These heavenly African Desserts are perfect for those who have a sweet tooth.
Most treats from Africa are known for being sugary, sweet, and mouth-watering—and not to mention they are versatile.
For most people, traditional African desserts are unfamiliar.
But the ingredients used to create are easy to find.
To give you a taste of Africa, we’ve gathered at least 23 traditional African desserts that you can easily follow.
Are you ready? Well, you must!
Most of these recipes are made from scratch; and warning! They are incredibly luscious and mouthwatering just like these fluffy Chocolate Malva Pudding and Chikanda (African Polony)
And oh, if you are a fan of puddings, go check out #3!
Malva pudding is a delicious traditional African dessert that originated in the South.
This amazing treat is made of apricot jam and cocoa.
The cake is fluffy, spongy, and has a caramelized texture that melts in your mouth.
Traditionally, this dessert is served hot and is paired with vanilla ice cream to bring out its chocolate goodness.
Asynpoeding, also called Vinegar Pudding, is a famous and loved South African dessert.
This treat originated from wine pudding, which is made with raisin, date batter, and wine syrup.
Despite having vinegar in the ingredients, it is still a gooey and sweet dish.
The vinegar is used to make the syrup that creates the perfect balance between sour and sweet.
The Malva Pudding Cake is sweet and soft and is filled with custard and apricot jam.
Unlike the Chocolate Malva Pudding, this dessert is soaked in creamy syrup while it is still warm to make it moist and flavorful.
Holes are poked on the cake so it can absorb the creamy syrup made of butter, milk, heavy cream, sugar, and salt.
West African Lime Cake, also known as Keke cake, is a wonderful dessert that is light and fruity.
It is not too sweet and very easy to make at home.
Featuring lime juice, this cake is garnished with peanut crumbs on top to complement the citrusy and zesty flavor of the sponge.
Aartappel Poeding, also called potato pudding, is a traditional dessert served at African weddings.
The recipe features mashed potatoes sprinkled with sugar, vanilla, lemon, almond, and butter and baked until it is crisp brown.
The pudding is served with cherries on top.
The South African Oatmeal Bars, also called Crunchies, is the ultimate combination of oatmeal and coconut.
These crunchy bars are best paired with coffee, juice, or tea.
They are buttery, nutty, sweet and crisp, and you can even add sunflowers, raisins, or pumpkin seeds to give them more flavor.
You can also substitute the regular flour with a gluten-free one, and the results will still turn out amazing.
Strawberry Fool is a traditional dessert in Ghana, West Africa.
The dessert is very easy to make as you only need four main ingredients.
Just put fresh strawberries, heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and port wine in a glass and let it cool overnight, and you got yourself a healthy African dessert.
8. Koeksisters
Koeksisters are deep-fried dough that is glazed with syrup.
The syrup can be warm or cold, and you can even top it with vanilla ice cream or fruit slices.
The dough has a crunchy outer texture and a soft and chewy inside texture.
The Peppermint Crisp Tart is a classic South African dessert.
The ambrosial pudding only takes 15 minutes to make, and you can leave it in your refrigerator to give the caramel mixture enough time to set.
A combination of peppermint crisp bar, tennis biscuits, heavy cream, and caramel, this is a dessert that you won’t get enough of.
Vetkoek, also called fat cakes, is a tasty deep-fried snack that is filled with different ingredients.
What makes this dessert different is you get to choose what you fill them with.
You can fill it with cheese, processed meats, tuna, mayo, or pulled pork.
You can even fill it with syrup if you want something sweet.
This teacake is famous in the Southern regions of Nigeria.
It is made from Selim pepper pods, candied lemon peel syrup, and almonds.
The candied lemon syrup is also brushed on top of the teacake to add more flavor and once it is cooled, it is served with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.
13. Awakdu
Awakdu is the African version of the regular banana cake.
The only difference is there are other ingredients added into the mix.
This delicious cake is made with bananas, lemon juice, orange juice, brown sugar, and coconut.
The fruity dessert is drizzled with sweet honey before it is served.
The delicious and satisfying South African Bruin Pudding is the perfect way to cap off your every meal.
Similar to the famous Malva pudding, the Bruin pudding is made with sweet butter and vanilla sauce.
The middle part is filled with apricot jam and it is topped with custard or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
This golden brown pudding is a great dessert to serve at family gatherings or special occasions.
Mandazi is an East African dessert that is fluffy and hollow on the inside, and sweet and crispy on the outside.
Mandazi has the same texture as beignets, except that there is coconut milk added into the mix.
To create the perfect hollow mandazi, the dough must be agitated when it is fried and it needs to be constantly flipped and submerged in oil.
You can also make this vegan-friendly, use coconut oil or vegetable oil instead of butter.
The African Pound Cake is similar to the regular pound cake that you’ve had before, but it has a bit of a twist.
It has nutmeg and the cake batter is carefully mixed to ensure that it does not become too chewy.
This soft and fluffy dessert can be stored for up to 3 days and you can even add toppings if you wish.
The African Pound Cake is often paired with coffee or tea, and it can be served straight from the refrigerator.
Another delicious pudding on our list is the Caakiri or the African Couscous Pudding.
Caakiri is a very popular dessert eaten throughout the Northwest of Africa.
It is traditionally made with millet, but now it is commonly made with couscous.
The popular dessert is ideal for those who are not fond of sweets because the pudding has more tartness in it thanks to the sour cream and yogurt.
The pudding also has crushed pineapple, raisins, orange blossom water, and nutmeg.
You can also add other citrus fruits if you wish.
Melktert, also called Milk Tart, is a South African delicacy that is known for its flaky crust and sweet filling.
The creamy and luxurious dessert has more delicate consistency than the American tart.
The filling is made with milk, eggs, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt.
The tart is topped with cinnamon and is served after dinner.
Although it is best eaten fresh out of the oven, it still tastes great refrigerated.
Hertzoogies are South African jam and coconut tartlets that are very easy to make and are perfect to serve as a dessert at parties or special events.
The crust is buttery and delicate, and it is filled with apricot jam.
The tartlets are then topped with sweet coconut meringue and it is baked until it is golden brown.
Shuku Shuku is a famous Nigerian dessert.
Similar to coconut macaroons, this treat is easy to make and it only requires a couple of ingredients.
This treat is perfect for those who want something light and those who do not want to eat something sweet.
Shuku Shuku is best eaten warm, but it can also be eaten cold.
21. Ngalakh
Ngalakh is a delicious mix of millet, groundnut, bouye, sugar, vanilla, and orange blossom.
This dessert takes time to make, as you need to make sure that all of the ingredients are mixed well.
Also called millet porridge, this dessert is eaten chilled and is sprinkled with sugar before it is served.
22. Chakery
Chakery is a West African treat made of couscous.
It is sweet and creamy and a great way to end a fulfilling meal.
The creaminess of the Chakery comes from sour cream, vanilla yogurt, and evaporated milk.
Nutmeg and pineapples are also added to give the dessert a tangy taste.
23. Chikanda
Qubely blocks is added to the Gutenberg editor as soon as you install the plugin. You can start using it as any other Gutenberg block. Add ready blocks using the plus sign where you’ll find a new section of blocks under the Qubely icon.
The bottom line
Africa consists of 54 countries, and each of them has a unique cuisine that is worth exploring.
African desserts may be strange and unfamiliar, but don’t let it stop you from trying them.
With a wide range of flavors, these amazing treats are worth making.
23 BEST African Dessert Recipe Assortment 🌍
To give you a taste of Africa, we've gathered 23 BEST African Desserts that you can easily follow!
Ingredients
- Chocolate Malva Pudding
- Asynpoeding (Vinegar Pudding)
- South African Malva Pudding Cake
- West African Lime Cake
- Aartappel Poeding
- South African Oatmeal Bars
- Strawberry Fool (Strawberries And Cream)
- Koeksisters
- Peppermint Crisp Tart
- Vitumbua
- Vetkoek
- Selim Pepper, Candied Lemon, And Almond Teacake
- Awakdu
- South African Bruin Pudding
- Mandazi (Mahamri)
- African Pound Cake
- Caakiri (African Couscous Pudding)
- Melktert (South African Milk Tart)
- Hertzoogies (South African Jam And Coconut Tartlets)
- Shuku Shuku (Coconut Macaroons)
- Ngalakh
- Chakery
- Chikanda
Instructions
- Choose your favorite recipe from our list of African Desserts!
- Wave your magic wand to make it your own special recipe!
- Leave a comment on our Facebook page and share your new dish.