to make your mouth water. Get ready, because we are about to take you around the world with 9 different types of pastries!
Croissants, France
How can we write a list about pastries around the world, and not include the pastry capital of the world? We can’t, which is why croissants are no. 1 on our list. The other reason they deserve this spot is that they’re so, so, delicious! Fill them with a bit of Nutella, and I’m in food heaven.
Cannoli, Italy
A cannolo is a cylinder-shaped shell of fried pastry dough. It is traditionally filled using a sweetened ricotta cream, but more flavors and variations of fillings are being tried in the modern day. The Italians have been making cannoli for over 1000 years, especially in Palermo, the capital of Sicily.
Baklava, Turkey
This is a popular Middle Eastern dessert that is made using filo dough, butter, sugar, honey, and a whole bunch of nuts. How can any combination of those ingredients turn out anything less than amazing?
Gulab Jamun, India
Gulab Jamuns are balls of enriched dough that are fried until golden brown and dunked in sugar syrup to absorb and expand. You can enjoy in room temperature or straight out of the fridge, although I personally think the best way to eat them is slightly warm.
Pastelitos, Cuba
These traditional Cuban desserts that can contain either sweet or savory fillings. Flaky filo dough is baked until soft and crunchy and filled with all sorts of things like cream cheese, pineapple, coconut, guava, etc. The savory versions come with chicken, ham, beef, and even crab in the middle!
Profiteroles, France
Didn’t I say France was the pastry capital of the world? Well, that’s why we’re back for more with the delicious palm-sized balls of baked pate-a-choux or choux (pronounced ‘shoe’) pastry. These are then filled using pastry cream. They also make a spectacular centerpiece when stacked up in a cone-shape, called a croquembouche.
Doughnuts, USA
A baker in New York City apparently came up with the idea of frying up enriched circles of dough with holes in the middle in 1920. And since then, their popularity has caught on like fire, with new variations and fillings popping up every day. Whatever way you choose to enjoy them: doused in sugar, dipped in chocolate, filled with pastry cream or jam, they are super delicious!
Koeksister, South Africa
These are little braided pieces of dough that are deep fried and then soaked in cold sugar syrup. The end result is an absolute delicious treat of crunchy, gooey, syrupy goodness. Another variation sees the dough being spiced initially and being rolled in coconut once they come out of the sugar syrup. They both sound pretty amazing to me!
Franzbrötchen, Germany
These spiral pastries are like an amped-up version of the French croissant. Which makes sense, because they are said to have come about during the French occupation of Hamburg, when locals found the traditional French croissants a bit too mild for their liking. Extra sugar, extra butter, extra spice, extra deliciousness!
