Famous Sweets and Desserts and the stories of their dynastic fame

Did you know certain sweets and desserts are associated with long gone, and some still living with the rich echelons of society? That was the way with many food items that used ingredients considered expensive from that bygone era. Stay with us as we take you on a tour of these once “only for the rich” desserts that are accessible and loved by everyone today. It is no surprise that each of these desserts had a talented hand in making them come to life, not the elite person or dynasty they are linked to.  

1. Gulab Jamun 

There are several desserts associated with the many rise and fall of royal and elite dynasties in India itself, but if we had to single out one, it would be the Gulab Jamun. This delicious brown ball of sweetness, soaked in a fragrant sugar syrup, is sheer perfection, and one bite into a warm Gulab Jamun can turn even the ones without a sweet tooth a fanatic. There are two versions of this tale, but the popular and more accepted one pinpoints its origin in India, in the royal kitchen of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. His personal chef had supposedly prepared it by accident, and the Emperor delighted in this invention of his.  

2. Esterhazy Torte 

This layered cake from Hungary was specially made, sometimes in the late 1800s, and named after Prince Paul III Anton Esterházy de Galántha, a diplomat of the Austrian empire, who belonged to the famous Esterházy dynasty and also a reputed diplomat of Austria. This layered buttercream cake is usually decorated with sliced almonds and an intricate spiderweb pattern on the fondant topping. It is also popular in Hungary where it’s made with walnuts versus the almonds used in the original Austrian version. The hands behind this remarkable creation is said to be that of the famous Jozsef Dobos, who made the first Esterhazy Torte with layers of almond meal sponge with vanilla and cognac buttercream.  

3. Kakigori 

Can you imagine a shaved ice dessert being gatekept? Because the Japanese Kakigori was not accessible to the general public, for a long time, and Kakigori is quite ancient. It comes from the Heian period (794–1185), where the lack of freezing technology was costly and thus only accessible to the Japanese aristocracy. They used to save ice blocks from winter and shave off bits, douse it in syrup, and serve to the nobility when summer brought its unbearable heat. It took a while, some 7 centuries for such technology to become accessible to all and Kakigori boomed in popularity with shops popping up in Japan.  

4. Baklava 

It might be a stretch to say this but it was the Mesopotamian civilization that paved the way towards the modern baklava. They used to make some kind of flatbread layered with nuts and honey, around 2800 BC. The Byzantine Empire, which mostly was made up of modern-day Turkey and Greece, perfected the technique of making layered dough, crucial to making baklava. Then rolls in the Ottomans, under whose patronage the ultra-thin dough-making technique used in phyllo dough was perfected and nuts and spices were introduced. All of which were crucial in the birth of the Baklava. Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace, the seat of the Sultans and nobility, adopted it to be made frequently in their kitchens and it also spread to the Middle East with their own local variations arising.  

5. Sachertorte

Created in 1832 by a talented 16-year-old apprentice pastry chef in Austria, Sachertorte is a rich chocolate cake, unlike any other with a rich history behind it. It was created specifically for a dinner at the court of Austrian State Chancellor Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich. A young Sacher filled in for a chef who fell ill and made this cake with chocolate, apricot jam, and whipped cream. After a little struggle with the recipe changing hands, the original recipe returned to its owner and is a closely guarded secret by the founder’s descendants, and is still served at the Hotel Sacher today.  

6. Hwajeon 

This simple rice cake with flowers pressed onto its serve is almost as old as the Japanese Kakigori, dating back to the Korean Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392) who made Hwajeon to celebrate spring. Initially, Korean Azaleas were used on the rice cakes, but as time passed other edible spring flowers blooming at the time were used as well. As is the tale with many desserts back in the day, the royal women back them with partake in a ritual called “Hwajeon Nori” or going on a picnic to enjoy the spring flowers, dancing, singing, and reading poetry while enjoying rice cakes along with a refreshing floral honeyed drink, all made during the picnic.