Dessert is the course that concludes a meal. This course typically consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and may also include beverages like dessert wines and liqueurs.
In some parts of the world—such as most of Central and West Africa, and much of China—there is no tradition of a dessert course to end the meal. The term "dessert" can refer to a wide variety of sweet treats, including cookies, cakes, biscuits, custards, gelatin, ice cream, pastries, pies, puddings, macarons, sweet soups, tarts, and fruit salads. Fruits are also commonly featured in dessert courses due to their natural sweetness. Some cultures even sweeten typically savory foods to create desserts.
Sweet desserts usually contain cane sugar, palm sugar, brown sugar, honey, or various syrups such as molasses, maple syrup, treacle, or corn syrup. Other common ingredients in Western-style desserts include flour or other starches, cooking fats like butter or lard, dairy products, eggs, salt, acidic ingredients like lemon juice, spices, and other flavoring agents such as chocolate, coffee, peanut butter, fruits, and nuts. The proportions of these ingredients, along with preparation methods, play a key role in determining the consistency, texture, and flavor of the final product.
