Food & Culture

Seattle’s 45 Best Global Dishes: Desserts

From colorful squares of Punjabi-style fudge to elegant slices of Swedish cake, these are a few of our favorite (local) international sweets

By Seattle Mag March 5, 2017

0317_SweetTravels


This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of Seattle Magazine.

Princess Cake Slice
Byen Bakeri
Traditional Swedish prinsesstårta contains layers of sponge cake, raspberry jam and whipped cream, topped with green marzipan and a pink rose. It was named princess cake because of the three Swedish princesses who loved it so. $6.25. Queen Anne, 15 Nickerson St.; 206.218.1000; byenbakeri.com

Pista, Rose and Lemon Burfi, and Gajrela 
Punjab Sweets
Pistachio, rose, lemon and shredded carrots are combined with cream and plenty of sugar to create these sugary fudge-like squares. $7.99–$8.99/pound. Kent, 23617 104th Ave. SE; 253.859.3236; punjabsweetsonline.com

Pistachio Baklava
Turkish Delight

Walnuts are commonly used in dessert fillings in parts of the Middle East, but we prefer the pistachios used in this syrup-soaked pastry. $4. Pike Place Market, 1930 Pike Place; 206.443.1387

Lord Chong Bai Tauy
Wann Yen

The green noodles in this Thai-style shaved ice are made with the fragrant pandan leaf. The dessert also includes smoky palm sugar and coconut milk. $4.75. University District, 1313 NE 43rd St.; 206.432.5902; wannyen.com

Strawberry Shortcake
Modern

This layered cake with barely sweet cream and fresh strawberries is the most popular Western-style cake in Japan. $5. Phinney Ridge, 6108 Phinney Ave. N; 206.420.4088; modern-seattle.com

Flan
Salvadorean Bakery

Creamy caramel flan is a common dessert throughout Latin America. $2.50. White Center, 1719 SW Roxbury St.; 206.762.4064; thesalvadoreanbakery.com

 

Join The Must List

Sign up and get Seattle's best events delivered to your inbox every week.

Follow Us

Decolonizing dining in Seattle

Decolonizing dining in Seattle

Hillel Echo-Hawk is at the forefront of Seattle’s Indigenous food movement

In 2022, an Indigenous-owned restaurant serving a precolonial menu — Owamni, in Minneapolis — earned a James Beard Award as the best restaurant in the country. Names like Sean Sherman and Crystal Wahpepah (respectively, a Beard award finalist for best emerging chef, and the first Native American chef to compete on the Food Network’s Chopped)…

Pastry: An Affair to Remember

Pastry: An Affair to Remember

Chef Ewald Notter of Dote Coffee Bar makes it easy to fall in love with pastry and chocolate

Most romances unfold in predictable ways. An invitation for lunch, where you share sandwiches in a loud café, silently wishing your bread was crisper, but never giving up on the idea that one day it might be. An awkward laugh as your fingers touch while you both reach across the table for sugar in that…

Mix It Up. Try old-school cocktails this holiday season

Mix It Up. Try old-school cocktails this holiday season

These 10 drinks may not be on the menu at your local bar, but all pack a punch as well as some colorful history

Editor’s note: A version of this story previously appeared in “Seattle” magazine. Impress your guests this holiday season with these 10 concoctions from a vintage bar guide from Glenn Shaw Creations – supposedly from the 1950s – found in an antique shop in Olympia a few years back. Keep in mind that these drinks may…

Sip, Slurp, Celebrate at Frank's Oyster House

Sip, Slurp, Celebrate at Frank’s Oyster House

Let’s be Frank about Champagne

The best bubbles in Washington state may very well be found at an East Coast-style restaurant in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood. That, at least, is the opinion of The Champagne Bureau, USA, which has named Frank’s Oyster House and Champagne Parlor as one of the top 10 bars and restaurants in the nation for the quality…