Dessert
Dessert is a sweet course typically served at the end of a meal. It includes dishes such as cakes, fruit, puddings, and ice cream.
Sugar: A class of sweet-tasting, water-soluble carbohydrates used in foods and drinks. It sweetens desserts and helps shape their texture, color, and preservation.
Birthday cake: A cake served to celebrate a person's birthday, often decorated with candles. It turns dessert into a focal point for a birthday celebration.
Medieval European cuisine: The food traditions of Europe during the Middle Ages, shaped by season, status, religion, and trade. Medieval meals help explain the earlier custom of serving sweets between courses.
Appetizer: A small dish served before the main course to stimulate the appetite. Its place at the beginning of a meal contrasts with dessert’s closing role.
Pastry: A baked food made from dough, often combining flour and fat. Pastry forms the crusts and shells of many desserts, from tarts to turnovers.
Wedding cake: A cake made for a wedding celebration, traditionally cut and shared by the couple. It shows how a dessert can become a centerpiece of a public ritual.
Entremet: A dish or elaborate interlude served between courses in medieval and early modern European banquets. Its place between courses contrasts with dessert’s modern position at the meal’s end.
Snack: A small amount of food eaten between meals or in place of a meal. A sweet snack may resemble dessert but is not necessarily tied to a meal’s end.
Custard: A mixture thickened by gently cooking eggs with milk or cream. Custard serves as a dessert itself and as a filling for many others.
Petit four: A small, usually elaborately decorated confection served at the end of a meal or with tea. Its small size makes dessert suitable for receptions and formal service.