“Can I have a dessert?”

We all know what desserts are. You can even salivate at the thought of your favourite one. But, how did it originate? Does it have a story? An origin? Let’s dig deep. Disclaimer: Excessive salivation is likely.

If you google the word ‘dessert’ you’ll find that it is “a course that concludes a meal.’’ The word originated from a French word ‘desservir’ which means “to clear the table.” Interesting how we don’t have to necessarily wait to eat something first to get to a dessert. Heck, I know people who eat desserts as a full course meal! (Have you heard of an ice-cream thaali/platter?) With its umpteen formats, a dessert is often associated as a snack and a tummy filler and not just a successor to a meal. Synonymous with ‘sweet’, desserts are consumed to satiate a sweet craving. 

The earliest recollection dates back to an ancient time when honey was considered as a dessert. It then evolved to a combination of honey and dried fruits and later with the circulation of sugarcane across the globe, availability of sugar ensured the invention of a wide variety of desserts. The preparation style and type of desserts made in the Asian regions were significantly different from those in the Western world. Their basic ingredients involved fat and eggs, whereas in the Indian subcontinent they worked with combinations of different types of flours with sugar. As the years passed, various dessert concepts merged and they constantly evolved. While many have passed on traditional age-old recipes, invention of new ones thrive too. Today you can witness various levels of intricacies and science involved in dessert preparations. Some old, some bold but nobody is bored. 

I seriously doubt it is humanly possible to taste every single dessert existing on every corner of this earth! Every region has a wide variety of desserts to offer. In India, every State and Union Territory has their own unique dessert. The most common Indian sweet, ‘laddoo’ (sphere shaped sweet) has myriad types probably originated from different parts of the country. There is besan laddoo, boondi laddoo, coconut laddoo and many more. You even have sweets named after their city of origin, for example ‘Mysore Pak’ and ‘Dharwad Peda’ to name a few. (This article is taking a toll on my diet plans). Though commonly known as Indian sweets, these are our Indian desserts. 

Moving onto the western region, we come across a different set of delicious desserts. Let’s talk about my favourite: a humble cake. It’s marvellous to think of the various avatars a cake can exist in. From a simple sponge cake to a heavily loaded plum cake, a cake is available in various complexities. I recently got to know about a few interesting desserts. ‘Baumkuchen’ is a type of German cake which is also called as a ‘tree cake’. The cake has layers which resembles the rings of a tree! The preparation process is tedious which involves a spinning mould. But it is supposedly one of the best cakes in the world. Talking about interesting desserts, there is one which is intriguing solely because of its name: ‘Spotted Dick’. Yes, that’s the name. It is a type of British pudding made of suet and dried fruits and are usually served with custard. There is also a pudding called ‘Jam roly-poly’ which is also called as ‘Dead Man’s Arm’ or ‘Dead Man’s Leg’! You got to give it to the British for their nomenclature.

Alright to ease with the naming, here’s one that sounds happy and fun: ‘Cheesecake.’ As the name suggests, it’s got cheese and it’s a cake. Voila! Perfect. While it does come in different formats such as blueberry, strawberry, chocolate, pineapple, etc. the plainest cheesecake is my favourite (New York Style preferably).

If I have to order a dessert the main thing I look for are the ingredients. (If there’s chocolate I am sold). Even though i would love to experiment with new dessert concepts, I would prefer to hang around familiar elements and ingredients. For example if you have a modernized version of a tiramisu, I would love to try it because I like tiramisu and no matter how differently it is served, I know it’s still a tiramisu. Now that I recall, I think I have tried at least 10 different versions of a tiramisu! Few of them are displayed below.

From my knowledge, desserts can either be the simplest or the most complicated dish you can ever make. Ranging from cakes, chocolates, candies, custards, pastries, mousse, pies and plenty more, desserts are harbingers of happiness (exaggeration, perhaps?). They serve as mood enhancers. It could be the sugar in it or the whole treat that does the wonder, but it certainly lifts your spirit when you have one.

So if you feel blue without a clue; now you know what to do!