By Brian Jules Campued
Stressed? Desserts! Beat the heat this summer with leche flan and sorbetes as the two well-loved Filipino sweets have been hailed as some of the 100 best desserts in the world, according to TasteAtlas.
At the 95th spot is leche flan, a caramel custard consisting of milk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla flavoring. Its distinct oval shape comes from the tin molds or “llaneras” used in preparing the Filipino sweet food.
Often served in Filipino parties, TasteAtlas said leche flan originated in Spain and France before being brought to the Philippines during the Spanish colonization.
“Today, apart from being consumed on its own as a sweet treat, pieces of leche flan can also be added to halo-halo, another popular Filipino dessert,” the food and travel website added.
Closely following at 96th palace is sorbetes, a Filipino ice cream traditionally made from carabao’s milk and comes in flavors such as mango, chocolate, cheese, coconut, and ube.
Usually sold in the streets, sorbetes is served either in tiny scoops on sugar cones or sandwiched between buns.
“Although it sounds similar to a sorbet, coming from the Spanish sorbete, it is not a sorbet, but a dirty ice cream, as the locals jokingly call it due to the fact that it is sold along polluted streets,” TasteAtlas said.
Updated on April 15, the British traditional ice cream from Cornwall, England called clotted cream ice cream topped the list. It was followed by Pączki or Polish doughnuts, two of Portugal’s traditional custards, pastel de nata and pastel de Belém, and Valašský frgál, a round-shaped sweet cake from the Czech Republic.
Amid the scorching heat, TasteAtlas has given us something to feast. So, let’s eat to our heart’s content, because we can definitely say that we dasorb it. – avds
