From Coconuts To Dulce De Leche, Here Are A Few Popular Desserts Straight From Costa Rica: New Sweet Recipes

Costa Rica has a blend of influences from Africa, native America and Spain with rice, corn and milk forming the base of most desserts. Costa Ricans have a sweet tooth but unlike some cultures where a meal remains incomplete without dessert, such is not their case. But when you are in the country, the delicious aroma from their local bakeries will have you headed straight into one of them.

1. Tres Leches

Tres Leches, or "three milks" cake, is considered the national dessert of Costa Rica, and for good reason, even though this creamy cake may not be strictly Costa Rican. The Tres Leches cake features a light sponge cake soaked in a mixture of evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream, making it exceptionally moist and indulgent. In Costa Rica, the cake is typically topped with a layer of Chantilly whipped cream and fresh fruit. Tres Leches is a common fixture at celebrations, meals, and gatherings across the country, solidifying its status as a true national treasure.

2. El Churchill

El Churchill is a quintessential sweet treat in Costa Rica, especially in the city of Puntarenas where it originated. This snow cone-style dessert is made with ice, sweetened condensed milk, syrup, and powdered milk, all topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can find this dessert along the Paseo de Los Turistas in Costa Rica, where vendors with colorful "Churchill" signs sell this dessert. In the 1940s, a local storekeeper named Joaquin Aguilar Ezquivel, nicknamed "Quinico," wanted to create a refreshing and sweet snack to combat the humid Puntarenas weather, since ice cream was hard to come by at the time. And because Quinico happened to bear a resemblance to the famous British wartime leader, the locals christened his signature dessert "El Churchill."

3. Arroz con Leches

As rice is a staple food in Costa Rican cuisine, it makes sense that they have created a dessert using this ingredient as well. Arroz con leche, or rice pudding, has Spanish roots, that combine rice with sweetened condensed milk, sugar, evaporated milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. The recipe may vary from household to household, with some adding cloves, raisins, or even pineapple. Arroz con leches can be enjoyed warm or cold and is often paired with strong Costa Rican coffee.

4. Tártaras Cocadas

Costa Rica is known for its abundant coconut resources, and the country has embraced this fruit to create one such treat called the Tártaras Cocadas. hey are sweet and salty baked tarts, shaped like decorative tartlets and featuring a flat, thin pastry shell. The shells are filled to the edges with an addictive mixture of crystallized grated coconut and either honey or cane sugar; this is then flavored with a subtle hint of nutmeg or cinnamon.

5. Fruity Empanadas

Empanadas in Costa Rica come in both savory and sweet varieties, offering a wide range of fillings. The sweet versions may contain pineapple, coconut, guava, jams, jellies, or the classic dulce de leche. The homemade pastry dough is folded over the filling to create a crescent shape and then baked until golden brown. During the holy week of Semana Santa, the traditional chiverre empanadas made with squash preserve are particularly popular.

6. Torta Chilena

The Torta Chilena is Costa Rica's adaptation of the classic thousand-layer cakes found in Chile and the Mille-feuille from France. While the French mille-feuille and Chilean thousand-layer cakes typically feature layers of flaky pastry and whipped cream, the Costa Rican Torta Chilena is defined by its decadent filling of dulce de leche, a caramelized sweetened condensed milk that is a staple across Latin American countries. This dessert is constructed with up to eight layers of crispy, crepe-like pastry, each one filled with the indulgent dulce de leche. The entire cake is then dusted with a generous coating of powdered sugar.

7. Bolitas de Coco

A delicious truffle-sized, guilt-free dessert, Bolitas de Coco are small, bite-sized coconut balls that are a beloved favorite among locals. In fact, it's quite common for Costa Rican households to keep a ready supply of Bolitas de Coco chilled in the refrigerator, to be served as a post-meal treat or a anytime snack. What makes these coconut balls so appealing is their simplicity — they are made with just two main ingredients: Marie biscuits (or Galletas María) and sweetened condensed milk.