Vetted Dessert Cakes From Around the World That are One of a Kind

From the Brits, Scandinavian shores to the Eastern end in Vietnam, there are so many cakes in the world that begin with the alphabet “V”, some of them you might not even have heard of unless you've really dug into the respective country's dessert history and local confectionery shops.

1. Vojvođanski koh

This is a rustic cake from Northern Serbia that ditches the wheat flour to use semolina with sugar, eggs, milk, and also vanilla sugar. The dense semolina base while still hot gets sweetened with hot milk. Sometimes flour is used with the semolina to make it spongy and sometimes a custard is also added to the cake sponge. It varies with the home and the region but at its core it tastes the best when it's cold.

2. Victoria sponge cake

A popular tea cake from England, the Victoria Sponge Cake was named after Queen Victoria herself and was created by her cooks in the 1800s. The cake used to be served at her tea parties alongside other nibbles like scones and sandwiches. The authentic cake uses strawberry or raspberry jam and whipped cream didn't make it to the cake until the 1900s. The cake is sliced and served with a dusting of powdered sugar.

3. Vietnamese Banana Cake

It’s called Bánh chuối locally that comes in two versions – steamed (hấp) or baked (nướng). It has banana slices which are added to condensed milk, coconut milk, sugar, often with bread, eggs and shredded coconut. Since the ingredients aren't fixed and there's no concrete preparation style, it differs in size and also shape. The steamed ones are the more popular ones that use the creamy coconut milk as a sauce and sprinkled sesame coconut.

4. Valašský frgál

Coming from the Czech Republic’s Moravian Wallachia area, this is an accidental cake that was the result of a goof up of another Czech dessert called Koláče. Each country has something tied to them that it's holy grail, like Italy has its pasta, Russia it's caviar and France it's champagne and for the Czech it's frgál. They kind of look like dessert pizzas and are roughly 30 cm in diameter which are sliced and eaten. Fried pears, curd cheese, jam, poppy seeds, walnuts and even vegetables are put into this cake. It has a crumbly topping made with sugar, cinnamon, gingerbread crumbs and melted butter, supported by a doughy crust.

5. Varaždinska torta

Coming from the Croatian city of Varaždin, this cake is quite heavy and dense because it doesn't use any leavening agent. It's a chestnut cake that is made typically in autumn when the nuts are in season. The base is made with chocolate, flour, separated egg whites and yolks, butter, sugar. The base is filled with the chestnut puree, chocolate and vanilla sugar. This then is glazed with a chocolate liquid. Chocolate dipped chestnuts often garnish this delicious cake. Consider trying this moist chocolate cake recipe at your leisure.

6. Vínarterta

This cake comes from Iceland and is symbolic of Christmas and eaten on special occasions and people also call it other names such as randalín or Vienna cake. It is made with thin layers of shortbread that are cookie-like. These are coated with fruit preserves like rhubarb, prune, strawberry, or apricot. To the shortbread layers flavored agents like vanilla, cardamom, or cinnamon, are added and the assembled cake is garnished with icing. While vínarterta originated in Iceland, it has gained popularity among Icelandic communities across the world, in particular the United States and Canada.

7. Velikonoční beránek

Saw the image, didn't you? This is another cake from the Czech Republic, which is made exclusively on Easter. The shape comes from baking a simple egg-based batter in a lamb-shaped mould. The cake light sponge cake is buttery and occasionally enriched with dried fruit or colorful jellies. After baking, the whole cake is either lightly dusted with powdered sugar or covered in chocolate. Sometimes there's little artwork done on the cake with fondant or icing too. The cake is said to symbolises rebirth and the victory of life over death.

8. Vasina Torta

Vasina torta is also known as Vasa's cake which is a quintessential Serbian dessert. It consists of a walnut sponge cake loaf with a creamy filling made from walnuts, chocolate, and oranges, topped with šaum (a mixture of egg whites, sugar, and water) and chocolate. The cake dates back to 1908, that originated as a gift from a mother-in-law to her son-in-law, Vasa Čokrljan from Paraćin, when her daughter was travelling to Vienna to give birth. Oranges were an extreme rarity in 1908 Serbia, making this cake quite precious back then. It’s symbolic of a mother’s love and it is often found at local Serbian celebrations.