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What to eat in the United States of America? Top 100 American Desserts

Last update: Thu Feb 13 2025
Top 100 American Desserts
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01

Ice Cream

WISCONSIN, United States of America
4.5
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MAIN INGREDIENTS

Frozen custard comes from the "Custard Capital of the World", Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it's sold more than anywhere else around the globe. It is a gourmet ice cream treat made with eggs, cream, and sugar, and it originated from Coney Island, New York, when it was a popular carnival treat.


As the popularity of frozen custard grew, it quickly spread to the Midwest. As there is far less air added than in other similar treats, the result is a thick and dense custard with tons of flavor. A lot of frozen custard fans believe it is better than ice cream since it is served before being refrozen and mantains a soft, yet heavy consistency, so it is a unique regional treat in which you can really feel the difference when talking about flavor.

MOST ICONIC Frozen custard

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02

Chocolate Dessert

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.3
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Deliciously chewy, dense and fudgy with a rich chocolate flavor, the beloved brownies are one of the most popular American desserts. Some claim that Bertha Palmer, wife of the owner of Palmer House Hotel, asked the chef to invent a new chocolate dessert to serve at the 1893 Colombian Exposition.


Others say that it was an accident, when Brownie Schrumpf, a librarian, excluded baking powder from a chocolate cake and was left with a thick, black cake bar. Regardless of the origins, what really popularized the brownies were instant, boxed mixes from the 1950s made by two brands - Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker

MOST ICONIC Brownies

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03

Cookie

WHITMAN, United States of America
4.3
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Usually accompanied by a glass of milk or a cup of hot tea or coffee, chocolate chip cookies are well balanced between salty and sweet in flavor, tenderly chewy in texture, and filled with small melting chocolate pyramids, bringing a generation of Americans back to their childhood.


The origin story of these sweet treats is incredibly interesting, almost as the cookies themselves. The Toll House Inn was a popular bed-and-breakfast in Whitman, Massachusetts, bought by Ruth Graves Wakefield and her husband in 1930. Ruth's cooking was so good that the inn gained an excellent reputation in a short span of time. 

MOST ICONIC Chocolate chip cookie

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04

Sweet Pie

FLORIDA, United States of America
4.3
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Key lime pie is a glass-green sweet and sour dessert originating from the Florida Keys. It consists of intensely aromatic Key lime juice, condensed milk, and eggs that are mixed together into a custard. The custard is poured into a buttery crust made from graham crackers and topped with sweet whipped cream.


The spicy and acidic flavors of the limes provide a great contrast to sugar and sweet cream. Key lime, also known as citrus aurantifolia, Mexican lime, and West Indian lime is a fruit indigenous to Malaysia, and it has been connected to Florida since the 1830s when a botanist named Henry Perrine started planting them on Florida's Indian Key. 

MOST ICONIC Key Lime Pie

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05

Cheese Dessert

NEW YORK CITY, United States of America
4.3
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New York-style cheesecake is different from other cheesecakes mainly because of its heavy and dense texture that feels extremely smooth and rich. Its flavor should be sweet and tangy, not citrusy, chewy, or starchy. It is believed that the first New York-style cheesecake was made by Junior’s in the 1950s.


The magic formula includes heavy cream, eggs, vanilla, cream cheese, and (optionally) sour cream, while the base usually consists of a sponge cake crust or graham cracker crust.

MOST ICONIC New York-style cheesecake

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06

Chocolate Cake

NEW YORK CITY, United States of America
4.3
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When chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten mistakenly pulled out his chocolate sponge cake out of the oven ahead of time, little did he know it was a blessing in disguise. Once he cracked the spongy outside, he was met with an explosion of liquid chocolate oozing out of its confinements, as if finally set free.


And even though Jacques Torres, a French chef and chocolatier, claimed such a cake already existed in France, it was Vongerichten that made the molten chocolate cake, popularly nicknamed lava cake, a global sensation, first starting in the United States, and later a must-have on the menus of numerous respectable, high-end restaurants. 

MOST ICONIC Molten Chocolate Cake

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07

Ice Cream

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.3
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As the name suggests, brownie sundae is a type of ice cream sundae with added brownies. Squares or pieces of rich, warm, and moist chocolate brownies are typically layered in a serving bowl with a few scoops of ice cream on top, and the whole thing is then finished with a drizzle of sweet sauces or syrups such as hot chocolate fudge, caramel sauce, or strawberry sauce.


Any ice cream flavor can be used for this dessert, and some of the most common flavors include vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, caramel, coffee, and cheesecake. Whipped cream, nuts, diced fruit, sprinkles, and chocolate chips are just a few common additions to this sweet treat.

MOST ICONIC Brownie Sundae

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08

Dessert

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.3
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In Europe, babka is a term usually associated with a simple Polish sweet, yeasted, bundt-shaped bread, but there is another version of babka which became extremely popular in North American cities with large Jewish populations: the rich, buttery, swirly loaf of yeasted dough, woven with ribbons of filling.


The most popular filling is chocolate, but cinnamon and hazelnuts are also used quite often. As if the buttery dough and luscious chocolate filling aren't rich enough, this version, typically baked in a high loaf pan, is often finished with a generous layer of streusel topping, which results in a truly decadent dessert that, in terms of richness, surpasses the original.

MOST ICONIC American Babka

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09

Sweet Pastry

NEW ORLEANS, United States of America and  one more country
4.2
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These squares of deep-fried pastry dough are sprinkled with powdered sugar and are traditionally served hot. The dish hails from France, and French settlers brought it to the Acadia region of Canada in the 17th century. Many of the Acadians later moved to Louisiana, and they brought their culinary traditions with them.


Today, beignets are most commonly associated with the French Quarter of New Orleans, where they were declared the official state donut in 1986. These treats are typically served alongside chocolate milk or café au lait, a combination often served at the Cafe Du Monde - a New Orleans restaurant that is most often associated with beignets.

MOST ICONIC Beignets

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10

Sweet Pastry

HAWAII, United States of America and  one more region
4.2
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Malasadas are traditional Portuguese yeast-leavened doughnuts made from eggs, flour, sugar, and milk. They are sometimes coated with cinnamon or granulated sugar. The original Portuguese malasadas don't have any holes or fillings, but the variations prepared in Hawaii do.


The popularity of malasadas in Hawaii is not accidental – Portuguese laborers from the Azores came to Hawaii in the 19th century to work in the plantations. They brought their traditional foods with them, including the malasadas, which were originally prepared in order to use all the sugar and lard in one's home before Lent. 

MOST ICONIC Malasadas

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11
Cake
ST. LOUIS, United States of America
4.2
12
Flambéed Dessert
NEW ORLEANS, United States of America
4.2
13
Chocolate Cake
TEXAS, United States of America
4.2
14
Chocolate Cake
MISSISSIPPI, United States of America
4.2
15
Sweet Pie
OREGON, United States of America
4.2
16
Frozen Dessert
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.1
17
Dessert
MIDWESTERN UNITED STATES, United States of America
4.1
18
Sweet Pie
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.1
19
Dessert
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.1
20
Pudding
SOUTHERN UNITED STATES, United States of America
4.1
21
Sweet Pie
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.1
22
Dessert
PENNSYLVANIA, United States of America
4.1
23
Ice Cream
SOUTH DAKOTA, United States of America
4.1
24
Sweet Pastry
NEW ENGLAND, United States of America
4.1
25
Chocolate Cake
NEW YORK CITY, United States of America
4.1
26
Dessert
MIDWESTERN UNITED STATES, United States of America
4.1
27
Sweet Pie
IDAHO, United States of America
4.1
28
Sweet Pie
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.1
29
Dessert
OHIO, United States of America
4.1
30
Sweet Pastry
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.0
31
Sweet Pie
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.0
32
Pancake
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.0
33
Sweet Bread
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.0
34
Cake
BOSTON, United States of America
4.0
35
Chocolate Dessert
NEW YORK CITY, United States of America
4.0
36
Dessert
LOS ANGELES, United States of America
4.0
37
Sweet Pie
MAINE, United States of America
4.0
38
Ice Cream
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.0
39
Dessert
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.0
40
Dessert
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.0
41
Dessert
NEW JERSEY, United States of America
4.0
42
Sweet Pie
OHIO, United States of America
4.0
43
Cake
MARYLAND, United States of America
4.0
44
Frozen Dessert
NEW ENGLAND, United States of America
3.9
45
Ice Cream
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.9
46
Sweet Pie
SOUTHERN UNITED STATES, United States of America
3.9
47
Cookie
CONNECTICUT, United States of America
3.9
48
Ice Cream
NEW YORK CITY, United States of America
3.9
49
Ice Cream
PHILADELPHIA, United States of America
3.9
50
Sweet Pastry
NEW YORK CITY, United States of America
3.9
51
Dessert
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.9
52
Sweet Pie
SOUTHERN UNITED STATES, United States of America
3.9
53
Sweet Pie
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.9
54
Sweet Pastry
RACINE, United States of America
3.9
55
Cake
PHILADELPHIA, United States of America
3.9
56
Dessert
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.8
57
Cake
SOUTHERN UNITED STATES, United States of America
3.8
58
Dessert
LOUISIANA, United States of America
3.8
59
Sweet Pie
SOUTHERN UNITED STATES, United States of America
3.8
60
Cake
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.8
61
Chocolate Cake
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.8
62
Cake
SOUTHERN UNITED STATES, United States of America
3.8
63
Cake
CALIFORNIA, United States of America
3.8
64
Cake
NEW YORK CITY, United States of America
3.8
65
Pudding
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.8
66
Dessert
NEW ORLEANS, United States of America
3.8
67
Breakfast
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.8
68
Sweet Pie
LOS ANGELES, United States of America
3.8
69
Sweet Pie
NEW ENGLAND, United States of America
3.8
70
Ice Cream
LATROBE, United States of America
3.7
71
Cookie
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.7
72
Deep-fried Dessert
PENNSYLVANIA, United States of America
3.7
73
Cookie
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.7
74
Cake
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.7
75
Cake
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.7
76
Dessert
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.7
77
Cake
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.7
78
Cake
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.7
79
Cookie
WINSTON-SALEM, United States of America
3.7
80
Dessert
BALTIMORE, United States of America
3.6
81
Sweet Pie
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.6
82
Chocolate Cake
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.6
83
Dessert
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.6
84
Cake
LOUISIANA, United States of America
3.6
85
Ice Cream
MIDWESTERN UNITED STATES, United States of America
3.6
86
Cake
MISSISSIPPI, United States of America
3.6
87
Sweet Pie
MIDWESTERN UNITED STATES, United States of America
3.6
88
Sweet Pie
PENNSYLVANIA, United States of America
3.6
89
Dessert
NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES, United States of America
3.6
90
Sweet Pastry
CALIFORNIA, United States of America
3.6
91
Dessert
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.5
92
Cookie
PENNSYLVANIA, United States of America
3.5
93
Cake
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.5
94
Cookie
NEW YORK CITY, United States of America
3.5
95
Deep-fried Dessert
RHODE ISLAND, United States of America
3.5
96
Dessert
PHILADELPHIA, United States of America
3.5
97
Cake
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.4
98
Cookie
NEW MEXICO, United States of America
3.4
99
Frozen Dessert
NEW ORLEANS, United States of America
3.4
100
Dessert
SOUTHERN UNITED STATES, United States of America
3.4

TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 100 American Desserts” list until February 13, 2025, 15,794 ratings were recorded, of which 14,494 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.

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American Desserts