There is a strong tradition of home baking in the country and patisseries are present in every city and village across the country. Entirely Albanian pastries and desserts consist primarily of fruits including oranges and lemons that grow as well as in the country. Traditionally, fresh fruits are often eaten after a meal as a dessert. Those dishes are inspired by both Western and Eastern civilizations.
Bakllava is made frequently in Albania, especially around certain religious holidays of Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox. It is prepared on large trays and cut into a variety of shapes. Baklava is either with hazelnuts or walnuts sweetened with syrup.
Petulla is a traditional fried dough made from wheat or buckwheat flour, which is as well a popular dish among the Albanians and served with powdered sugar or feta cheese and raspberry jam.
Pandispanjë is a traditional base for several Belshian desserts and cakes based on flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. A variety of fillings are used, such as jelly, chocolate, fruit and pastry cream.
Ballokume is an Albanian cookie, which originated in Elbasan during the middle Ages and prepared every year on Summer Day, a public holiday in the country. It has to be brewed in large copper pots, tightly whipped with a wooden spoon and baked in the wood oven. Pastries And Desserts
Fruit jam, also known as Reçel, is enjoyed all year in Albania and is a major component of the Albanian cooking tradition. The fruit preserve is made by cooking the juice of the fruit or the fruit itself, which usually grow in Albania, with sugar. It is served too many dishes as a side dish.
Zupa is a popular dessert and assembled by alternating layers of the cookies or sponge cake with pastry cream. Another similar dessert is an Albanian custard dessert called krem karamele very similar to crème brûlée. This dessert is made with milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and flavored with orange or lemon peel and cinnamon.
Various kinds of hallvë are prepared across the country with some of the most common types being flour halva. Although home-cooked semolina halva and shop-produced sesame halva are also consumed. It is a typical sweet in local religious fairs around Albania.
Tambëloriz is a popular sweet among the Albanian population across the world. It is a kind of rice pudding made from milk, rice, saffron and nuts, raisins can be added too.
Tollumba is a fried, crispy, and sweet dessert traditionally eaten in the Balkan Peninsula. Further, it is made of bits of fried dough, similar to doughnuts, steeped in lots of lemony syrup. The dough contains starch and semolina, which keeps it light and crispy.
Akullore is the Albanian word for ice cream and it is enjoyed both summer and winter. Ice cream is a popular dessert across the country’s territory after a long meal. It is available at restaurants, patisseries and bars, which are everywhere found in Albania.
Kadaif is a pastry made from long thin noodle threads filled with walnuts or pistachios and sweetened with syrup, it is sometimes served alongside baklava.
Eklera are made from choux pastry, filled with a cream, vanilla, coffee or chocolate-flavored custard and then topped usually with fondant icing.
Trileçe is an Albanian adaptation of the Spanish Tres leches. It is a sponge cake made of three milks from cows, goats and water buffaloes, while cow’s milk and cream are used commonly. According to Hürriyet, Albania was the first country to introduce the dessert from South America into the area. It is believed that the popularity of Brazilian soap operas in Albania led local chefs to reverse-engineer the dessert and then the specialty spread over to Turkey.
Ashure, the world oldest dessert, is served especially during Muslim holidays in Albania. It is a congee that is made of a mixture consisting of grains, nuts as well as fruits and dried fruits.
Homemade panettone, an Italian type of sweet bread loaf, is usually prepared and particularly enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Albania.