Welcome to the land of Oz, where kangaroos and koala bears reside. Like any country, Australia has its own set of international sweet treats that you can make at home. From large sweet buns to holiday favorites, consider the following sweet treats when you’d like to bring the spirit of Down Under into your kitchen.
Fairy Bread
Fairy bread is a sweet treat of Australia and New Zealand that often gracies the tables of children’s birthday parties. Cut into triangles, sliced white bread is covered with margarine or butter, and then decorated with nonpareils and sprinkles. Some people use honey or other sweet-flavored spreads as a substitute for the butter.
Lamingtons
In traditional circles, Lamingtons were known as butter cake, but we’d most likely identify with this dessert as a sponge cake. A chocolate icing topped with shredded coconut covers the cake. When the cake is cut into two halves, you may find a filling, such as cream, strawberry jam, raspberry, or lemon in between the two layers.
Boston Buns
Quite popular in the state of Victoria, Australia, the Boston bun is a large spiced treat covered with a thick layer of coconut icing. A typical recipe for a Boston bun may contain 1 cup mixed fruit, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk, 2 cups self-rising flour, and 1 cup of sieved cooked potato. When served, it’s often cut into slices and eaten with a cup of tea.
Anzac Biscuits
A hard, crisp biscuit made out of rolled oats, molasses (or golden syrup), flour, coconut, sugar, butter, bicarbonate of soda and boiling water. Interestingly, because the ingredients are able to ‘keep well,’ families used to send the biscuits to loved ones serving as soldiers overseas.
Plum Pudding
An English trend used in Australia is plum pudding – a favorite amongst people with a Celtic heritage. Often served with a holiday meal, plum pudding usually accompanies a roast turkey, chicken, or ham dinner with all the fixings. The pudding is steamed and contains a great deal of dried fruit and nuts. The dark sugars, long cooking time, and other ingredients make the 
pudding an almost black color. In the end, the pudding recipe benefits from the addition of citrus fruit juices, brandy, and other alcohols.
Musk Sticks
While you probably can’t make these at home, Australia also tempts their sweet tooth with musk sticks (also called ‘musk sweets’ and ‘musk lollies’). This popular sweet treat gives off an almost floral scent and flavor – thus the name. The shown variation is pink and semi-soft in consistency, but other fruit flavors are made as well.
Whether you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with traditional Irish sweet treats or want to add international pizzazz to family get-togethers, consider sampling the following desserts from Ireland. You’ll be surprised what you can accomplish with a bit of Guinness, whiskey or leftover potatoes.
Irish Whiskey Cake
Offering a meringue crust topped with whipped cream and fresh fruits, Pavlova is a pie with quite an intriguing background. While a bit of controversy surrounds the official credit for creating the dessert, the name and recipes first hit the public as a tribute to a popular ballerina named Anna Pavlova. When Pavlova was touring Australia and New Zealand around the same time, the sweet treat surfaced in both countries soon after. Interestingly, the dessert serves as a national dish in both places. To this very day, the countries continue to fight over the claim of invention.
