MAIN INGREDIENTS
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
View moreMAIN INGREDIENTS
Bananas Foster is an iconic dessert created in New Orleans in 1951. It consists of bananas sautéed in a combination of rum, brown sugar, banana liqueur, butter, and spices. When the bananas are slightly tender and begin to brown, cooks set the alcohol on fire with the famous flambé technique.
Bananas are usually served with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream. Because the process is so visually attractive, the dessert is often prepared alongside tables in most restaurants. It was invented by Paul Blangé, a chef from the New Orleans restaurant called Brennan's.
MOST ICONIC Bananas Foster
View moreBread pudding is an old dish that has been prepared since Medieval times in Europe and the Middle East. However, it is extremely beloved and defining in the cuisine of New Orleans. The dish consists of stale bread that is bathed in a combination of milk, sugar, eggs, nuts, and fruits, and is then baked into a delicious dessert.
It can be consumed either hot as a pudding or cold as a cake. In the past, there was a practice of hollowing out a loaf which then acted as a container for a sweet dish. There are numerous variations of bread pudding, from Egypt and Turkey to India and Malaysia.
MOST ICONIC Bread Pudding
View morePecan pralines are traditional Cajun sweets originating from Louisiana. The first pralines were brought to New Orleans from France by the Ursuline nuns in 1727. Due to the fact that almonds were scarce, cooks began using pecans from native Louisiana trees, and the predecessors of modern pecan pralines were born.
They were first prepared as individual pecans covered in sugary coating. Nowadays, they are made with a combination of pecans, butter, vanilla, milk, and sugar. The ingredients are simply cooked together until the mixture thickens and the pecans stay suspended in it.
This colorful, cinnamon-flavored cake hailing from Louisiana supposedly takes its name from the Biblical Magi—also known as the Three Kings or Wise Men. King cake is associated with the Epiphany, the Twelfth Night, and the pre-Lenten celebrations of Carnival or Mardi Gras.
The purple, green, and gold colors that are often found on King cakes represent justice, faith, and power, respectively. Beginning on the 6th of January, the people of New Orleans throw King cake parties that bring their community and families together.
MOST ICONIC King Cake
View moreSno-ball is an American dessert originating from New Orleans. It consists of a mound of fluffy shaved ice that is flavored with sweet syrups. They are typically sold from March to October and can be found at numerous sno-ball stands throughout the city.
The tradition of sno-balls dates back to the 1930s, when Ernest Hansen and George Ortolano started to use the first ice-shaving machines. Nowadays, there is a huge variety of sno-ball flavors such as kiwi, coconut, wedding cake, chocolate, buttered popcorn, tutti frutti, cream soda, coffee, tamarind, and dozens of other flavors.
MOST ICONIC Sno-Ball
Tarte à la bouillie is a traditional Cajun dessert hailing from Louisiana. This French-inspired tart is made with a combination of sugar, salt, flour, milk, whipping cream, eggs, butter, and vanilla. The custard is placed into a pie shell, the crust is brushed with egg whites, and the tart is then baked until the crust becomes golden brown and the center of the filling is slightly jiggly.
Once cooled, this burnt milk tart is often served with strawberries and garnished with confectioners' sugar.
MOST ICONIC Tarte à la bouillie
This layered dessert, inspired by the famous Hungarian Dobos cake, was invented by a New Orleans baker and pastry chef Beulah Levy Ledner in the 1930s. A Louisiana favorite ever since, Doberge cake is usually filled with either chocolate, lemon, or caramel custard, and is then covered with a thin layer of buttercream and fondant icing or, alternatively, a silky ganache glaze.
In 1946, Ledner sold her business and the original recipe to Joe Gambino whose New Orleans bakery continues to make the popular cake even today.
MOST ICONIC Doberge Cake
Calas is a specialty of New Orleans consisting of deep-fried rice balls that are smothered in powdered sugar. The dough – made with boiled rice, yeast, eggs, sugar, and flour - is dense and chewy, while the center is creamy. These fritters are typically flavored with nutmeg and cinnamon, and they are traditionally served for breakfast, with café au lait on the side.
The word calas is thought to have been derived from the Nupe word kara, meaning fried cake. Originally, calas were sold by Creole street vendors in the city's French Quarter, but today they are a staple breakfast item throughout New Orleans.
MOST ICONIC Calas
Russian cake or Creole trifle is a traditional cake originating from Louisiana. Dating back to the 19th century, the cake is made by placing leftover bakery confection scraps into a cake tin and pressing them with weights such as bags of flour or sugar.
The cake is enriched with a few splashes of rum, while infused syrups or raspberry jelly are used as binding agents. It is believed that Louisiana Russian cake was modeled on raspberry trifle, punschtorte, or Charlotte Russe cake. Nowadays, the cake is usually covered with an icing topped with sprinkles, and anise extract is often used to enrich the flavors.
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