Food Recipes Desserts Asian Dessert Recipes for Sweet Celebrations By Food & Wine Editors Food & Wine Editors This is collaborative content from Food & Wine's team of experts, including staff, recipe developers, chefs, and contributors. Many of our galleries curate recipes or guides from a variety of sources which we credit throughout the content and at each link. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 23, 2023 Close Photo: Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee From China to Indonesia, India to Japan, and Sri Lanka to the Philippines, the desserts featured here celebrate the flavors and techniques used throughout Asia to produce an array of sweet treats. Ube, pandan, matcha, sesame, mango, miso, and coconut all make their way to the forefront of desserts from Asian cuisines. Whether you're looking for a festive Diwali dessert, a special something for Lunar New Year, or just a delicious way to punctuate a meal, this collection of Asian dessert recipes is sure to pique your tastebuds. 01 of 21 Cardamom Yogurt Cake with Mango Lassi Icing Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley A sweet riff on India's mango lassi, this cake’s batter is imbued with yogurt to keep it moist during the bake. Mango preserves and a yogurt icing glaze offer layers of fruity sweetness while a pistachio garnish adds a nutty, satisfying texture. Finally, fresh mango slices create the crown of this delectable treat. Get the Recipe 02 of 21 Ba Bao Fan (Eight-Treasure Rice) Charissa Fay Any variety of dried and candied fruits can decorate this lightly sweet sticky rice dessert, but using a lucky assortment of eight is traditional. The Chinese word for the number eight, ba, sounds similar to fa, which means prosperity and confers fortuitous meaning on the dessert. Get the Recipe 03 of 21 Ube Basque Cakes Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Kay E. Clarke These tender and flaky mini cakes created by the dynamic duo of Timothy Flores and Genie Kwon at Kasama, a modern Filipino bakery and restaurant in Chicago, highlight the cultural phenomenon of ube, a purple tuber native to the Philippines. The buttery cakes are filled with a creamy, mildly sweet ube pastry cream and tart huckleberries, and are finished with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. If you can't source fresh ube, store-bought ube jam (ube halaya) can be used instead. Get the Recipe 04 of 21 Chè Khúc Bach Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas Doris Hô-Kane, who runs Ban Bè, a Vietnamese-American bakery in Brooklyn, is particularly fond of chè khúc bach, or "white chunk dessert soup." ("It doesn't sound as beautiful in [English] as it does in Vietnamese," she says.) Drizzled with sweet coconut cream, this Vietnamese dessert of flavored panna cotta, tropical fruits, and shaved ice is a riot of color and texture. Get the Recipe 05 of 21 Tropical Jackfruit–Ginger Ale Sorbet with Charred Pineapple Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Chef Sam Fore of the pop up Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites in Lexington, Kentucky, created this summer fruit dessert recipe for an icy, quenching sorbet of jackfruit, pineapple, and ginger ale. The sorbet has become an ever-present treat at her summer pop-up dinners, combining pineapple and jackfruit, both popular in Sri Lanka, with the spicy flavors of Ale-8-One, a Kentucky ginger ale. Get the Recipe 06 of 21 Royal Falooda Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas There is no incorrect way to layer falooda, the milky, traditionally rose-flavored dessert beloved in India, Pakistan, and other parts of South Asia. This dessert stars bouncy cubes of rose jelly suspended in rose syrup–sweetened milk over layers of tender corn vermicelli and chewy chia seeds. A crowning scoop of vanilla ice cream adds a creamy finish. Get the Recipe 07 of 21 Orange-Cardamom Butter Cakes with Rosewater Icing Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Heather Claire Spollen Perfect with afternoon tea, these delicate Sri Lankan cakes from cookbook author Ruwanmali Samarakoon-Amunugama are light with a buttery, moist crumb and a hint of citrusy cardamom. The sweet frosting gets flavor and a floral aroma from rosewater and orange blossom water; a drizzle of raspberry jam thinned with orange juice adds the perfect sweet-tart contrast. Get the Recipe 08 of 21 Microwave Bánh Deo (Mochi Mooncakes) with Black Sesame–Chocolate Filling Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee These Vietnamese mochi mooncakes use a combination of black tahini and chocolate to create a nutty, smooth, and creamy filling. The chewy mochi coating can be kept plain, or you can add flavor and color by mixing in some matcha powder. Black tahini is especially nutty in flavor, but in a pinch, regular tahini will do. Get the Recipe 09 of 21 Yin-Yang Tang Yuan (Sweet Sticky Rice Balls in Soup) Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen This soothing, sweet Chinese dessert soup of rice flour dough balls stuffed with black sesame seeds in a rock sugar–sweetened broth is typically served during reunions because the round rice balls symbolize harmony and togetherness. Lucky Chow producer Danielle Chang likes to make it as a sweet treat for her Lunar New Year celebration. Get the Recipe 10 of 21 Mini Mangonada Floats Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Mango float, or mango royale, is a beloved Filipino icebox cake that consists of layers of graham crackers, sweetened whipped cream, and fresh mango. For a twist, Abi Balingit of The Dusky Kitchen wanted to combine the spicy and tangy flavors of one of her favorite summertime desserts, Mexican mangonadas, with this Filipino classic. Get the Recipe 11 of 21 Ombré Coconut Burfi Cake Andria Lo Underneath the purple and white ombré coat of sweetened coconut, cookbook author and blogger Hetal Vasavada's slim, tall layer cake is bound with a cloud-like layer of Swiss meringue buttercream. But the best part is the chewy coconut filling, inspired by burfi, a type of fudge-like, milk-based Indian sweet. Coconut milk keeps the cake layers incredibly moist with a tender crumb. Get the Recipe 12 of 21 Mango-Cashew Kulfi Pops Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Canned mango pulp works better than fresh mangoes in these frozen ice pops from India because of its concentrated flavor, which helps cut through the rich cashews and sweetened condensed milk. Get the Recipe 13 of 21 Putri Salju Pandan (Pandan-Flavored Indonesian "Snow White" Cookies) Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Traditionally in Indonesia, Putri Salju cookies are made with almonds, peanuts, or cashews inside and are popular during the holidays. League of Kitchens cooking instructor Shandra Woworuntu's version adds pandan flavoring and omits the nuts. Pandan, a tropical plant with fragrant leaves that's a popular flavoring in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia, imparts a vanilla-citrusy flavor and a naturally vivid green color to these melt-in-your-mouth cookies. Get the Recipe 14 of 21 Coconut Mochi Ice Cream Sandwiches © John Kernick Pastry chef Jen Yee makes these fun and pretty sandwiches with a simple Japanese dough that combines sweet glutinous rice flour, sugar, water, and coconut milk. Get the Recipe 15 of 21 Matcha Mochi Photo © Molly Yeh This version of mochi — a sweet Japanese rice cake — gets its pretty green color from matcha powder and a creamy sweetness from coconut milk. Get the Recipe 16 of 21 Sweet Sticky Rice with Mangoes and Sesame Seeds © Cedric Angeles Mango sticky rice has been a popular dessert in Thailand and in Thai restaurants around the world for centuries. This is a simple recipe, but it depends on getting the right ingredients. The type of rice is most important. When shopping for Thai sticky rice, make sure you purchase one labeled "glutinous rice" or "sweet rice," so it will produce the right texture. Get the Recipe 17 of 21 Japanese Chestnut Tea Cake Greg DuPree Ayako Watanabe, the founding pastry chef of Dominique Ansel Bakery in Tokyo, created this not-too-sweet chestnut cake with a fine, light crumb. Using cold butter and chestnut paste incorporates plenty of air and volume when whipping the batter, which will make the cake nice and light. Get the Recipe 18 of 21 Chocolate Puddings with Miso Caramel Photo by Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Miso-enriched caramel intensifies the deep, chocolaty flavor of these silky Asian-inflected puddings from pastry chef Clarice Lam. A touch of cornstarch in the custard base helps thicken the puddings and keeps them from curdling or breaking. Be sure to bring the leftover caramel to the table; its savory, bitter, and sweet flavor will have guests reaching for more. Get the Recipe 19 of 21 Vietnamese Coffee Sundaes with Crushed Peanut Brittle © Kana Okada The Vietnamese love drinking super-strong iced coffee combined with copious amounts of sweetened condensed milk. Joanne Chang created this simple ice cream sundae as a way to enjoy the same flavors. Shards of peanut brittle made with a generous pinch of cinnamon add great flavor and crunch. Get the Recipe 20 of 21 Green Tea Fortune Cookies © Con Poulos Baker Joanne Chang likes having fun with the fortunes she puts inside these large cookies, like "Give the chef a big kiss." Shaping the tuiles while they're hot can be tricky, so consider using cotton gloves. Get the Recipe 21 of 21 Coconut Tapioca Pudding with Mango and Lime © Christina Holmes Chunky, fresh mango with tangy lime is a great counterpoint to the creamy Cantonese-style tapioca pearl puddings here. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit