Peru has fantastic cuisine – including desserts- that is a combination of European, African, and Asian influences, and heavily influenced by Spanish cuisine. In Colonial times, quite often expensive and unavailable ingredients used in the Spanish cuisine were replaced by typical Peruvian ones. Later, foreign cooking techniques were used to create unique local sweets. Because of Peru’s geography, many desserts feature tropical fruits, such as chirimoya and lucuma. Many traditional desserts of Peru also feature manjar blanco, the Peruvian version of dulce de leche.
If you’re traveling to Peru, you may want to try some of these traditional desserts while you’re there! It is also helpful to be familiar with some conversational Spanish, so you can communicate with the locals while you are there. Learning even a little of a foreign language goes a long way when traveling, as locals appreciate your effort, and it makes your travels easier if you have a basic knowledge of vocabulary used in everyday conversation.
Let’s take a look at some traditional Peruvian desserts, as well as a couple of recipes that you can follow to create your own taste of Peru at home!