Spanish Desserts: 23 Most Popular Dessert Recipes from Spain (2024)

Due to Spain’s history of trade and conquest all over Europe, traditional Spanish desserts have influences from many regions.

Because Spain borders five countries you’ll see these influences in many of their dishes.

From Spanish puff pastries to decadent cheesecakes from the basque country there is something for everyone.

23 Traditional Spanish Desserts

Read on for a list of 23 best Spanish desserts that will take your taste buds into another stratosphere.

1. Turron

Turron is an ancient dessert that comes from Spain’s ties to Arabic regions.

It is a fudge-like square dessert traditionally made of egg whites, almonds and honey.

Nowadays, you can shop for turrones in dozens of flavors.

There are two main types: Turronde Jijona and Turron de Alicante.

Both use the same simple ingredients but the first is a soft nougat while the other is a hard candy.

This Spanish dessert is a common treat at Christmas.

There are even sugar-free options for those on a low or sugar-free diet.

2. Mantecados

In Spanish, manteca means butter or lard. So mantecados means “buttered.”

And if you try these small cookies, you’ll know exactly why.

Mantecados are soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookies that are light and airy. They are similar to shortbread cookies.

These delicious treats have a subtle citrus taste from the lemon zest that is blended with the buttery goodness.

This is another popular dessert in Spain around Christmastime but will be a crowd-pleaser any time of the year.

Best of all, these cookies are simple to make and require just a few ingredients.

With butter, oil, sugar, an egg, flour, and a lemon, you can make this classic Spanish dessert at home.

Some people add almond slivers and anise for a different taste.

3.Churros

No list of favorite Spanish desserts is complete with mentioning churros.

This delectable Spanish pastry is popular all over central and South America, too.

They are not just a post-meal dessert but can be eaten anytime, anywhere.

Spanish churros are portable, snackable and sharable.

Basically, they are long strands of deep-fried pastry dough.

You use a frosting tip and a pastry bag to squeeze the dough to form the distinctive churro tube.

Once deep-fried, churros are dipped in a cinnamon sugar and brown sugar mixture until they are coated completely.

Then, you can dip them in bowls of melted hot chocolate sauce, caramel, strawberry, dulce de leche or any other type of sauce you desire.

Some churros are also piped full of these sauces so there’s no need to dip.

If you love cinnamon and brown sugar, you will love this famous Spanish dessert.

Enjoy them with a cup of Spanish hot chocolate and you’ll be set.

4. Flan

Another world-famous Spanish dessert is flan.

What the paella is to traditional Spanish food, flan is to classic Spanish desserts.

It is so versatile that there are hundreds of flavors such as coconut flan, chocolate flan, cheese flan and so on.

Classic Spanish flan is a moist dessert that has the consistency of jello.

You make this authentic Spanish dessert by combining sugar, eggs, and milk and then pouring the mixture into a mold.

Then, you take the mold and place it in a water bath (orbaño Maria).

The flan needs to cook on medium heat and then cool.

Once the flan cools, you simply turn it upside down on a platter for a beautiful, wobbly mountain that tastes like caramel and milk.

What could be better?

5.Leche Frita

Leche frita literally means fried milk. This favorite dessert comes from Northern Spain.

You cook flour in milk with sugar until it thickens to form a dough.

The dough is chilled overnight (or at least for 3 hours).

Then you cut it up into pieces and fry it in oil. Once cooked, you sprinkle a sugary glaze and cinnamon on top of the “fried milk”.

Though this delicious dessert is easy to make, it does require pre-planning since it needs to be refrigerated.

Otherwise, it will fall apart when you try to fry it.

The end result is a cold, firm cream-like filling encased in a crunchy fried sweet shell. Yum!

6.Quesada Pasiega

Quesada pasiega is a traditional Spanish dessert that is common in Cantabria, Spain. In essence, it is a Spanish cheesecake.

It has the texture of a thick pudding and can be served warm or cold.

It is made from flour, cheese, milk, eggs, sugar, and butter and is lightly flavored with lemon zest and cinnamon.

Traditionally, cuajada cheese is used to make this Spanish dessert.

Yet, that may be harder to get in certain places.

Ricotta is an excellent substitute that works just as well.

Once it’s baked you can top it with fresh fruit or jam or enjoy it as is. This creamy Spanish dessert is a must-try.

7. Crema Catalana

Crema Catalana (or Catalan Cream in English) is a Spanish version of the french crème brûlée.

It is commonly served on March 19 for St. Joseph’s Feast Day.

But you can enjoy this delicious custardy dessert at restaurants or at home any day of the year.

If you are a fan of creme custard, you will love crema Catalana.

To make, you whip egg yolks with sugar and then bake them in ramekin cups.

Next, use a kitchen torch to lightly burn the top layer to make a carmelized hard shell.

Dip your spoon in and enjoy the smooth, delicate flavor of the custard cream.

In Spain, this Spanish dessert is so popular, there is even Crema Catalana flavored ice cream!

8. Buñuelos

Buñuelos are small fluffy fritters that make a great afternoon snack.

They are a very popular dessert in Spain.

A buñuelo is a fried dough ball. They are filled with pastry cream, jam, or egg custard.

Buñuelos are dusted with icing sugar for a delectable mini treat.

These popular desserts are often eaten for breakfast with coffee as well as after dinner.

9. Polvorones

Polvorones are another Spanish Christmas cookie.

The word “polvo” means “powder” in Spanish as these cookies will crumble to a powder-like consistency once you touch or eat them.

Polvorones are crumbly in texture and typically flavored with almonds.

The traditional crumble cakes are an absolute must in every Spanish household during Christmas.

10. Natilla

Natilla is a spanish custard dish made with milk and eggs.

Spanish Natilla is a perfect way to end your meal. I say Spanish because other countries have their own version of natilla.

Some versions do not use eggs in the recipe.

Natilla will typically be dusted on top with cinnamon and don’t forget your Maria cookies.

11. Pestiños

The Spanish sure do enjoy their Christmas sweets.

Pestiños are traditional Christmas pastries most popular in Andalusia and other Southern regions of Spain.

Pestiños are fried and made from flour, aniseed, spanish olive oil, wine and a little sugar.

These popular spanish pastries are a great addition to your Christmas dessert menu and for that reason it made our list of Top 5 Spanish Sweets for Christmas.

12. Tarta de Santiago

Tarta de Santiago or Torta de Santiago is a traditional Spanish almond cake, occasionaly made with an addition of lemon zest and cinnamon.

Tarta de Santiago means St. James cake in English.

So naturally, the cake is powdered with sugar but leaving an imprint of the St James cross on top.

It is especially popular in the Galician region of Spain.

13.Miguelitos

Miguelitos de la Roda or simply Miguelitos are traditional small Spanish cakes.

They consist of soft puff pastry with a creamy custard-like filling and covered with powdery sugar.

A perfect Spanish dessert to accompany your cafe con leche.

14. Torrijas

Torrijas are a Spanish dish traditionally served at Lent and still served at Easter in many households today.

Much like french toast this Spanish treat is made by soaking bread in milk, wine, or honey, dipping it in egg, and then pan-frying it in olive oil.

Torrijas are often topped with cinnamon powder and powdered sugar when served.

They can be enjoyed practically anytime of day

15. Arroz con Leche

Arroz con leche is Spain’s version of rice pudding.

It can be made in half an hour using only milk, sugar, and rice as its main ingredients.

The classic recipe of arroz con leche is as simple as warming up milk, adding sugar, and cooking the rice in it.

When done add a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and/or a cinnamon stick to your spanish rice pudding and serve.

Not surprisingly, every Spanish household in every city has their own version of arroz con leche.

16. Borrachuelos

Borrachuelos are typical spanish pastries from the province of Malaga. located in the southern region of Spain.

They are most popular during Christmas season.

However, all borrachuelos are not the same. Typically they are filled with pumpkin preserve but can be covered in either honey or sugar.

Traditional Spanish dessert recipes calls for them to be soaked in wine and anisette hence the name borrachuelos.

You see the word borracho means drunk in Spanish.

17. Tres Leches

The tres leches cake is a very light sponge cake that is soaked in three different kinds of milk: condensed milk, evaporated milk, and thick cream.

This spanish dessert has been around as early as the 19th century, and it is still a favorite among the Spanish people.

18. Frixuelos

Frixuelos de asturias are Spain’s version of the French crepe.

These spanish crepes are most popular at carnivals in the northern region of Asturias, Spain.

You can fill the frixuelos asturianos with a savory filling but they are usually filled with something sweet.

19. Tarta de Queso

The “burnt” Basque cheesecake hasn’t been around as many as other typical spanish desserts but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a Spanish favorite.

Tarta de queso is essentially an airier and creamier cheesecake than your standard cheesecake.

It also has a caramelized outwardly burnt appearance.

The tarta de queso’s list of ingredients is quite simple; cream cheese, eggs, flour, sugar and heavy cream.

20. Roscon de Reyes

Every year on Christmas, most kids around the world look forward to waking up and unwrapping presents from Santa Claus.

But for most kids from Spain, the start of January brings gifts and a delicious treat.

Roscón de Reyesroughly translates to “Crown of the King,” which is understandable considering that the cake resembles a crown.

The Spanish sponge cake is usually topped with fruit, which resembles jewels on the crown.

The inside of this cake can vary. The most common version includes a sweet cream, but another version of Roscon de Reyes swaps out the cream for a simple, spongy inside.

Why? Well, in addition, a 1-inch (2.54-cm) doll is placed inside the cake. This doll is meant to represent baby Jesus.

21. Tocino de Cielo

Tocino de Cielo means “heaven’s bacon” and is a typical dessert from southern Spain.

It received it’s named based on its color resemblance to pork bacon.

While the dessert may look similar to flan the two taste quite different.

That’s because flan is made with whole eggs, milk and cream. While tocino de cielo is made with just egg yolks, sugar and water.

22. Casadielles

Casadielles are a traditional Spanish pastry originating from the Asturias region in the northern part of Spain.

They consist of a flaky, delicate pastry dough filled with a sweet, nutty mixture typically made from ground walnuts or almonds, sugar, anise seeds, cinnamon and grated lemon zest.

Some variations may include honey or syrup in the filling.

23. Goxua

Goxua is a traditional dessert from the Basque Country in Spain.

The name itself means “sweet” in the Basque language.

This delectable dessert is typically made from layers of sponge cake, whipped cream, and custard, and is topped with caramelized sugar.

Final Thoughts on Traditional Spanish Desserts

Spain’s conquest throughout the centuries has led to many Spanish desserts having influences from many European nations.

This list of 23 popular traditional desserts in Spain gives you a good idea of the types of sweet tooth satisfaction you can enjoy from other Spanish desserts.

Now, learn more about Spanish cuisine and why you should eat tapas-style meals just like the Spanish do.

Or shop for Spanish desserts and other freshly imported Spanish foods online.