The 5 Best Desserts from the African Diaspora

Oct 25, 2021 02:00PM ● By Anand Subramanian

selection of African sweets resembling fried crescent-shape dumpling cake and donuts

Each section of the African Diaspora has its own unique traditional dessert, which offers you a taste of the inhabitants. There are a variety of African desserts, some influenced by the foreign civilizations who settled on the continent, and others based on ingredients that are naturally accessible in the area. Desserts in South Africa are occasionally influenced by Dutch and Portuguese cuisine, thus tarts, cakes, and cookies are popular, however, the ingredients may differ from those found in European counterparts. Dried fruits and nuts are frequently used in North African sweets, such as porridge or beverages made from milk or fruit juices. Several sweets are consumed that are a slice of paradise created from local culinary ingredients. This article will discuss the 5 best desserts in the African diaspora.

Koeksister

Koeksister is a sticky-looking, sweet, South African delicacy. It's made by frying braided dough strips in oil and then dipping them in cool sweet syrup. The name is derived from the Dutch word "koek," which generally refers to a wheat flour confectionery and is also the origin of the American English word "cookie," and "sister" refers to the folk tales of two sisters plaiting their doughnuts and then dunking them in syrup, resulting in this iconic pastry. Koeksisters feature a golden crispy crust and a liquid syrup core, and they taste like honey. These delicacies are available on every main street in South Africa, and they can now be found in the majority of supermarkets.

Figure 1 - Visuals of Koeksister. Source - Google

Vitumbua

Vitumbua is a traditional Swahili delicacy composed of coconut and rice that is then deep-fried. It is a popular Tanzanian street meal that can be found in Mombasa during Ramadhan. This dish goes well with Mbaazi, but it can also be eaten as a dessert on its own. Breakfast is generally served with hot tea. The inside is light and fluffy behind the crust, with a melt-in-your-mouth quality. It is a sweet, delectable delicacy whose recipe has been passed down through centuries in Eastern Africa.

Figure 2 - Visuals of Vitumbua. Source - Google

Malwa Pudding

Malva pudding is a classic African dessert that consists of a pudding foundation topped with a creamy, sweet sauce comprised of water, cream, vanilla, butter, and sugar. Typically, the pudding is made using butter, sugar, eggs, apricot jam, milk, flour, and salt. Traditionally, the dish is served warm, preferably with ice cream, whipped cream, or vanilla custard on the side. The dish is said to be named malva pudding after the Afrikaans term Malva, which means marshmallow, referring to the similarities between marshmallows and the texture of the pudding, however, some argue that the name is derived from the fact that the pudding used to include Malvasia wine.

Figure 3 - Visuals of Malwa Pudding. Source - Google

Milk tart

Milk tart, or melktert as it is known locally, is a popular dessert in South Africa. The tart dates back to the 1600s and is said to have originated with the early Dutch immigrants. The tart has a sweet pastry crust with a milky custard inside made primarily of milk, eggs, sugar, and flour. When the tart has cooled in the fridge and is ready to serve, it is generously dusted with fine cinnamon powder on top, which adds a lovely finishing flavor. There is no one recipe for making the tart. People have developed their variants over the years, as long as the pie has the same basic components.

Figure 4 - Visuals of Milk tart. Source - Google

Kaab el Ghazal

These crescent-shaped cookies are commonly associated with Morocco, although they may also be found in Algeria and Tunisia in somewhat different shapes and under different names. Their name translates as gazelle ankles, although they are most commonly referred to as gazelle horns. They are made up of a thin pastry crust encasing a sweet cinnamon-flavored almond filling. Orange blossom water is often used for both the filling and the pastry dough. The cookies can be coated with crushed nuts or dipped in orange blossom water before being sprinkled with sugar, in which case they are known as kaab el ghazal m'fenned.

Figure 5 - Visuals of Kaab el Ghazal. Source - Google

Anand Subramanian is a freelance photographer and content writer based out of Tamil Nadu, India. Having a background in Engineering always made him curious about life on the other side of the spectrum. He leapt forward towards the Photography life and never looked back. Specializing in Documentary and Portrait photography gave him an up-close and personal view into the complexities of human beings and those experiences helped him branch out from visual to words. Today he is mentoring passionate photographers and writing about the different dimensions of the art world.