Meringue kisses are among the simplest sweet treats to prepare, requiring only a few basic ingredients. Whether enjoyed on their own or with assorted fillings, they never fail to captivate those with a sweet tooth, owing to their delicate texture – crisp on the exterior yet pleasantly chewy within.
These meringue kisses are sandwiched with a bitter chocolate cream, to tone down their sweetness because, let’s not forget, meringue kisses on their own are a very sweet treat. But you can of course enjoy them on their own as well.
Meringue kisses sandwiched in a delicious chocolate cream.
CourseDessert
CuisineFrench, International
Prep Time30 minutesminutes
Cook Time1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
Total Time1 hourhour40 minutesminutes
Servings4servings
AuthorPaula
Ingredients
For the meringue:
3egg whites
150gsugar
1/2tspcream of tartar
1pinch ofsalt
For the cream:
100gdark chocolate
80mlwhipping cream
Instructions
Mix the egg whites at room temperature with a pinch of salt on medium high. When it starts to become firm, add the cream of tartar (you can replace it with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or a teaspoon of lemon juice) and continue mixing on high speed.
When you get a firm meringue, start adding the sugar gradually, one tablespoon at a time. Mix well after each spoonful of sugar. Add the next spoon of sugar only after the previous one has melted completely. In the end, you should have a nice shiny meringue.
Preheat the oven to 120° C/250° F and line a large baking pan with parchment paper.
Put the meringue into a piping bag and pipe small mounds, about 1½-2 inch diameter, onto the pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for one hour or one hour 10 mins if you want them nice and firm. Then leave the meringue in the oven with the door ajar to cool.
For the filling, melt the chocolate with the whipping cream in a saucepan over low heat until homogenized. Allow to cool slightly.
Use the chocolate cream to sandwich two meringue pieces together.
These meringue kisses can be kept for up to a week in a cool, dry location.
These red velvet cupcakes are famous for their velvety texture, captivating color, and irresistibly smooth cream cheese frosting. They offer a delightful blend and an elegant, irresistible presentation.
Like all cupcakes, these are pretty easy to make. We first need a batter, fluffy, airy, and yes…colorful. For color, you can use a red food coloring, or beetroot if you want a 100% natural version.
This red velvet cupcake recipe uses the easier red dye option and has the addition of lime zest and rose water to flavor the cream cheese. This unique flavor combination gives a hint of freshness and delicacy. The result is irresistible. Enjoy!
Preheat the oven to 180° C/356° F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan lined with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda.
Cream the soft butter, at room temperature, with the sugar. Increase speed and add cocoa. Mix gently. Add the egg and half of the dry ingredients. Mix again.
Finally, add yogurt, vanilla, red food coloring, and the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.
Fill the muffin cups to 2/3. Bake for 23-25 minutes, until they pass the toothpick test. Place them on a rack to cool.
For the cream:
Mix the cream cheese with the powdered sugar, grated lime zest, and rose essence.
Whisk the whipping cream well until firm. Fold it into the cream cheese. Top the cupcakes with the cream. Share and enjoy them with your loved ones.
As Easter approaches, it’s time to indulge in delicious desserts that celebrate the spirit of renewal and abundance. Easter desserts hold a special place in culinary traditions around the world, but, in addition to classic treats like sweet breads and cheese-based desserts that have been cherished for generations, there’s also room for creativity and innovation in the kitchen.
Whether you’re hosting a festive gathering or simply looking to add a touch of sweetness to your Easter celebration, our selection of desserts are guaranteed to impress.
1. Easter Chick and Bunny Cupcakes
This recipe demonstrates how to craft delightful chick and bunny cupcakes that will undoubtedly brighten your Easter festivities.
These delightful confections are not only enjoyable to prepare but are also ideal for infusing a hint of whimsy into your holiday spread. So, dive in and start baking!
Get into the Easter spirit with this charming Greek Easter bread recipe by Chef Giorgos Tsoulis, featuring an adorable bunny shape. It’s an ideal recipe for crafting with your little ones, adding an extra layer of fun to your holiday celebrations.
4. Neapolitan Cheese Easter Pie (Pastiera Napoletana)
This Easter pie recipe has a great pastry base made with butter and sour cream, while the filling bets on cream cheese, eggs, honey, and cooking cream. The semolina flour in the filling helps make it light and fluffy.
Mascarpone cheese, cream cheese, amaretto extract, and crunchy pomegranate seeds all held together by delicate ladyfingers – this cheesecake really has a lot going for it. If you never had a reason to bake your own ladyfingers, this is it. You can, of course, skip that part and use store-bought ones.
6. Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Easter wouldn’t be Easter without carrot cake in some form, and these cupcakes are the ideal creation, as they look great and save you from the effort of having to slice an actual cake. Use some green food coloring for the frosting to make them more festive, and decorate with candy eggs, chocolate rabbits, and so on.
Returning to the classics, you might want to give this chocolate coffee cake a try: it’s velvety, moist, and has an intense chocolate taste, perfectly complemented by the aroma of good coffee. With a simple icing made of chocolate and cream, it all comes together to make perfection.
Elegant and sophisticated, both in form and in taste, this cake is designed to impress. It takes some time and effort, like all great things, but the end result is truly out of this world: delicate, golden Genoese sponge, white chocolate mousse, and a raspberry cream brightened with lemon juice and lemon zest.
This light and fluffy cake looks cheerful and festive. More than that, it takes little time and effort to make, and you probably have all the ingredients needed in your pantry and fridge right now. Give it a try, you’ll be very pleasantly surprised.
This traditional Italian Easter sweet bread has Easter eggs embedded in it – so it makes a gorgeous and delicious centerpiece for your celebratory meal. The sweet bread itself is easy to make, but it’s a yeast dough that takes time to rise, so plan accordingly. You can bake this Easter bread a day or two in advance.
This dessert combines an airy, soft cake sponge and cream cheese filling with chocolate – it can hardly get any better. Try this traditional Central and Eastern European dessert with a modern twist to impress all your guests.
Creativity knows no bounds with these amazing birds’ nest cookies. You probably never considered coating chow mein noodles in chocolate and butterscotch, but the sweet and salty combo does wonders, and they really look like nests made of twigs. Add a few colorful candy eggs to each.
Are you looking for a dessert that feeds a crowd, looks spectacular, but it’s actually very low effort to make? Well, you just found the perfect candidate: a trifle that’s easy to customize, and that, with a few neat decorating tricks, turns into the prettiest Easter dessert ever.
Remaining in the Mediterranean region – after all, they do have one of the best cuisines – maybe you should try some delicious Greek cookies. Made with plenty of butter and sour cream, they’re airy, crunchy, and with a fresh burst of flavor from the citrus zest.
The symphony of flavors continues with this bold combination of cream cheese, mango, and white chocolate. The base is made of graham crackers, and the filling has two layers, one of white chocolate and cream cheese, and the second one of mango and cream cheese. This is a no-bake cheesecake, so you’ll need a good 12 hours for the filling to set.
Moving on from French classics to American classics, a key lime pie is actually perfect for Easter – it’s light, fresh, fruity and colorful. It’s also a breeze to make: a simple graham crackers base and a delicious filling made with condensed milk, key lime juice and zest, and eggs.
The simple yet sophisticated panna cotta dessert is made even more delicious by a vibrant sauce made with raspberries. The panna cotta itself is relatively easy to make – you just need to pay extra attention to the quality of ingredients. Make sure you use double cream and full fat milk.
The contrast between the dense and rich walnut and cocoa cake layers and the fluffy filling made with ricotta and honey is very interesting, and the flavors complement each other perfectly. Make this cake a day in advance as the filling contains gelatin and needs time to firm up completely.
Italians truly love incorporating hard boiled eggs into their Easter desserts, and why not? They are a symbol of prosperity, fertility, rebirth, and good luck. If you want some of that, add these very cute cookies to your Easter menu.
Unlike other varieties of paska breads made with cream cheese, this one has a sour cream filling. This makes it lighter and gives it a very unique, tangy flavor that will delight your taste buds. Make it a day or two in advance to ensure that the filling sets up properly.
These traditional Hungarian rolls are simply exquisite – the dough is an interesting combination of fluffy yeast dough but with enough fat in it to make it flaky. The classic fillings are walnut and poppy seed – and you should be generous with the filling, as that’s the secret of really good beigli.
These double-baked Italian cookies are filled with almonds, making them extra crunchy and satisfying. It’s the type of dessert you can make way in advance, as they keep very well in an airtight container. They are delicious with a glass of sweet dessert wine or a cup of cappuccino.
Not just very tasty but also gorgeous, this French cake is everything an Easter dessert should be. The base is made of a delicate sponge, while the filling is a delicious combination of vanilla custard and whipped cream. Arrange strawberries around the side and top it off with a refreshing strawberry jelly.
Those brownies will look amazing on your Easter table and the kids will absolutely love them – both the taste and how cute they are. The fudgy chocolate brownies get coated in swirls of white and pink chocolate (you can use other colors as well, if you want to), then are decorated with Easter egg candy.
These cupcakes are the perfect choice if you are planning to involve children in your Easter preparations. The cupcakes are no fuss and easy to make, using cake mix. Decorating them to look like little cute baskets with Easter eggs, on the other hand, will be an absolute blast.
This ricotta pie is lighter and fluffier than a regular cheesecake, but still velvety smooth. The crust is a delicate, flaky, buttery pastry that takes a little time and effort to make, but is well worth it.
The chocolate chips and candied citrus peel in the filling are a nice touch.
Sweet, dense, sticky, and incredibly flavorful, this orange cake is a one bowl, one pan affair, involving just 10 minutes of preparation time. The syrup takes it up a notch or two – make sure you bake it at least a day in advance to give it time to rest properly before being served.
The coconut, cinnamon, and rum flavors work perfectly together, while the flaky homemade crust makes a world of difference. The flavors in this cream pie are inspired by a popular Puerto Rican cocktail, coquito.
Don’t worry, the pie can be safely consumed by children, as it contains very little rum, and the alcohol evaporates anyway during cooking.
This Greek classic is good enough for the gods on Mount Olympus and, although it looks like a handful, it’s actually not that difficult to make. You simply need to layer up phyllo sheets, butter, and the walnut mixture. The baklava is finished with generous amounts of syrup.
This traditional Hungarian Easter dessert is a mixture of milk and eggs flavored with spices and oftentimes containing raisins. The milk and egg custard is mixed with lemon juice, which causes it to curd. The curds are then strained through cloth and allowed to become firm enough to be sliced. The end result is a unique, creamy and rich dessert.
Tanzania’s expansive landscape, versatile indigenous crops, and unique melting pot of cultures mean the country enjoys a diverse and exciting culinary scene. When it comes to savory and sweet snacks, Tanzania offers some of the best options on the continent.
Whether simple roasted corn or urojo flavor depths, Tanzanian snacks are certainly not what you would describe as regular. Here are the top 22 popular snacks in Tanzania that you should absolutely try the next time you are in the East African haven.
Savory Tanzanian Snacks
The abundant presence of fertile soils and favorable climate conditions yields a plentiful array of plants, spices, and herbs. Pair this with a multicultural social makeup and Tanzania boasts a long list of delicious savory snacks.
1. Mahindi ya Kuchoma (Roasted Corn)
A typical Tanzanian snack, roasted corn is enjoyed across Tanzania since corn grows nationwide. While in some northern regions, boiled corn is consumed for breakfast, fire-roasted corn is a popular snack in most major cities. You will especially find roasted corn sold by roadside and street vendors during peak corn harvest season when the flavors are at their best!
You will typically see street vendors with tall homemade charcoal stoves (made from corrugated metal sheets) packed with smoky natural coal. The corn is roasted on the flames for 15 to 20 minutes until char-browned, smoky, and fragrant.
In coastal cities, such as Dar es Salaam, you’ll find flavor enhancers available, typically, freshly ground red chili pepper mixed with salt and small lime wedges. Simply dip the lime in the chili mixture and rub it over the corn to enjoy it Dar es Salaam style!
The best part of trying street-side corn is that it is made fresh to order. You pick your corn of choice and watch the vendor remove the husks and roast it in front of you.
Note: Tanzania traditionally grows white corn, not the sweet yellow corn. While the flavor is different, it’s uniquely delicious.
2. Kitale (Baby Coconut Stuffed with a Boiled Potato and Coconut Chutney Mix)
Kitale is a coastal snack, particularly popular in Dar es Salaam, and is loved by Tanzanians of Indian origin, although indigenous coastal Tanzanians are pretty fond of it too.
Kitale is a small, palm-sized coconut filled with a mixture of boiled potatoes and coconut chutney, sprinkled with red chili pepper. This savory snack is mouthwateringly good, offering a fusion of sweet, savory, and tangy flavors.
Kitale is a favorite treat for families as they take to the beach on a beautiful Saturday or Sunday afternoon. You will also find school kids buying this after-school snack from street vendors.
Zanzibar pizza is far from what you’d expect of an Italian pizza. In fact, the toppings become fillings and the baking becomes grilling. Zanzibar pizza is made by filling a thin dough with a choice of fillings, such as tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, chilies, and your favorite protein.
Since this snack originates from the Zanzibarian archipelago, seafood, such as octopus and prawns, is a popular filling. In addition to the veggies and protein, the pizza is also stuffed with cheese before the dough is wrapped and sealed.
The stuffed dough is then grilled on a large pan-like griddle until golden brown and served plain, with chutney, or chili salsa. If you ever visit the famed Stone Town Forodhani night market, Zanzibar Pizza is among the favorites worth trying.
A non-local would call urojo a creamy soup. However, urojo is no soup. It’s simply urojo or Zanzibari Mix! This incredible snack combines the simplest ingredients to create something that transports you to heaven.
This masterpiece from Zanzibar is made using a creamy and tangy base of gram flour and atta flour mixed in water. The flour and water mix is then cooked with coconut milk (optional), garlic paste, lemon, mango, and turmeric powder.
But that is not the end of the process. This street snack is usually constructed when a customer orders one. The vendor usually keeps the base hot on a low-lit stove or in a thermos flask. When ready to serve, they pour the piping hot base onto a bowl and then construct it in front of you according to your favorite toppings. While some pick and choose, urojo is best enjoyed with all the toppings added.
Toppings include diced boiled potatoes, mini lentil bhajias, mini kachoris, tiny beef skewers, roasted peanuts, shaved fried potatoes, diced or sliced red onions, mango purée, chili powder, coconut chutney, red chutney, green chutney, green chilies, and chopped cilantro.
Tip: Urojo is perfect for vegetarians and vegans. Simply tell your server to hold the proteins.
This mutton chop is an Indian-Tanzanian delicacy and is as filling as it is delicious. It is made by coating a mutton chop with a mix of ground mutton and a blend of spices. It is then dipped in an egg batter and deep-fried until golden. It is served with coconut chutney, lime wedges, and salted, fried green chilies.
6. Egg Chop
If you want to sample meat chop flavors without the mutton, egg chop is an excellent alternative. This recipe uses boiled eggs coated with a spicy minced beef mixture. It is also dipped in egg batter and deep-fried. They are similar to Scotch eggs though with distinctive African flavors.
Tanzania also offers a good selection of regional delicacies. Senene is one such example. Originating from the Northwest region of Kagera, today, senene is enjoyed by Tanzanians across the country. It’s worth noting that while senene is delicious, it is an acquired taste. You can also count them among the most weird foods you’ll eat in your life.
Nonetheless, this snack is worth indulging in to truly explore versatile Tanzanian flavors. Senene is a special kind of grasshopper that appears during the rainy seasons. However, this breed only appears in a specific area around northwest Tanzania, southern Uganda, and as far as Rwanda.
Senene are naturally oily so they don’t have oil added to them. They can be pan fried (in their own oil) (senene wa kukaanga) or smoked (senene wa kuoka). You can nibble on senene on their own, pair them with your favorite drink, or have them as a side with northwestern Tanzanian delicacies, ndizi za Bukoba, matoke, or ebitooke (cooked bananas).
8. Sambusa (Samosa)
A close relative of the Indian samosa, Tanzanian (or East African) sambusa is a famed snack. This thin fried pastry is filled with your choice of ingredients before frying until golden brown.
In Tanzania, sambusa can be filled with spicy minced beef, mutton, or lamb and vegetable mix (sambusa za nyama), rice (sambusa za mchele), potatoes, spices, and onions (sambusa za viazi), or vegetables (sambusa za mboga mboga).
9. Kababu (Kebab)
Kababu is just as popular as sambusa and the two are usually paired in local tea shops and enjoyed with tea. Not to be confused with the South Asian seekh or shish kebab, Tanzanian or Swahili kababu is a round or cylindrical ball of minced beef, lamb, or mutton, seasoned with aromatics and spices, such as red onions, garlic, ginger, cilantro, cardamom, fenugreek, and more. It’s rather similar to Turkish kebabs, though with a different mix of spices.
The balled-up mixture is then dipped in egg batter and deep-fried until dark brown. Like sambusa, you can enjoy kababu with coconut chutney, green (cilantro) chutney, fresh red onions, chilies, and lime wedges.
Eating a katless takes you through layers of varying flavors that get more interesting with every bite. Katless is a cylindrical boiled potato and spice mix filled with seasoned ground beef, chicken, or fish mix at the center and dipped in egg batter.
Some katless recipes include boiled eggs. The egg-coated potato and meat pastry is then deep-fried until golden for a popular snack. Katless is another popular tea shop snack, although street vendors and women who sell breakfast items also sell it.
11. Bagia (Bhajia)
Bagia is a breakfast favorite and popular snack, typically enjoyed with chai ya maziwa or ya rangi (milk tea or black tea). Another significant Tanzanian snack influenced by Indian cuisine, you can find various types of bagia, depending on the flour used. This is what makes it unique to Tanzania.
Common flour types used for bagia include lentil or gram flour (bagia za dengu) and black-eyed peas or cow pea flour (bagia za kunde). Some home cooks even experiment with ingredients like raw green peas and eggplant. The flour is mixed with baking powder, salt, oil, carrots, green bell peppers, onions, scotch bonnet or Asian chilies(optional), and water to make a thick batter.
Using a spoon or the hands, small portions of the batter are fried to make the irregularly shaped bagia. Bhajias are paired with other sweet or savory breakfast items when served for breakfast. However, when enjoyed as a snack, bagia are served with coconut chutney, chili salsa, green chilies, and freshly sliced red onions.
Swahili kachori is what you get if you don’t want the protein fillings that come with katless. This vegetarian and vegan-friendly savory snack is made using boiled potatoes seasoned with aromatics and spices, dipped in egg batter, and deep-fried.
Kachori can be enjoyed on its own, with coconut chutney, or added to the Zanzibar mix. You can also pair it with black or milk tea.
13. Karanga za mayai (Egg Coated Peanuts)
Pan-roasted peanuts are delicious, courtesy of their natural salt and oils. But did you know you can elevate the flavors by coating them with egg, flour (optional), a few spices, and sugar?
This is exactly what the karanga za mayai are. This fun snack can be prepared at home or bought on the street or in supermarkets. Egg-coated nuts go well on their own or paired with tea, coffee, or fizzy drinks.
14. Chapati (Flatbread)
Chapati is a flat, round unleavened bread enjoyed in Tanzania and Kenya. This South Asian-influenced bread is made from simple ingredients, i.e. baking or atta flour, salt, water, and oil. You can enjoy it plain for breakfast, as a snack, use it as a wrap with fillings, or side dish for sauces and stews.
Chapati is made fresh daily in many households in Tanzania and can also be purchased from street stands, tea shops, cafes, and restaurants. Chapati is usually sold all day long due to its versatility.
15. Chapati za Kumimina (Tanzanian Pancakes or Sweet or Savoury Crepes)
A cross between sweet and savory, Tanzanians also enjoy chapati za kumimina, which is not to be confused with regular chapati. As their name suggests, chapati za kumiminia (kumimina meaning to pour) is made from flour, water, oil, salt, or sugar batter instead of dough. Depending on the ingredients, chapati za kumimina can be sweet or savory.
Sweet ones contain sugar, water, oil, and baking flour. Savory ones incorporate flour, salt, water, oil, carrots, bell peppers, and onions. Like regular chapati, chapati za kumimina are home-cooked and sold in various outlets, including street stalls, mama lishe or mama ntilie (women run street stalls selling breakfast, lunch, and dinner), cafes, and restaurants.
Sweet Tanzian Snacks
Coastal Tanzanians (including Zanzibaris) have a sweet tooth. So, expect to find many sweet snacks. Similarly, other regions of Tanzania also make sweet snacks due to the locally grown plants. However, most of these sweet snacks are usually reserved for children, although adults do partake in them today.
16. Mandazi (Fried Dough or Swahili-style Beignets or Donuts)
Mandazi are perhaps the most popular breakfast and snack option. Swahili mandazi are traditionally made using baking flour, yeast, baking soda, sugar, oil or butter, water, and spices, like cinnamon and cardamom. Today, chefs and home cooks add their signature to recipes, incorporating additional ingredients, such as milk, vanilla essence, and sugar dusting.
The ingredients are mixed to form a dough, shaped (usually into triangles or squares), and deep-fried until golden. Mandazi is traditionally enjoyed with chai ya maziwa or rangi.
Almost all eateries in Tanzania, whether cafes, streetside stands, or mama lishe prepare fresh batches of mandazi daily.
17. Vinane or Visheti Vya Namba Nane (Fried Donuts with Sugar Syrup and Coconut Shavings)
Vinane is a sweeter and lesser-known cousin to the mandazi. Nonetheless, they are a favorite, especially in coastal Tanzania and Zanzibar.
As their name suggests, vinane (roughly translated as number 8) uses the same ingredients, preparation, and frying as mandazi. However, they are molded into a number 8 shape. But, after frying, vinane is dipped into a sweet sugary cardamom syrup, coated with coconut flakes and sugar dusting.
Unlike mandazi or vinane, kaimati or kalimati is made from an ultra-thick batter with yeast added to make it puff up. Reminiscent of the Nigerian puff puff, kaimati are made from a batter of flour, water, vanilla, cardamom, yeast, sugar, and oil.
The batter is then gently picked up using fingertips, made into a ball, and deep-fried until golden brown. While some cooks serve kaimati once fried, others coat them with sugar syrup or sugar dusting before serving. Kaimati goes incredibly well with chai!
19. Ebalagala or Kabalagala (Mini Banana Pancakes)
Ebalagala, balagala, or ebago is a northwestern Tanzanian, particularly the Kagera region, snack, widely consumed within the Lake Victoria region and neighboring Uganda, where it is known as kabalagala. Balagala features a simple two-ingredient recipe.
They are made from sweet ripe bananas, which grow widely in this region alongside green bananas and plantains, mixed with cassava or yucca flour. Because the bananas are naturally sweet, no extra sugar is added.
The bananas and yucca flour are combined to form a dough. The dough is rolled out and a glass is used to cut out small round shapes which are pan-fried until golden. Today, ebalagala is enjoyed by people of all ages, although originally it was an afterschool or after-church snack for children.
Vitumbia is to maandazi what kababu is to sambusa. Like maandazi, these coastal favorites are a commonly consumed breakfast item and snack. Vitumbua are sweet, hearty, velvety, and filling. They are made from fermented rice flour batter that incorporates water, oil, and spices, like cardamom.
Some cooks even add coconut milk to the batter. To cook vitumbua, you scoop the batter with a ladle and fry it on a specially molded pan (kikaangio cha vitumbua) until brown and crisp.
If you have a larger appetite, opt for kitumbua’s older sibling, kibibi. Vibibi and vitumbua are pretty much the same thing, with differences in size alone. Vibibi typically takes the shape and size of an American pancake and accommodates diners who want larger and filling portions.
Vibibi are also less commonly available from outlets like street stands and mama lishe than vitumbua. You are more likely to find them in a few street stalls, from home cooks, or cafes. Vibibi are also more common in the Zanzibar archipelago than in the Tanzanian mainland.
Who knew you could get this creative with rice flour? In addition to rice pancakes, rice flour is used to make another loved Tanzanian dessert, mkate wa kumimina.
As the name suggests, this mkate wa kumimina (kumimina meaning to pour) is made from a rice batter. The whole rice is soaked overnight, fermented with yeast, and mixed with other ingredients, including spices. It is then added to a blender to create the batter before baking.
Final Thoughts
Tanzania is a treasure trove of delicious sweet and savory snacks, no matter the region you are in. With such a wide snack variety, sampling the country’s culinary treasures is never a boring quest. Remember, these are just the popular selections. You will discover an even larger selection of snacks on the ground as you explore Tanzania.
