We’ve all experienced that unmistakable craving for sweets. One minute, you’re just going about your business doing the dishes or reading the paper, and then BAM, you’re suddenly craving something decadent and delicious. If you ever find yourself craving something sweet but can’t really pinpoint the exact dessert you’re in the mood for, it might be a good idea to take a look at the options. Have you tried everything desserts have to offer? Do you think there might be a dessert you haven’t yet tasted? We’ve come up with the ten most popular types of desserts, along with some variations that fall into each category.
Categories and Types of Desserts
You can find countless different variations on desserts, from key lime cheesecake to oreo cookie milkshakes, but these sweet treats typically fall into overarching categories. Although some desserts may strike several different boxes, they usually fall within one of these several umbrellas. For example, oreo cookie milkshakes fall firmly within the frozen dessert category. To broaden your dessert repertoire, you may want to taste desserts from each one of these categories. You can use this data to figure out the type of dessert you like best. Then you can delve deep into that one category to find your very favorite dessert of all time.
If you’re craving something sweet, check out our with enough chocolate to satisfy any sweet tooth. It’s made with pineapple daisies and pineapple stars covered in semisweet chocolate, strawberries, honeydew, canteloupe, and so much more. It comes with so many treats, you’ll have plenty to share.
Top 10 Types of Desserts
To help you learn more about the different options of sweet treats available, we’ve gathered up ten types of desserts that are decadent, mouthwatering, and irresistible. Here’s more about each category:
1. Cakes
Perhaps the most popular dessert of all time, cake contains a combination of flour, sugar, eggs, butter or oil, leavening agents (such as yeast or baking powder), and sometimes milk or water. It’s topped with sweet and creamy icing for the ultimate treat.
2. Cookies
Made from flour and sugar, cookies are usually small, flat, and round. To create sandwich cookies, just place a small amount of jam or icing in the middle of two cookies. Cookies can also be cut in elaborate shapes, perfect for different seasons and events.
3. Biscuits
A different variety of baked goods that includes scones, biscotti, and more, biscuits are in a category all their own. Biscuits are typically made denser than cake, but they can vary in texture from soft and chewy to hard and crispy.
4. Pastries
Pastries include pies, cobblers, and anything else made with a light and flaky bread crust. They’re often filled with fruit, chocolate, nuts, or spices to elevate the flavor profile of the treat. Apple pie is the quintessential American pastry.
5. Candies
Confections, also called candy or sweets, feature sugar or honey as a principal ingredient. Caramel, fudge, toffee, hard candies, and gummies are all types of candy. Chocolate is perhaps the most popular type, made from a combination of cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar, and milk.
Made with a base of cream and milk, puddings and custards are remarkably similar. However, puddings are thickened with starches such as corn starch or tapioca, while custards are thickened using only eggs.
7. Deep-fried
There are many different desserts made of deep-fried batter or dough. Donuts are made with a flour-based batter that has been deep-fried and topped with sugar or filled with sweet cream or chocolate. Churros are deep-fried and rolled in a sugar and cinnamon combination.
8. Frozen
Cold, creamy, and absolutely delicious, frozen treats include ice cream, gelato, sorbet, shaved ice, frozen yogurt, and so much more. The main difference between ice cream and gelato is that gelato uses more milk and less cream than ice cream, resulting in a denser dessert.
9. Gelatin
Jellied desserts are made of gelatin, a processed collagen product that gives desserts the quintessential “jiggle.” These desserts include old-school gelatin, Jello, marshmallows, Gelatina de Mosaico, and more.
10. Fruit
Even fruit can be considered a dessert with its sweet and vibrant texture. Mix it with simple syrup for an easy and delicious fruit salad. Or, try one of our platters, such as our Chocolate Dipped Indulgence Platter which is filled with apples, strawberries, and pineapple daisies, all covered in decadent semisweet chocolate.
More Questions About Desserts
What are the different types of desserts?
There are many different types of desserts to appeal to a variety of tastes. Some of the different types of desserts include:
- Cakes
- Cupcakes
- Brownies
- Muffins
- Cheesecakes
- Cookies
- Candies
- Custards
- Pastries
- Fudge
- Pies
- Puddings
- Cobblers
- Macarons
- Tarts
- Fruit salad
- Gelatin
- Biscuits
- Chocolate confections
- Fried desserts
- Donuts
- Sweet crêpes
- Sweet dessert soups
- Dessert drinks
- Dessert wines
- Mousse
- Parfaits
While many desserts are baked and served warm, at room temperature, or refrigerated, there are also a variety of types of frozen desserts such as:
- Ice cream
- Frozen yogurt
- Sorbet
- Sherbet
- Gelato
- Shaved ice
- Milkshakes
- Popsicles
- Smoothies
- Slushies
- Granitas
- Ice cream sandwiches
How many types of desserts are there?
While there are thousands of different dessert recipes, you can generally classify desserts in 7 basic types of desserts:
- Baked desserts
- Frozen desserts
- Dessert drinks
- Cold desserts
- Fried desserts
- Puddings and custards
- Cobblers
What are the different types of cold desserts?
Cold desserts are not frozen, but they are chilled and stored in the refrigerator and served cold. The different types of cold desserts include:
- Some types of pies, such as meringue
- Puddings
- Gelatins
- Yogurt
- Cheesecakes
- Custards
- Parfaits
- Mousse
- Fruit salads
- Smoothies
- Slushies
- Some dessert wines
- Some dessert drinks
What are types of plated desserts?
Many different desserts are plated, meaning they’re positioned in an aesthetically pleasing way with extras such as sauces, syrups, or garnishes, often including different textures and temperatures. Plated desserts typically fall into one of the following categories:
- Frozen plated desserts
- Warm or hot plated desserts
- Custards and creamy desserts
- Fruit-based plated desserts
- Cheese-based plated desserts
- Chocolate-based plated desserts
Practically any type of dessert can be presented as a plated dessert, as long as it has several elements and is not served as a single item. Cookies, for instance, are often served as a single item, but cookies can become a plated dessert when arranged on a plate next to a scoop of ice cream and topped with chocolate fudge sauce. Even a slice of cake can become a plated dessert with a tasty topping and a sweet or fruity garnish.
What are the types of frozen desserts?
There are many types of frozen desserts, such as:
- Ice cream
- Frozen yogurt
- Sorbet
- Sherbet
- Italian ice (or shaved ice)
- Snow cones
- Popsicles
- Ice cream sandwiches
- Gelato
- Frozen custard
- Slushies
- Granitas
- Smoothies
- Milkshakes
If you’re craving something sweet, turn to one of these delicious types of desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth. Only once you have tried them all can you really determine your favorite dessert.
