America's Over-the-Top Love For Desserts
America does have a reputation for creating food that's bigger, bolder, and unapologetically intense, but while we might be familiar with that approach, many foreigners are not. For those who are used to smaller portions or less sugary flavors, it can be a huge shock experiencing the dessert scene in this country. Here are just 20 American desserts that many tourists will likely find excessive.
1. Deep-Fried Oreos
Oreos are already incredibly sweet and calorific on their own, so seeing them become deep-fried at fairs certainly makes foreigners blink twice. You get sweetness, oil, and crunch all in one bite, which feels like a lot for anyone expecting a simple cookie.
2. Monster Milkshakes
You've definitely seen pictures of these online before even if you've never tried one. These monstrous milkshakes are already sweet drinks made mostly of ice cream, but when you throw on cookies, candy, whipped cream, and slices of cake as toppings, you're looking at your entire sugar and calorie count in one drink.
3. Funnel Cake
Funnel cakes are a fairground classic that seem innocent at first glance, but foreigners will quickly realize how much of a sugar commitment they're making. These fried bits of batter are covered in powdered sugar, chocolate, or whipped cream, and come in massive sizes that certainly shouldn't be enjoyed by just one person.
G. Edward Johnson on Wikimedia
4. Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake
American cheesecake is already dense and rich, but the versions at chains like The Cheesecake Factory take it to a whole other level. Slices tend to be thick, heavy, and loaded with caramel, chocolate, cookie crusts, or candy pieces. You better have room in your stomach because eating one slice is like having a second dinner.
5. S’mores
S’mores seem simple in theory, and they make for a delightful camping treat, but the combination of marshmallow, chocolate, and graham crackers can be very sweet to visitors. Marshmallows are essentially just sugar in a chewy, fluffy form after all!
6. Buckeyes
Popular in Ohio, these unique treats are a sugar overload. Buckeyes are basically sweet peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate. The peanut butter filling is even mixed with powdered sugar, which makes it even sweeter! They’re small, but a few pieces can feel like a full dessert.
7. Pecan Pie
Pecan pie sounds and looks fairly modest, but once you get a taste of that decadently sweet filling, just a few bites can feel extremely rich and heavy. That mixture of corn syrup, sugar, butter, and nuts can be a big surprise for foreigners, especially when they expect something more nutty and balanced rather than sweet.
8. Gooey Butter Cake
This extremely American dessert takes dense and heavy to new heights.
Coming from St. Louis, this cake tells you exactly what you're going to get in the name. It has a rich, buttery base, and an overly sweet and soft topping that tastes almost like frosting baked right in.
9. Cinnamon Rolls With Frosting
American cinnamon rolls are often huge, soft, and covered with thick white frosting. The pastry itself is already sweet from cinnamon sugar, but the icing adds another sugary layer. To a foreign visitor, they'd be shocked to hear some have this dessert-like pastry for breakfast.
10. Ice Cream Sundaes
We're sure there are plenty of ice cream sundaes around the world, but none make them as extreme as America. This sweet, cold treat can be surprisingly elaborate, especially when it includes multiple scoops, hot fudge, caramel, nuts, whipped cream, and cherries. It’s enjoyable, but it can be overwhelming, too.
11. Red Velvet Cake
Red velvet cake can be confusing to foreigners because of its artificial color and dramatic appearance. As far as cake goes, it also tends to be more dense than others, and combined with that layered frosting and sweet cream cheese filling, it can all just feel like a lot.
amirali mirhashemian on Unsplash
12. Banana Splits
Foreigners might think a banana split is a bit healthier at first, given the fruit in the name, but this dessert is anything but simple.
It usually includes several scoops of ice cream, multiple sauces, whipped cream, nuts, and cherries, and while there's a banana in there, it certainly isn't the star.
13. Mississippi Mud Pie
Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. That's what the Mississippi mud pie looks like to foreigners! It's no surprise they find it too much, especially when it consists of a cookie crust, chocolate filling, whipped cream, and sometimes extra chocolate sauce on top.
Fumiaki Yoshimatsu on Wikimedia
14. Puppy Chow
Puppy chow sounds innocent enough, but this Midwestern snack dessert will definitely surprise anyone who's never encountered it before. Besides, cereal coated in chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar does sound like sugar overload.
15. Brownie Sundaes
Speaking of sundaes, there might not be anything more indulgent, overly decadent, and extremely rich than a brownie sundae. Not only does it combine two heavy desserts into one plate, but it just ups the sweetness level of both treats, too!
16. Fried Twinkies
Another fried treat that seems over the top, fried Twinkies are a clear example of America’s habit of turning packaged snacks into fair food. The cream-filled cake is battered, fried, and usually dusted with sugar before serving. For many foreigners, the idea is fascinating, but the richness is excessive in every way.
Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States on Wikimedia
17. Layered Dessert Bars
American dessert bars often pack cookie dough, brownies, caramel, chocolate chips, and candy into one square.
It's almost impressive! They may look small, but each bite can be extremely dense, and not to mention, far too sweet and unbalanced.
18. Donuts With Extreme Toppings
Some American donuts go far beyond just a glaze or jelly filling. They can be covered with cereal, bacon, candy, marshmallows, frosting, or cookie crumbs, which all feel like excess to visitors. The creativity is part of the fun, but it does feel a tad too much sometimes.
19. Key Lime Pie
Key lime pie sounds like a dessert that would be more refreshing than heavy, but more often than not, it's overly sweet, rich, and doesn't feel light in the slightest. The condensed milk filling does give it a creamy texture, but the graham cracker crust just adds more sugar and butter.
20. Ice Cream Cake
Ice cream cake combines cake, ice cream, frosting, and sometimes cookie crunch into one frozen dessert. Do we even need to say anymore? It's a popular birthday treat, but one slice can definitely feel like a lot more than you signed up for, especially if you don't have a sweet tooth.
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20 American Desserts Foreigners Find Excessive
