A Decade In Desserts : The Most Popular/Searched For Recipes From 2019

With the onset of social media and emphasis on aesthetics, popular dessert recipes grabbed all the eyeballs they deserve for good reason. In the pre-pandemic year of 2019, a lot of importance was given to wellness, alternate ingredients and old-school presentations – thus making a case for where we really started off from. Along with this, many cuisines from around the world gained popularity for their diverse offerings and the curiosity it generated among those interested in exploring different ingredients and recipes.

King Cake

This traditional pastry associated with Mardi Gras, particularly in areas like New Orleans is a sweet, ring-shaped cake, made with a rich, braided dough and flavored with cinnamon, icing and colored sugar sprinkles in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold — to represent justice, faith and power. What makes the king cake unique is a small, plastic baby figurine that is concealed in the cake before it is baked. It is believed that the person who finds the baby in their slice will have good luck and is tasked with hosting the next king cake party or providing the king cake for the celebrations that happen in the following year.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

The delightfully soft and chewy cookies with a mild tangy flavor due to the cream of tartar in the dough is rolled in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar before being baked, giving them a distinctive cracked appearance once they are ready. Made with the same kind of ingredients as regular cookies, the only difference in the dough is the addition of the cream of tartar and the cinnamon sugar coating on top. This classic cookie has been replicated by many an artisanal bakery and even home chefs, making it a popular confection.

Naked Wedding Cakes

If minimalism needed a food example – these naked wedding cakes, were it. Frosted cakes that weren’t crumb coated or layered with fondant and simply decorated with flowers or other elements, became a thing due to their bare aesthetic. Naked cakes were made especially popular for replacing over-the-top wedding cakes for something more simplistic and straightforward. These cakes also took away the pressure from bakers who worked very hard to achieve a flawless finish on their cakes, making it a labor-intensive process.

Arroz Con Leche

As Mexican cuisine gained popularity in 2019, traditional Latin-American desserts like the arroz con leche or ‘rice with milk’ became a rage. The sweet and creamy rice pudding made by slow-cooking rice with milk, sugar and cinnamon or vanilla is simmered until the grains absorb the milk and become tender, creating a rich and comforting dessert. Served warm or cold and enjoyed in various cultures with regional variations in ingredients and preparation methods, the rice pudding was also wildly popular on content creating apps.

Flan

Enjoyed in places like Latin America, Spain and parts of Asia, the flan is a creamy and decadent caramel custard made from basic ingredients like eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla. Once a layer of caramel sauce is coating the bottom of a baking dish, an eggy custard is poured up top and baked until it has a slight jiggle but holds form. This smooth and silky dessert was one of the go-to recipes that most people found interesting to recreate at home – one, due to its minimal use of ingredients and two, because of how rewarding the flavors of homemade flan were. The result was a delicious dessert with a layer of golden caramel atop a creamy custard.

Smores

This beloved campfire treat popular in the United States derives its name from a contraction of the phrase ‘some more,’ indicating the irresistibility of these treats. To make this, marshmallows are typically roasted over an open flame until they turn golden brown and gooey. The gooey and toasted marshmallow is then sandwiched between two pieces of chocolate, traditionally broken from a chocolate bar, followed by two graham crackers to provide some crunch and a bit of sweetness, while the melted chocolate and marshmallow combine for a gooey, creamy texture.

Vegan Ice Cream

As the emphasis on wellness and good health became a trendy way to live life, plant-based alternatives seeped into the world of frozen desserts. Ice creams with alternative milk like oat, almond or coconut became as popular as their dairy counterparts, with multiple independent makers and businesses steering their energies towards creating more options for those opting for a vegan lifestyle or suffering from dairy allergies. Flavors were mixed and matched and vegan ice cream has now became as commonplace as most other plant-based food options.

Matcha Desserts

Taking a leaf out of the idea of wellness, Japanese green tea or matcha was not only enjoyed as a warm or cold beverage, but also featured in just about all kinds of desserts – from puddings, tiramisu, parfait, pavlovas and cakes. The addition of this fine green ingredient was meant to denote some range of wellness and also infuse its distinct flavor into classic recipes that might intrigue the tastebuds of those eating it.