The dessert section of a Spanish menu tends to use the same handful of names. Each one is easy to understand once you know what it is. Here is what they mean.
Custards and puddings
Crema catalana is the Catalan custard. It is usually flavoured with lemon or orange peel and cinnamon, and the sugar on top is caramelised just before serving so it cracks under the spoon. People compare it with crème brûlée, but the flavourings are different, and crema catalana is traditionally made with milk rather than cream.
Flan is a baked egg custard turned out of its mould with a layer of liquid caramel on top. It is common across Spain and often listed as flan casero, homemade flan.
Arroz con leche is rice pudding, cooked slowly in milk with lemon peel and cinnamon, and served cold or at room temperature with more cinnamon dusted on top.
Cakes
Tarta de Santiago comes from Galicia and is named after Santiago de Compostela. It is an almond cake made with ground almonds, eggs and sugar, and the top is dusted with icing sugar around a stencil of the cross of Saint James. It has protected geographical indication status in the EU.
Basque cheesecake, sometimes listed as tarta de queso, is a crustless cheesecake baked at high heat so the top turns very dark while the inside stays soft. It is linked with La Viña, a bar in San Sebastián, and has spread well beyond the Basque Country.
Fried desserts
Torrijas are Spain's version of French toast: slices of bread soaked in milk (or sometimes wine) and egg, fried, then finished with sugar and cinnamon or honey. They are traditional during Semana Santa, the week before Easter.
Leche frita means fried milk. A thick milk custard is left to set, cut into squares, coated in flour and egg, fried and dusted with sugar and cinnamon.
Churros are lengths of fried dough, usually served with a cup of thick hot chocolate for dipping. In Spain they are as much a breakfast or late-night snack as a dessert.
A few words that help
- Casero or casera: homemade. "Postres caseros" means the desserts are made in-house.
- Tarta: cake or tart. Tarta de queso is cheesecake.
- Sobremesa: the time spent talking at the table after a meal is over.
Where to find them
These restaurants mention Spanish desserts in their own directory records:
- Casa Alejandro, Panama City: crema catalana on a menu that also has cocido gallego, pulpo a la gallega and rabo de toro.
- Otaviano, Rio de Janeiro: homemade sweets such as tarta de Santiago, at its Copacabana, Ipanema and Leme restaurants.
- Mercado 505, Shanghai: Basque cheesecake and churros y chocolate.
- Fields Concord, Chengdu: Basque cheesecake, plus a torrija with hazelnut cream and rum ice cream.
