42 Awesome Australian Desserts

Looking for the best traditional Australian desserts?

If you love all things sweet from Down Under, then this list of Australian desserts is for you!

From anzac cookies to fairy bread to and lamingtons, you’ll love these traditional treasures.

If you’re in the mood for a taste of Australia, try one of these Aussie Desserts!

1. Lamingtons

An Australian dessert made of squares of shortbread or sponge cake rolled in desiccated coconut and covered with a layer of chocolate sauce on the outside. The distinctive texture of the cake is achieved by soaking a thin batter on the outside of the cake and then letting it sit. A popular variation is to place a layer of strawberry cream or jam between two halves of a lamington.

A traditional Lamington is a beautiful square cake covered in chocolate icing all the way to the top, with dehydrated coconut on top. In some cases, the cake may have been cut in half and a little raspberry jam spread in the middle.

2. Tim Tams

Tim Tams are chocolate chip cookies with two malted chocolate chip cookies, a chocolate filling, and a chocolate topping. The cookies are made the traditional way, with all the expected ingredients including flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and Dutch cocoa powder, which imparts a significantly richer chocolate flavor. The iconic Australian Tim Tam biscuit (also known as a biscuit) is known around the world for its distinctive Australian characteristics. In addition to the original, you can now get flavors like salted caramel, white chocolate, and double chocolate.

3. Pavlova

Pavlovas are a national treasure in Australia. The marshmallow filling inside the meringue is soft and chewy, and the outer crust of the meringue is perfectly crisp. The key is to bake it at a low temperature for an extended period of time, then let it cool completely after you turn off the oven so the crust can dry out. A pavlova is traditionally served with whipped cream and fresh berries sprinkled on top.

4. Vegemite Brownies

Vegemite brownies have been compared to salted caramel. The Vegemite cuts through the chocolatey richness of the brownie, and the hit of umami (the Japanese term for the sixth flavor, which describes “meatiness” or “flavor”) ensures that you can keep eating it without adding too much sugar. You only need a small amount of a thin spreadable paste. Vegemite, has a salty, rich and caramelized flavor.

5. Neenish Tarts

Neenish tarts are small tarts with a crumbly puff pastry crust, a fudge or lemon filling, and a fun two-tone topping. They are available in both New Zealand and Australia. The base can contain an additional layer of jam. The filling has a flan-like consistency and is made by combining butter, icing sugar, and condensed milk in a bowl. Lemon juice is commonly used to add a subtle flavor. These tarts come in the shape of adorable little bites and can have a pink and white top; or brown and white.

6. Milo Balls

Milo is the drink of choice for almost every child in Australia, and many of the country’s adults also enjoy drinking it. The flavor is similar to a cross between malted milk and hot chocolate. Crushed cookies and condensed milk can be combined to make truffle-textured sponge balls. These cake balls are delicious. These adorable bites are covered in coconut and can be made in as little as ten minutes.

7. Golden Gaytime Ice Cream

Golden Gaytime is a popular ice cream in Australia. It is made of toffee and vanilla ice cream that has been dipped in biscuit pieces and covered in chocolate. You can also make a Golden Gaytime cake topped with chocolate icing and cookie crumbs.

8. Fairy Bread

Fairy bread consists of triangle-shaped slices of white bread spread with butter and topped with small multicolored sugar balls known as “hundreds and thousands” in Australia (also known as “sprinkles” elsewhere). Fairy bread is a uniquely Australian dessert. All Australian children remember the sweet known as “fairy bread” from their childhood.

9. Jelly Slice

A Jell-O slice is usually made up of an Arnott’s biscuit base, a layer of condensed milk filling, and a layer of jet Jello on top. This dessert is fluffy, delicious, and adorably cute. Even though the recipe calls for a cheesecake filling, the filling for this cheesecake is actually made from sweetened condensed milk and gelatin. Make sure the middle layer has completely cooled and set before adding the gelatin to the top layer. The jelly must also be chilled to maintain the integrity of the dish.

10. Anzac Biscuits

These traditional chewy sweet cookies are made with flour, oats, butter, sugar, coconut, baking soda, and golden syrup, giving them a sweet flavor and consistency similar to flapjacks. The lack of eggs in these treats gives them a distinctive flavor that sets them apart from traditional cookies and biscuits. They do include the coconut flavor though. When baked, they will have a deliciously caramelized and crispy edge, as well as a wonderfully chewy center, similar to oatmeal and coconut.

11. Dolly Varden Cake

Dolly Varden is a character in the novel Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens. She is known for her extravagant outfit and her fashion choices. In honor of the character, this cake features a boxed cake with a doll sitting in the center. The oldest known recipe for the cake calls for the following layers: chocolate, an egg white layer, a cochineal layer to create a pink pattern, and an egg yolk layer to create a yellow pattern. After baking, the layers are stacked in a variety of colors to create a visually appealing cake. Layers are currently available in a variety of flavors and colors.

12. Vanilla Slice

This dessert is the Australian version of the classic French mille-feuille, and consists of a thick vanilla pastry cream sandwiched between sheets of puff pastry or filo pastry. It is then covered with vanilla, raspberry, strawberry, chocolate or passion fruit flavored icing. The vanilla slice is sometimes called a “snot block” due to the slightly uneven consistency of the custard. Vanilla slices are delicious and surprisingly easy to make, which may explain why they’re so popular.

13. Louise Cake

Louise cake is a New Zealand sweet popular in Australia. It is a coconut dessert in the form of a baked tray instead of a cake. The bottom layer is a combination of shortbread and sponge cake, followed by a layer of raspberry jam and a layer of coconut macaroons. The tartness of the raspberries really stands out against the sweetness of the coconut in this recipe, but I think it would be a good use for any type of jam. The only thing missing is a striped pattern of dark chocolate drizzled on top.

14. Salted Honey Macadamia Tart

If you like pecan pie, you’ll probably like this Australian twist on the classic dessert. The same basic concept is used to create a puff pastry base and a crisp, chewy, nutty-flavored filling. Salted honey is an amazing sweetener that works perfectly as a substitute for salted caramel. It is truly unique and extraordinary, and even the first bite will give you a jolt of excitement. When set, this tart has the texture of a pecan pie and would be delicious with vanilla ice cream.

15. Picnic Cake

The name of this cake derives from the fact that it travels well and is ideal served with tea at home. Due to the oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon in the base, this cake has the flavor profile of a breakfast bar. The chocolate chips add a touch of sweetness and the texture is smooth and dense.

16. Yo-Yo Biscuits

South Australia’s popular Yo-Yo biscuits are made with flour, butter, milk, eggs and honey. They have a crumb-like texture and are often assembled like a sandwich with a dollop of buttercream in the center. Whoopie pies are very similar to these sandwich cookies. Using custard powder in the recipe not only gives the cookies a more delicious creamy flavor, but also makes them exceptionally moist and tender. These will make the cutest snacks for afternoon tea after shaping them into little balls and baking them for just ten minutes. They are a fantastic little cookie that can stand on its own. However, they taste even better when filled with colored buttercream and sandwiched together.

17. Honeycomb Ice Cream

Australian Honeycomb ice cream is known as Hokey Pokey ice cream in New Zealand. Vanilla ice cream has a fantastic caramel crunch in every bite, and it will be smooth and creamy.

Hokey Pokey ice cream is one of New Zealand’s most popular flavors, perhaps second only to vanilla. It’s a very kiwi treat: rich and creamy vanilla ice cream mixed with bits of crunchy honeycomb caramel. The high quality of New Zealand dairy products is known throughout the world.

18. Cherry Ripe Layer Cake

Decadent Ripe Cherry Layer Cake is inspired by the classic chocolate bar. This cake is a show and features layers of fluffy fudge, cherry, and coconut that add that wow factor. The rich chocolate ganache frosting will make chocoholics swoon. Top with shredded coconut for a spectacular dessert your guests will remember.

19. Mango and Passionfruit Australian Eton Mess

The three components of the traditional English dessert known as Eaton Mess are meringue, strawberries, and cream. The Australian Eton Mess is very similar. The only difference is mango and passion fruit instead of beet and coconut! You can make a simple dessert that tastes like the tropics by layering meringue with mango chunks, cream, and passion fruit puree.

20. Hot Jam Donuts

Hot Jam Donuts are an Australian delicacy that can be traced back to Melbourne, which is why they are also known as Melbourner. Unlike the vast majority of other donuts on the market, these are always served hot and are usually sold out of a food truck window located at Queen Vic Market. The yeast dough used to make the donuts is given two chances to “prove” its mettle before being placed in the fryer, after which it is filled with raspberry jam. After being cooked until crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, the donuts are coated with sugar and served in white paper bags so they can be eaten hot and fresh.

21. Musk Stick

Musk sticks are a type of popular sweet made in Australia. They usually appear as a slightly flexible pinkish stick with a ridged cross-section. They have a floral scent and taste, and many people believe they smell or taste like musk perfume.

22. Fairy Floss

Fairy floss is a type of cotton candy or cotton candy. Fairy yarn is gaining popularity among dessert lovers, who use pastel clouds to cover cakes and other sweets. Fairy yarn is no longer just a gift available at carnivals.

23. Glazed Fruit Tart

Glazed Fruit Tarts are sweet, buttery shortcrust pastry treats filled with custard and topped with strawberries, tangerines, kiwis, mango, blueberries and raspberries. Although there is some labor involved, putting together these glazed fruit tarts doesn’t have to be difficult. It just needs a little more attention to detail, especially with the crust.

Working with shortcrust pastry is not something that many beginning cooks are interested in doing due to its high fat content and notoriously difficult handling. The key is not to overwork the dough and chill it in the refrigerator before rolling it out to firm up the butter.

24. Vanilla Rice Pudding

Creamy vanilla rice pudding is a popular dessert in Australia. The ingredients of rice pudding can vary from one recipe to another. What also changes frequently is the method of making the pudding. Some are baked, while others are cooked on the stove. One type of variation that occurs is the addition of vanilla, raisins, and other types of dried fruit.

25. Lemon Cheesecake

Lemon cheesecakes are a classic dessert in Australia. If you want to end your meal with something sweet, you can certainly serve your guests an Australian Lemon Cheesecake for dessert. The cake is a versatile mix of flour, eggs, cream, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

26. Iced VoVo

Pastry creams are popular in the UK; chocolate chip cookies are popular in the United States; and frozen vo-vos are popular in Australia. The top of an Iced VoVo is a wheat flour cookie with two strips of pink fondant, one on each side of a strip of raspberry-coconut jam on top.

The standard cookie base ingredients are butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. It must be refrigerated before rolling out, and the traditional shape is a rectangle. After the cookies are baked and allowed to cool, apply a layer of pink fondant to the entire surface of each one.

It’s easier to cover the entire cookie than to strip it. Cover two or three cookies with jam and form a line down the center of each one. If you do these steps while the fondant is still wet, the jam will be able to set properly. It remains only to sprinkle it with coconut.

27. Chocolate Crackles

Chocolate crunches, also known as chocolate bubble cakes, are a popular sweet among children in Australia and New Zealand. These snacks are particularly popular at children’s birthday parties and school carnivals. The recipe with the earliest known publication date was published in The Australian Women’s Weekly in December 1937. Melted cocoa is combined with icing sugar, cocoa powder, rice balls and coconut. Everyone will enjoy eating this light and airy dessert.

28. Beetroot Cake with Orange Frosting

Did you know that beets are a common ingredient in Australian cuisine? It doesn’t just apply to burgers and salads; it applies to everything. His love for this vibrant and earthy vegetable inspired them to include it in their cakes. Instead of carrots, this spiced cake contains grated beets, applesauce, and orange zest for a savory twist on carrot cake. The cake is topped with a sour cream cheese frosting flavored with orange zest and passion fruit.

29. Caramel Chocolate Slice

This version of the biscuit, known as Millionaire Shortbread in the UK, replaces beetroot with coconut at the base. The base of the coconut shortbread is the perfect combination of crumbly and buttery. When making the caramel layer, be sure to use full fat condensed milk. If you don’t, the cape won’t be fixed properly and you won’t be able to see the nice capes once the bar is cut.

30. Coconut Ice

This is a Christmas specialty in Australia that is always made from scratch. This brightly colored confection is made of grated desiccated coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and sugar, and it is both solid and soft. It has a chewy, soft, and slightly grainy texture; some varieties are semi-hard.

Coconut ice (also known as Cocoanut ice) is a British confectionery made from grated desiccated coconut or just grated coconut, condensed milk, and sugar and formed into a solid, soft candy.

31. Boston Bun

There is one unbreakable rule when eating a Boston bun: you must have butter! Boston buns are distinct in that they are made with finely mashed potatoes, resulting in an extra soft dough sprinkled with raisins or sultanas. Every Boston bun is covered in the creamiest white butter icing and dusted with dried coconut.

Boston buns are sold in every bakery in Australia, usually next to the finger buns and donuts! If you’re visiting friends in Australia, bring one for tea; it’s a very Aussie tradition.

32. Weis Bar

Weis Bars are a popular, Australian ice cream dessert. If you want to try one, go to any Australian corner store and look for the Weis in the ice cream freezer. The Weis bar dates back to 1957, when Les Weis, the owner of a corner store, invented the Fruito Bar, a slab of ice cream. In 2022, the mango and cream flavored Weis Bar was still their best seller in Australia. Frozen fruit and cream have never gone out of style in Australia, with homemade and store-bought versions of the Weis Bar being found in homes throughout the summer.

33. Cake with a Bubble O’ Bill

Bubble O’Bill is a strawberry, chocolate, and caramel ice confection with a massive bubblegum nose and a bullet hole in his hat. The Bubble O’Bill cake is possibly the most iconic Aussie cake you’ve ever seen. Essentially, the recipe calls for smashing the biscuits and blending them with heated coconut oil to make the biscuit base, then consolidating ice cream and sprinkles in a bowl and freezing them to make the next layer, followed by drizzling the chocolate mixture over the edge. And most importantly, eight Bubble O’ Bills are placed around the perimeter of the cake to complete your tasty cake.

34. Wattleseed Pavlova

Australian wattleseed pavlova is a dessert made with a meringue base and whipped cream or egg whites. The pavlova is often decorated with fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries or passionfruit. Wattleseed is a native Australian ingredient with a nutty, chocolatey flavour. It can be found in specialty stores or online.

35. Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

Australian chocolate self saucing pudding is a pudding that is cooked with a chocolate sauce. The pudding is made with chocolate, milk, sugar, eggs, and flour. The pudding is served with a chocolate sauce.

36. Sticky Date Pudding

Sticky date pudding is a classic Australian dessert that is sure to please any sweet tooth. This pudding is made with dates, flour, butter, sugar, and eggs, and is typically served with a caramel or butterscotch sauce.

37. Australian Gingerbread Hhouses

In Australia, gingerbread houses are a popular Christmas tradition. Made from a gingerbread-spice biscuit dough, these houses are often decorated with lollies, icing and other sweet treats. While they can be time-consuming to make, the results are definitely worth it!

38. Plum Pudding

Plum pudding is a steamed or boiled pudding typically made with suet, flour, breadcrumbs, dried fruit, and spices. It is sometimes called “Christmas pudding” because it is often served at Christmas dinner.

39. Banoffee Pie

Banoffee pie is a dessert made with toffee, bananas, and cream. It is believed to have originated in the UK, but it is now popular all over the world.

41. Apple Crumble

There’s nothing more comforting than a warm slice of apple crumble, and this classic dessert is definitely a favorite Down Under. To make the crumble topping, simply mix together the flour, brown sugar and butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then sprinkle over the top of the apples. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or custard.

42. Australian Cheesecake

There are few desserts more Australian than the cheesecake. This creamy, dreamy treat is perfect for any occasion – whether you’re hosting a dinner party or just looking for a special something to share with your family.

There are endless ways to make a cheesecake, but I think the classic Australian version is the best. Made with cream cheese, eggs, sugar and lemon juice, this delicious dessert is sure to please everyone. Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh berries, and you’ll have a truly Aussie experience!

What Christmas desserts do Australians eat?

I’ve rounded up the most iconic Christmas desserts that Australians bake around the holidays. Here are the most tasty Aussie Christmas desserts from cakes to cookies to puddings.

Oi Oi Oi, Merry Christmas!

Banana Caramel Slice
Cadbury Chocolate Crackles
Caramel Shortbread
Caramel Tart
Caramilk Lamingtons
Cherry Ripe Slice
Chocolate Crazy Cake
Christmas Pudding
Cloudy Lemon Pie
Creamy Lemon Buttercrust Slice
Croissant Custard Slice
Damper
Easy Lemon Curd Lamingtons
Easy Tim Tam Cheesecake
Enormous Neenish Tart
Espresso Martini Ripple Cakes
Eton Mess Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake
Fairy Bread
Fantales Brownie
Ferrero Rocher Smash Slice
Finger Buns
Flake Slice
Flummery
Friand
Frog Cake
Frozen Gaytime Cheesecake
Frozie Cup
Gaytime Banana Bread
Giant Monte Carlo Cake
Giant Wagon Wheel Cake
Gin and Tonic Trifle
Gingerbread Men Cookies
Golden Gaytime Slice
Golden Syrup Microwave Mug Cake
Hedgehog Slice
Hokey Pokey (Ice Cream)
Icebox Cake
Iced Vovo Cheesecake
Jelly Doughnut
Jelly Slice
Jersey Caramel Slice
Lamingtons
Lemon Cheesecake Pavlova
Lemon Crisp Custard Slice
Lemon Delicious Pudding
Lemon Ripple Cheesecake
Magic Shell
Mango And Coconut Layered Cheesecake
Mango And Coconut Three Milk Cake
Mango And Passionfruit Cheesecake
Mars Bar Slice
Mille-Feuille
Mini Pavlova Lamingtons
Mint Slice Cake With Meringue Buttercream
Monte Carlos
Old-Fashioned Vanilla Slice
Pancakes
Passionfruit And Mango Pavlova
Passionfruit Coconut Vanilla Slice
Chewy Anzac Biscuits
Pie Maker Wagon Wheels
Pineapple Slice
Raspberry Rose Pavlova
Red Ripper Jelly Cheesecake
Red Rippers Vanilla Slice
Rocky Road Chocolate Crackles
Sheet Cake
Super-Sized Vanilla Slice
Tim Tam Cake
Tim Tam Cheesecake
Traditional Christmas Pudding
Trifle
Vanilla Slice
Violet Crumble Cheesecake Slice
Violet Crumble Pavlova Pie
Wagon Wheel Slice
White Chocolate Christmas Crackles
White Christmas Trifle
Yogo

The Roundup

These Australian desserts are sure to tantalize your taste buds. From the rich and creamy lamingtons to the refreshing pavlova, there is something on this list for everyone. So, next time you’re in the mood for something sweet, be sure to give one of these mouth-watering Aussie desserts a try.