Spices for desserts and sweets
Gingerbread, kheer, halwa, spiced cakes and the sweets of festival tables.
Dessert is where sweet spices are at home. Cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, ginger, saffron and rose flavour puddings, cakes, biscuits and confectionery in nearly every cuisine.
Milk and rice puddings
Kheer in India, firni in Iran, muhallebi in Turkey and rice pudding in Europe are all gently spiced, with cardamom, saffron, rose, cinnamon or nutmeg.
Baking
Gingerbread, speculaas, Lebkuchen, mince pies, apple pie and cinnamon buns use warm spices. Baklava and other Ottoman sweets use cinnamon and clove, and Latin American sweets use vanilla and cinnamon.
Confectionery
Halwa in the Middle East and South Asia, gaz in Iran and Turkish delight take cardamom, rose, saffron and mastic.
Desserts and sweets on EveryMasala
The spices written up so far, best known first.
馃嚤馃嚢 Sri Lanka and 5 moreCinnamon
The dried inner bark of Cinnamomum trees, prized for its sweet warmth and essential oil.Bark 路 Warm and sweet-spiced 路 Sweet and mellow
馃嚘馃嚬 Austria and 5 moreCaraway
The crescent-shaped fruit of a carrot-family herb, used to flavour breads and spirits.Seed 路 Anise and liquorice 路 Sharp and pungent
馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 4 moreSaffron夭毓賮乇丕賳
The dried crimson stigmas of the autumn-blooming saffron crocus.Stigma 路 Sharp and pungent 路 Bitter
馃嚠馃嚛 Indonesia and 3 moreNutmeg
The dried seed of a tropical evergreen tree, prized for its warm, pungent flavor.Seed 路 Warm and sweet-spiced 路 Sweet and mellow
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 2 moreCardamom
Aromatic seeds from spindle-shaped pods used in sweet and savory dishes across Asia and the Middle East.Seed 路 Sharp and pungent 路 Warm and sweet-spiced
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 1 moreMastic螠伪蟽蟿委蠂伪
A bitter-sweet resin from the mastic tree, used in desserts and traditional medicine.Bitter 路 Sharp and pungent
馃嚲馃嚜 Yemen and 1 moreHawaij丨賵丕賷噩
A ground Yemeni spice blend used for soups, coffee, and everyday cooking.Warm and sweet-spiced 路 Earthy and deep
馃嚡馃嚥 Jamaica and 2 moreAllspice
The dried green berry of a tropical tree, named for its blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove notes.Fruit 路 Warm and sweet-spiced 路 Sweet and mellow
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 2 moreMixed spice
A British blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice for sweet bakingBlend 路 Warm and sweet-spiced 路 Sweet and mellow
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 5 moreIndian bay leaf啶む啶溹お啶む啶むぞ
The large, veined leaf of a Himalayan tree, used for its warm cassia scent in South Asian cooking.Warm and sweet-spiced 路 Sharp and pungent
馃嚞馃嚰 Guinea-Bissau and 5 moreCalabash nutmeg
The dried seed of a West African tree, used as a local substitute for nutmeg.Warm and sweet-spiced 路 Sweet and mellow
馃嚠馃嚛 Indonesia and 5 moreGinger
The pungent rhizome of a flowering perennial, one of the world's most traded spices.Root 路 Hot and fiery 路 Sharp and pungent
馃嚚馃嚦 China and 1 moreChenpi闄崇毊
Sun-dried mandarin orange peel aged for use in Chinese cooking and medicineFruit 路 Sweet and mellow 路 Sharp and pungent
馃嚘馃嚬 Austria and 5 moreCaraway
The crescent-shaped fruit of a carrot-family plant, used to flavour rye bread and spirits.Seed 路 Sharp and pungent 路 Anise and liquorice
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Allspice: Unknown author, CC BY 2.5, source
- Mixed spice: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Caraway: Slick, CC0, source
- Chenpi: Dboxes, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mastic: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ginger: Venkatx5, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cardamom: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saffron: Hubertl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nutmeg: Herusutimbul, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Indian bay leaf: Sonja Pauen, Public domain, source
- Hawaij: Mx. Granger, CC0, source
- Calabash nutmeg: Samuel Curtis and William Jackson Hooker, Public domain, source
- Cinnamon: Luc Viatour, CC BY-SA 3.0, source