Desserts Around the World Trivia Quiz

Answer: Italy

According to records it appears that this dessert was first concocted in about 1800 by the madame of a brothel in Treviso in the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy. It was named 'tireme su', a dialect expression meaning 'pick-me-up', and given to clients to restore their strength after they had been entertained. Knowledge of the dessert spread across the region and it was soon being made in family homes as well as in commercial establishments.

In the twentieth century the dessert became more widely known in Italy and its name was changed to tiramisu. There are different versions of tiramisu but the basic dessert consists of layers of mascarpone cheese, cream, eggs and sugar beaten together alternating with layers of sponge or lady fingers soaked in coffee. These layers are then topped with grated dark chocolate and cocoa.

Answer: New Zealand

Although it is not completely certain how or where the name hokey pokey originated, it came to be used in New Zealand as a term for honeycomb or honeycomb toffee. Hokey pokey ice cream is now the name used for vanilla ice cream containing small lumps or shards of honeycomb toffee. It is the second most popular flavour of ice cream in New Zealand after vanilla, and this ice cream has been exported to Australia and some islands across the Pacific as well as parts of Asia, such as Japan.

Hokey pokey ice cream was created in the mid-twentieth century, although it seems uncertain exactly who the originator was. One early manufacturer, Brian Simon, first made his version in 1953 using vanilla ice cream and Cadbury's Crunchie, which is a candy bar made of honeycomb toffee covered in chocolate. The global dairy company Fonterra then created a slightly different version by using small balls of just honeycomb toffee and other companies also produced their own versions.

Answer: Greece

Galaktoboureko is known as a traditional Greek dessert and named after 'galakto', the Greek word for 'milky'. As this suggests, milk is one of the ingredients of a rich filling which is encased in layers of filo pastry. The exact composition of the filling can vary a little but basically consists of an egg custard stirred into a boiled mixture of milk, cream, sugar and semolina. After the dessert has been baked, syrup flavoured with cinnamon and lemon zest is poured over it.

Although associated with Greece, galaktoboureko is now also made in other countries, such as Syria and Turkey, where cornmeal can be used instead of semolina. The dessert is also eaten by people from an ethnic group known as the Laz, who live around the Black Sea in parts of northeast Turkey and southeast Georgia.

Answer: India

A gulab juman, whose name means 'rose berry' in Hindi, is a type of small deep-fried doughnut. Traditionally these gulab jumans are made using khoya, which is milk simmered for hours until the water content has evaporated and a milk solid is left. Milk powder is now sometimes substituted for this and the khoya or milk powder is mixed with flour and yeast or baking powder then with milk or water and perhaps yoghurt. Other flavourings are then added and the resulting dough is formed into small balls which are traditionally deep-fried in ghee or clarified butter until brown.

The fried balls are then soaked for some time in a syrup to which rose water and sometimes other flavourings, such as cardamom or saffron, have been added. Gulab jumans are usually served warm and may be garnished with nuts and accompanied by a type of ice-cream. This dessert was, and is, very popular in India and has also become popular in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, although the exact recipe may differ between countries.

Answer: South Africa

Malva pudding is a type of sweet sponge pudding widely eaten in South Africa and is believed to have first been made a long while ago by people of Dutch origin living there. Origins of the name have various explanations, ranging from the Afrikaans word 'malvalekker' meaning 'marshmallow', due to its texture resembling that of a marshmallow, to the pudding originally having contained malavasia or Malmsey wine.

The main ingredients for the dessert are flour, eggs, sugar, butter and apricot jam, combined with other minor ingredients to make a sponge mixture, which is baked until the top is brown. Whilst still hot the malva pudding then generally has a sweet creamy sauce, made with cream, sugar and vanilla essence, poured over it. This sauce is allowed time to sink in before the pudding is served, sometimes with ice cream or custard.

Answer: Great Britain

Spotted dick is a traditional steamed pudding made in Britain. Its first known mention in print was in the mid-nineteenth century and other terms have also been used for this dessert, such as 'spotted dog' and 'railway cake'. 'Dick' and 'dog' were dialect words for 'pudding' while 'spotted' referred to it having pieces of fruit in it.

The dessert consists of suet mixed with flour, sugar, milk and baking powder and in the past just currants used to be added to the mixture but now other fruit, such as raisins, can also be used. The pudding is steamed for a few hours before being eaten hot, quite often with custard. A variation from Northern Ireland uses a mixture similar to that of soda bread with the same fruit in.

Answer: Egypt

Om Ali is a traditional dessert from Egypt which has been made there for a number of centuries. The name of the dessert means 'mother of Ali' in Arabic and the dessert is believed to have first been created in the thirteenth century. It may have been named after the widow of Sultan Ezz El Din Aybak, who was known as Om Ali. According to legend, she asked for a dessert to be created for a celebration and this dessert was consequently created and named after her.

The dessert is made by placing a mixture of dried fruit, nuts and coconut flakes on top of pieces of lightly baked filo or puff pastry sheets then adding another layer of each before topping this with a third layer of pastry. A heated sauce made from milk, cream and sugar is poured over the pudding then it is baked until the top is browned. Om Ali can be eaten hot or cold and slightly different variations of the dessert are now eaten in Iraq and Jordan.

Answer: Iceland

Skyr is a dessert similar to yoghurt or curd cheese and has been produced in Iceland for hundreds of years. It is believed that the dessert was brought there by Norse people during the ninth century. Skyr may once also have been produced in several areas of Scandinavia but is now considered part of Icelandic cuisine and it has also begun being exported to other countries, such as the US and UK.

The dessert is made by pasteurising or heating then somewhat cooling skimmed milk. A small amount of existing skyr is added to this to introduce a bacterial culture, which causes fermentation. Rennet, an enzyme that separates/curdles milk into solid curds, is also added. The resulting mixture is first allowed to ferment for several hours then is allowed to cool further before being put into a mesh fabric bag and allowed to drain for some time until the skyr is thick and ready to eat. It is a sour dessert which is usually eaten chilled, either on its own or served with fruit or jam, or milk and sugar or honey.

Answer: Brazil

A brigadeiro is a small ball of fudge similar to a truffle. It is believed the dessert was named for a Brigadier, Eduardo Gomes, who was campaigning to become president of Brazil. Its creator was one of his supporters, Heloisa Nabuco de Oliveira, a confectioner from Rio de Janeiro. Although the Brigadier was not elected, the dessert was more successful and became popular in Brazil, especially for festive occasions.

Cocoa powder, butter and sweetened condensed milk are heated together in a saucepan until the mixture thickens. After the mixture has cooled somewhat it is formed into small balls which are rolled in chocolate sprinkles until they are covered in them and these brigadeiros are eaten cold or chilled. Among variations of the dessert, the mixture may sometimes be poured into a container and topped with the sprinkles then eaten warm while chopped nuts can sometimes be used instead of the chocolate sprinkles.

Answer: Ukraine

Its exact history is not known but yabluchnyk is a traditional Ukrainian apple dessert with a streusel topping. It is made by mixing together flour, sugar and baking powder then blending in butter until a crumbly mixture is formed. To this is added a mixture of egg and cream to create a soft dough which is placed in a baking tin or dish and then a layer of overlapping sliced apples is placed on top of the dough.

A crumbly streusel topping made from flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter is then poured over the apples and the yabluchnyk is baked until the topping is brown. A variation on this dessert is for the sliced apples to be placed between two layers of the dough and the topping to be poured over the top layer of dough. Other fruits, such as pears, can also be used instead of apple while another variation uses puff pastry instead of dough.