Desserts

The miniature cakes, which fit in the palm of a hand, are most commonly made with a thin pastry layer encasing a dense filling of sweetened red beans, melon purée or mixed nuts.

The Rebellious History of Mooncakes, the Note-Passing Dessert That Liberated China

During Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese around the world eat the miniature molded and filled cakes to wish their families wealth and happiness

The baba au rhum is forgiving and achievable for the average home cook.

The Boozy History of Baba au Rhum

The French are known for their pastries, but few desserts garner as much attention as this dried-out cake resuscitated with rum

Researchers discovered labels for Clemente Guardia chocolate at the site.

Archaeologists Discover 19th-Century Chocolate Factory in Barcelona

Housed in a medieval mansion, the workshop once produced sweets for Clemente Guardia, a thriving Catalonian chocolatier

Preparation for Bobby Baker's 1976 An Edible Family in a Mobile Home, which is being restaged by Tate Britain next month

You Can Eat These Sculptures at Tate Britain

"An Edible Family in a Mobile Home" features life-size figures sculpted from cookies and cake

A pod of ancient Nacional cacao offers hope for reforesting Ecuador’s Pacific coast, which by some estimates has lost 98 percent of its original forest cover over the past century.

The Quest to Save the World’s Most Coveted Chocolate

For these ambitious scientists in the rainforests of Ecuador, helping the environment has never tasted so sweet

Baklava consists of fine layers of pastry dough, often filled with nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.

The Sticky History of Baklava

The sweet dessert is an important part of the culinary identity of so many places that people sometimes dispute claims to its origins

Some 30 million cups of spaghettieis are sold in Germany each year.

How Germany's Spaghetti Ice Cream Came to Be

Italian German ice cream maker Dario Fontanella invented "spaghettieis," a clever dish that has captured the hearts of many

Who needs a spoon to enjoy this perfectly swirled chocolate-and-vanilla soft-serve ice cream served on a cone? Put the formalities aside.

Celebrate National Ice Cream Month With These 15 Mouthwatering Treats

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest feature creamy frozen delights to help beat the summer heat

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey with Mary Claire Cook, a fourth-grade student and creator of the new cookie

This Fourth Grader Created Alabama's New Official State Cookie

Called the Yellowhammer, the dessert is made with ingredients that are important to the state

Mitzi Avila, who owns Cookies and Chill bakery in Austin, Texas, made a dessert version of Thomas Glassford’s Siphonophora and Teresita Fernández’s Stacked Waters.

These Artworks Are Good Enough to Eat—Literally

The Blanton Museum in Austin asked bakers to create edible versions of pieces in its collection

A halved slice of edible 3D-printed cake.

Scientists 3D Printed a Slice of Cake

The seven-ingredient recipe shows potential for the future of making food with this technology, researchers say

Ella Hawkins’ stunning biscuit art emulates book covers, scalloped-edged Tiffany lamps, pottery shards, mosaic tiles, medieval manuscripts, Elizabethan fabrics and more.

The Timeless Draw of Decorating Cookies

Intricate designs painted by biscuit artist Ella Hawkins are part of a lengthy baking tradition

Cacao growing on a tree at Zorzal Cacao, the first farm certified by Smithsonian's new Bird Friendly cocoa program.

Why Buying ‘Bird Friendly Cocoa’ Is a Sweet Deal

The Smithsonian launches a new certification for chocolate lovers looking to help their feathery friends

Dehydrated carrageen looks nothing like the beautiful red fronds easily identified in coastal rocky pools.

A Brief History of Ireland's Carrageen Moss Pudding

The curious dessert—combining a seaweed found on the Emerald Isle's coast with dairy—lies in the hands of regular folks who enjoy a challenge

Burger or baked good?

'Is It Cake?' Builds on a Lengthy Tradition of Visual Deception

The ‘fool the eye’ desserts hearken back to paintings from a period in American history when there was anxiety over fakes, fraudsters and misinformation

Some say the dish can be traced back to logging camps at the beginning of the 20th century, but others cite chili and cinnamon rolls as a once-essential part of their school lunch programs. 

What's Up With the Pairing of Chili and Cinnamon Rolls?

Why kids across the western United States came to find the unlikely combination in their school lunches

Neolithic people may have cooked predecessors of modern mince pies on stones heated in a fire's embers.

Stonehenge's Builders May Have Feasted on Sweet Treats

Excavations near the iconic English monument revealed traces of fruits and nuts

The cake may have been baked for a Palm Sunday celebration.

WWII Bombing Raid Eerily Preserved This 79-Year-Old Charred Cake

Researchers discovered the blackened hazelnut-and-almond dessert in the ruins of a German house destroyed in March 1942

SpongeBob on a stick is the closest we come today to the forgotten fad of molded ice cream.

The Lost Art of Molding Ice Cream Into Eagles, Tugboats and Pineapples

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ice cream makers used metal casts to create fanciful desserts

Doritos are cake.

Why It's Unsettling That Anything Could Be Cake, According to Science

Psychologists explain why the disconnect between expectations and reality is both amusing and uncomfortable

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