Recipes | I've Been Cooking

Pen Patat

Pen Patat is a traditional Haitian sweet potato pudding baked until set and fragrant with warm spices. This lush, custardy dessert blends coconut, evaporated, and condensed milks with banana, raisins, vanilla, rum, and lime zest for deep tropical flavor and a caramelized edge.

🇭🇹 Haiti$$

Juba Sorghum Pudding

A warm, cardamom- and cinnamon-scented sorghum pudding enriched with milk, coconut milk, and ghee, studded with raisins and dates. Comforting and naturally gluten-free, it’s a classic-style Juba-inspired sweet pudding.

🇸🇸 South Sudan$$

Diddle-Dee Duff

A cozy, old-fashioned berry duff made with tart diddle-dee berries folded into a tender, lightly spiced batter. Warm cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest, and vanilla make this comforting dessert perfect with a scoop of cream or ice cream.

🇫🇰 Falkland Islands (Malvinas)$$

Milchreis

Creamy German rice pudding (Milchreis) simmered in milk with vanilla and lemon zest, lightly sweetened and finished with butter and a dusting of cinnamon.

🇩🇪 Germany$

Golden Sawine

Golden Sawine is a rich, creamy vermicelli dessert scented with cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, saffron, and rose water, simmered in evaporated and condensed milk. Toasted vermicelli in ghee gives a nutty depth, while raisins, pistachios, and almonds add texture, and maraschino cherries finish it festively.

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago$$$

Monaco Bread Pudding

A cozy, sweet-and-salty twist on classic bread pudding made with crushed Monaco biscuits soaked in a vanilla-cinnamon custard, dotted with raisins and cashews, then baked until golden and set. Comforting, quick, and perfect for tea-time or dessert.

🇲🇨 Monaco$$

Capirotada

Capirotada is a classic Mexican bread pudding layered with toasted bolillo, piloncillo-spice syrup, nuts, dried fruit, coconut, fresh fruit, and queso fresco—rich, aromatic, and comfortingly sweet.

🇲🇽 Mexico$$

Degue

Degue (thiakry) is a creamy West African millet couscous dessert, folded into tangy yogurt and milk, sweetened with condensed milk and sugar, and perfumed with vanilla, warm spices, raisins, coconut, and a splash of orange blossom water.

🇲🇱 Mali$$

Te Bwabwai

Te Bwabwai is a traditional Kiribati taro pudding, steamed in banana leaves and enriched with coconut cream, toddy syrup, and grated coconut. Fragrant pandanus leaf and a pinch of salt balance the natural sweetness for a comforting island treat.

🇰🇮 Kiribati$$

Risalamande

Risalamande is a classic Danish Christmas rice pudding folded with whipped cream, vanilla, and chopped almonds, served chilled with warm cherry sauce. Traditionally, a whole almond is hidden in the bowl—whoever finds it wins a prize.

🇩🇰 Denmark$$

I've been...