If you’re looking forward to your next trip to the tropics and can’t wait to get into vacation mode, better whip up some Caribbean desserts at home! 🏝️🏝️🏝️
Caribbean desserts are full of flavorful concoctions that feature tropical fruits and different spices.
Much like the cuisine on the islands, Caribbean desserts represent a fusion of different influences and culinary traditions from many different cultures.
From cakes, pastries, pudding, and sweet snacks, these Caribbean dessert options bring the sunshine straight to your plate and provide unique flavors that make you feel like you’re already in the tropics!
The #16’s Bulla Cake is a popular favorite from Jamaica with simple ingredients that make it so easy to do at home; feel free to create #17 if you’re into pudding!
This cornmeal pudding is a Jamaican dessert that’s considered a staple throughout the Caribbean.
It’s made from cornmeal, coconut milk, raisins, spices, with a dense cornbread texture.
Topped with creamy coconut custard to make it sweeter, it’s a filling cake that is enjoyed throughout the year, especially during the holidays.
Plantains are common in the tropical Caribbean, which is why these sweet fried plantains are a typical treat.
This recipe is sweetened using coconut sugar, a great ingredient to caramelize.
These caramelized plantains are flavorful and satisfying, with a soft and tender interior that makes it all fantastic.
The Jamaican Toto is a Caribbean coconut cake that’s very popular in the region.
Its origins lie deeply rooted within the vast coconut plantations of Jamaica and highlight the main ingredient: the coconut.
This coconut cake is sweet and fluffy and can be glazed with a vanilla-coconut mixture to elevate its sweetness.
The Coquito is a famous coconut cocktail from Puerto Rico, which has an edible iteration that’s making waves straight from the islands.
Made into a coconut rum cheesecake, the coquito cheesecake is creamy and delicious, with cinnamon-sugar bits that provide a delightful crunch.
Turning a coquito into a cake is much better than a traditional eggnog version as a holiday dessert.
A delicious treat for kids and adults, these Caribbean Coconut Sugar Cakes are small cookie-like cakes made of coconut and sugar.
Having very vibrant colors depending on which region they’re made from, they’re either pink, which is from Trinidad and Tobago, or bright red, from Guyana.
These candied treats taste precisely like their colors, being very sweet flavored that fit the Caribbean palate.
This dessert from the coastal country of Belize isn’t your typical chocolate-based bar of fudge.
It’s sweet, creamy, and often incorporates peanuts, raisins, and shredded coconut.
The Belizean Fudge is also pretty easy to make at home, making it a great recipe to try and satisfy your craving for something sweet.
Considered a Caribbean delicacy, these tamarind balls have a unique combination of sweet and sour flavors.
To make these delicious treats, de-shelled fruit is molded into balls with its seeds intact, added with flavoring, and rolled in sugar.
To create your variation at home, you can find tamarind in Caribbean, Asian, Indian, and Latino grocery stores.
Rum is a very identifiable drink from the Caribbean region, so having it as an ingredient in many Caribbean desserts is undeniable.
This Jamaican Rum Cake has moist and tender crumb, with sweet butter and rum syrup that soaks into each part of this delicious cake.
It has the perfect amount of rum soaked in the recipe, making it more flavorful and tasty.
9. Pudin De Pan
Each territory has its version of bread pudding, which is an excellent way of using stale bread in stock.
This Caribbean version is moist and creamy, with cinnamon and sugar to provide a flavorful punch.
It also has raisins soaked in Caribbean rum to add more texture and flavor.
10. Besitos De Coco
Besitos de Coco is coconut macaroons with a recipe that originally hails from Puerto Rico.
This recipe is made without eggs or flour and instead focuses on condensed milk as a base that provides an extra level of chew to these delicious bite treats.
Flan De Queso, or cheese flan, is a luscious baked custard dessert that is the most popular in Puerto Rico.
It has a silky smooth custard finish, with a cheesecake-like flavor due to the added cream cheese.
Topped off with caramel syrup, it’s a slice of saccharine heaven that will make you keep wanting more.
12. Black Cake
The Black Cake is a Caribbean Christmas cake that adds flavorful rum to your holiday dessert.
The recipe is originally a product of Barbados, but each region has its version of preparing this particular cake.
It’s fruity, nutty, and spiced with dark rum, providing deep flavors which make this cake so rich and filling.
13. Flan De Calabaza
This Flan De Calabaza, or pumpkin flan, is a Cuban version of the custard favorite, focusing on a unique ingredient: pumpkin!
Pumpkin is a vital ingredient for many Thanksgiving dishes, and this flan de calabaza is simply perfect for fall.
It’s a creamy concoction that tastes much like pumpkin pie without the crumby crust while also being sweet due to the caramel syrup.
Want more Cuban Desserts? We got you.
Also known as dilly fruits, Sapodillas are widely popular in the Bahamas, with this exceptionally sweet fruit being the base ingredient of the sapodilla crumble.
This crumble is creamy and zesty on the inside due to the unique flavor profile of the dilly fruit and a delectably crumbly crust.
You can add toasted oats, cashews, and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg to add more texture and flavor.
15. Pineapple Tarts
These Pineapple Tarts, a favorite of Bahamian natives, are a sweet Caribbean dessert that mixes a sweet, tropical pineapple mixture with a crisp, buttery crust.
This pastry is light and delicious and will be an absolute treat for any festive gathering.
16. Bulla Cake
The Bulla Cake is a traditional Jamaican dessert similar to a donut without a hole in the middle.
It’s flat, round, and made from flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
The Bulla cake is an everyday treat for children and is mainly eaten with avocado, butter, and cheese.
Sweet potato pudding is a dessert staple in Jamaica that uses purple sweet potato as its main ingredient.
Purple sweet potato provides authentic flavor and incredible texture; added with some rum, shredded coconut, cornmeal, vanilla, and brown sugar into this delicious mixture.
Serve it up with a scoop of ice cream, and you have all the elements of joy you’ll ever want for a great plate of dessert.
Flan De Ciruela Pasa, or prune flan, is a rich custard that’s a variation of the traditional flan.
It adds prunes and prune-infused caramel syrup to the original flan combo of eggs, cream, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk.
The added ingredients provide a hint of tartness to this sweet treat, providing a unique flavor to this much-loved dessert.
Highlighting the colonial influences of the region, these Polvorones De Almendra, or Spanish almond cookies, were traditionally a means to express one’s loyalty to the Catholic church.
They’re made with raw, peeled almonds, butter, sugar, and flour, with a thick coat of powdered sugar to add sweetness.
It’s now a perfect treat commonly served during the holiday season.
20. Brazo Gitano
Brazo Gitano is a guava swiss roll served throughout the Caribbean during Christmas and New Year’s.
It’s a rolled sponge cake that’s light and pleasant, with sweet guava jelly filled into the roll.
Sprinkled with a coat of powdered sugar or cream cheese frosting, the Brazo gitano is a sweet and savory concoction you must try.
If you’re a fan of coconuts, then you’ll love these traditional Jamaican Coconut Drops.
It’s a saccharine combination of diced coconut, nutmeg, brown sugar, and ginger, all cooked in boiling water until it all combines and gets sticky.
When the water has boiled away, you’re left with a mixture that’s scooped into bite-sized treats to be cooled down and ready for some munching.
22. Caribbean Cream
Caribbean Cream is a delicious dessert that’s easy to make since it’s a no-bake recipe.
It’s made with yogurt, heavy cream, and rum, all whisked together until it becomes a thick cream.
You can add sliced bananas or some shredded coconut to add more tropical flavors to this dish.
23. Cassava Pone
Originating from the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, the Cassava Pone, also known as the Yuca cake, has become quite popular throughout the Caribbean.
It’s a sweet dessert made from sweet potato and cassava root, mixed with coconut milk, evaporated milk, butter, and raisins, with spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.
This mango puff pastry is a delicious turnover that’s very popular in the Caribbean.
The puff pastry is stuffed with mango, cloves, cashews, cinnamon, and nutmeg, providing an explosion of flavors with every bite.
The bottom line
Caribbean desserts are sweet and desirable and can satisfy your sweet tooth cravings every time.
Pick one of these recipes out, and you’ll immediately transport yourself directly to the islands, and you’ll be vibing like you were in the tropics in no time!
Desserts Of The Caribbean 🏝️
If you're looking forward to your next trip to the tropics and can't wait to get into vacation mode, better whip up some Caribbean desserts at home!
Ingredients
- Jamaican Pudding
- Coconut Sugar Caramelized Plantains
- Jamaican Toto
- Coquito Cheesecake
- Caribbean Coconut Sugar Cakes
- Belizean Fudge
- Tamarind Balls
- Jamaican Rum Cake
- Pudin De Pan
- Besitos De Coco
- Puerto Rican Flan De Queso
- Black Cake
- Flan De Calabaza
- Sapodilla Crumble
- Pineapple Tarts
- Bulla Cake
- Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding
- Flan De Ciruela Pasa
- Polvorones De Almendra
- Brazo Gitano
- Jamaican Coconut Drops
- Caribbean Cream
- Cassava Pone
- Pastelillos De Mangos
- Gizzada
Instructions
- Pick one or more options from our list of Caribbean Desserts here!
- Start creating your new favorite dish.
- Share and comment! Did you make any changes to make it even better?