Everyone loves a good dessert. Today, there are so many variations: fruity, chocolatey, hot, cold, and just about everything in between. Similar to modern cuisine, the Romans had an array of treats that they called dessert, secundae in Latin.
As the old saying goes, ab ovo usque ad mala (from egg to apple), the Romans would commonly have an assorted fruit platter for dessert. The preferred fruit was, of course, the apple, but other sweet fruits were loved as well. While figs, dates, grapes, and plums were well-liked too, they were harder to come by; therefore, the rich were usually the ones who ate the more exotic fruits. The platter was often served with a side of honeyed wine for dipping.
Even though fruit was the most common dessert, the Romans made all kinds of pastries, cakes, and baked goodness. Surprisingly, the Romans enjoy an early form of ice cream, called duclia domestica. Although it wasn’t exact to the version we have today, people of higher social status, such as Nero, had the frozen slushy dessert made from snow that he had imported from the mountains. Another dish that the Romans pioneered was cheesecake. Referred to as savillum, the cake was made using fresh cheese (similar to ricotta cheese), flour, eggs, honey, and poppy seeds. This mixture was baked until it had risen and then eaten fresh with a spoon.
While the Romans valued some good sweets, they also enjoyed more savory “desserts”. A common confection happened to be a honey cake called spira. This was made by stretching thin layers of dough, putting cheese in between said layers, and topping the tower with honey. Another savory dessert was called globuli, which were cheese curds covered in honey. As diverse as the Roman desserts are, it is safe to say that modern treats take the cake for the best sweets.
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