Belize’s desserts are just as vibrant and rich as the rest of its cuisine and many of the most common dishes may already be known to you if you are familiar with British or Spanish dishes. It is worth remembering that even if a particular dessert may have foreign inspiration it still has accents that make it unique to the Belizean plate, likely because it features tropical fruits or Caribbean rum.
Keep reading for an idea of all of the sweet-tooth-satisfying treats Belize can offer.
- Milk Cake. With a traditional white cake as the base, sweet and sticky caramel – also known as boil milk, or dulce de leche – makes each layer richer than the last. However, what makes this Belizean cake truly special is the ‘boil milk’, as known in Belize. The Caramel, Dulce de Leche, or Boil Milk is a popular confection in Latin America, found either homemade or store-bought.
- Coconut Tart. Coconut is an incredibly common fruit to the area, so it makes sense that someone would seek to incorporate it into confectionery.
- Lemon Pie. Lemons are another common fruit in this country and pie is a staple of British cuisine. While lemons are naturally tart, the addition of sugar and possibly even a meringue topping does a world of good to make it delicious.
- Rum Raisin Bread Pudding. This is another well-known British recipe that turns stale bread into something sumptuous with the addition of eggs, milk and sugar. The one tweak worth mentioning is it is common to add rum and raisins.
- Rum Fruit Cake. We have the British to thank for this Christmastime staple. The Belizean approach involves adding dried fruits to a basic cake that is then saturated with Caribbean rum from the moment is it done baking. The best rum cakes are started months before Christmas and entail weekly infusions of rum.
- Belizean Fudge. Unlike traditional chocolate fudge, this sort of fudge is closer to a peanut brittle and entails condensed milk, sugar, peanuts and either coconut or raisins for a more robust and intricate flavor.
- Sweet Potato Pudding. While you are likely familiar with pudding, you have probably not had some flavored with this New World starch. In Belize, this is called potato pound or potato pone.
If you somehow have room for dessert after enjoying a quality Belizean dinner, know that you have multiple options. Whether you favor dairy or fruit, you have at least one treat to choose.
