The Best Mediterranean Desserts

Love to finish your meals on a sweet note?

Then, you will love these tasty Mediterranean desserts.

We couldn’t pick just one dish as our favourite, so we assembled a list.

Make sure you read all the way to the end for a Mediterranean twist on a fast and fun dessert option…

The Best Mediterranean Desserts

Fresh Fruit

A classic dessert in many cultures, fresh fruit is a popular way to finish a meal in the Mediterranean. The most common fruits eaten in Lebanon are figs, oranges and other citrus fruits, apples, grapes, cherries and green plums. But, you can pick whatever is in season and in the fruit bowl to finish off your meal!

Baklava

Probably one of the most well-known Mediterranean desserts is Baklava. It is baked in a pan and made from filo pastry layered with nuts like walnuts or pistachios, and sweet syrup or honey.

While variations of Baklava exist all over the Mediterranean, they differ slightly between cultures. Greek style Baklava tends to have a spiced honey syrup, whereas the Lebanese variety has a simple syrup flavoured with aromatic rose water or orange blossom.

If you’d like to make Baklava at home, try this easy and authentic Baklava recipe.

Ma’amoul

Deliciously delicate, Ma’amoul are tasty, buttery shortbread cookies with a date or nut filling that melt in your mouth. Naturally sweetened by their date filling, they don't contain much additional sugar. Traditional during religious holidays, they come either in a ball shape or are pressed into moulds to produce intricate designs on the exterior of the cookie.

If you are looking for an authentic Lebanese sweet treat, then you can’t really get more traditional than Ma’amoul. Try making some at home by following this Ma’amoul recipe.

Atayef

Atayef are light, tasty pancakes stuffed with a creamy ricotta and rose water filling. Made with a simple batter of flour, baking powder, sugar and water, the flavour comes from the deliciously decadent filling. Once filled, the pancakes are dipped in crushed pistachios and served with a rose water syrup.

Make your own Atayef at home with this recipe.

Roz Bel Laban

Love rice pudding? Then, you will love this warm and creamy Lebanese pudding that is incredibly satisfying. Made with a base of rice, milk, and sugar, it is then flavoured with rose water, orange blossom or ground cinnamon. Ready in just 20 minutes, you can finish your meal in the most pleasant way!

Make Roz Bel Laban at home with this recipe.

Cheese Board

Dessert doesn’t always have to be sweet. An after-meal accompaniment that is very popular in the Mediterranean is a Cheese Board. Lebanese cheeses are traditionally of the white, salty and odourless variety like Labneh, but you can use any cheese that you like.

Don’t forget to dessert it up with some accompaniments like dried apricots or berries, jams, or fruit pastes, and finish it off with some locally produced honey.

Frozen Desserts

Every culture had a frozen dessert that they love to feast on after a tasty meal. In the Mediterranean, Gelato is more popular than ice cream and comes in a range of tasty flavours. Literally translated as “frozen” in Italian, Gelato is made with milk rather than cream, so is a light and tasty dessert. You can get ready made Gelato varieties in most supermarkets.

If you want to get really authentic, you can whip up a batch of Booza ala Haleeb, which is also known as Lebanese Milk Ice Cream. Flavoured with a variety of fruit flavours, it is usually served in a wafer cone or in a small bowl.

You can make your own version of Booza ala Haleeb with this recipe.

Dessert Pizza

For thousands of years, pizza has existed in some shape or form. Ancient civilizations were known to top flatbread with various elements and enjoy the first renditions of pizza. And the Lebanese were no exception with yummy dishes like Manaqish.

So, why not use the concept of pizza to make a tasty dessert treat?

There are so many delicious flavour combinations that you can use. Some are traditional and some are more out there, so choose what you like and let your imagination run wild.

How about some of these combos to get you started:

• Nutella and Banana
• A variety of Fresh Fruits
• Apple and Caramel
• Cinnamon Roll
• Raspberry and White Chocolate

And to make it super easy to throw together, you can use a fresh pita bread as the base. Simply spread your toppings on and bake for 5-7 minutes at 200℃ for a delicious dessert.

Shop for our freshly baked pita bread now.