I’ve gathered 25 traditional Chinese desserts that feel like a warm hug and a celebration all at once. We’re talking pillowy steamed buns, glossy candied fruit, silky puddings, and crispy little snacks I can’t stop thinking about. I have a feeling you’ll want to try every single one.
1. Almond Jelly
Almond jelly is as simple and beloved as Chinese desserts come. A silky, almond scented gelatin floats in a cool, sweet syrup with a colorful fruit salad, making it the perfect light finish to any meal.
I love how it cleanses the palate and barely requires any effort, just milk, ground almonds, water, and a little gelatin or agar agar. Could anything be easier?
2. Bing Tanghulu (Candied Hawthorn Stick 冰糖葫蘆)
Bing Tanghulu is basically China’s answer to the candy apple. Hawthorn berries get a quick dunk in sizzling sugar syrup that hardens into a shiny, crackly shell, just like a classic red candy apple. You can absolutely play around with other fruits too, I think strawberries are the best, hands down.
3. Chinese Walnut Cookies
These walnut cookies are crisp, crumbly, and absolutely loaded with nutty goodness. They’re not overly sweet, so you can pop quite a few without feeling weighed down. Plus, they’re a little lighter on calories than most cookies, so go ahead and treat yourself.
4. Water Chestnut Cake
Water chestnut cake is a beloved Cantonese dim sum dessert made from water chestnuts, water chestnut flour, sugar, and water. On special occasions it’s sliced and lightly fried until the edges get crisp, but in the summer, you’ll often find it served chilled and refreshing. It’s delightfully jelly like and subtly sweet.
5. Sesame Seed Balls (Jian Dui)
Sesame seed balls are soft, chewy spheres coated in sesame seeds and filled with something sweet. I’ve enjoyed them at dim sum stuffed with red bean paste and also with black sesame, and both versions are incredible. They’re a perfect little crispy chewy bite.
6. Snow Fungus Soup with Pears (Chinese Dessert Soup 冰糖银耳炖雪梨)
Dessert soups are big in China, and this snow fungus soup with pears is a delicate, lightly sweet bowl of goodness. It stars white wood ear fungus and usually makes an appearance during celebrations like Chinese New Year.
To make it at home, you soak dried snow fungus overnight, then simmer it with juicy pears, rock sugar, goji berries, and dates. It’s ethereal and soothing all at once.
7. Tangyuan (Sweet Rice Balls with Peanut Butter Filling)
If you love the idea of sweet rice balls but want something extra luscious, these Tangyuan with a peanut butter filling are it. You make a special thick paste that transforms into molten, gooey lava when the dumplings are hot. It’s like a warm, peanutty dream wrapped in chewy glutinous rice.
8. Dragon's Beard Candy
Dragon’s beard candy is like handmade Chinese cotton candy, pulled into incredibly fine, wispy threads. It usually wraps up a sweet mix of sugar, crushed peanuts, desiccated coconut, sesame seeds, and maltose syrup, all dusted with glutinous rice flour. Even if you skip the filling, the fluffy candy itself is a magical little project.
9. Almond Cookies
Almond cookies are crisp on the edges, crumbly in the center, and perfectly sweet and buttery all the way through. They’re a delightful departure from my usual chocolate chip obsession, and once you try them, you’ll understand why they’re a classic.
10. Eight Treasure Rice Pudding
Eight treasure rice pudding is a stunning dessert of sweet sticky rice, much like mango sticky rice but without the mango. It’s packed with a layer of sweet red bean paste and decorated with an array of dried fruits and seeds.
A drizzle of fragrant chrysanthemum syrup on top makes it smell absolutely heavenly. It’s a showstopper.
11. Chinese Date Cake (Jujube Cake)
If you’re a sticky toffee pudding fan, this date cake made with jujube fruit will steal your heart. Jujubes are small, chewy, and taste a bit like a sweet apple crossed with a date.
They can be tricky to find fresh in the U.S., but dried ones are available online or at Asian grocery stores. Totally worth hunting down for that deep, caramel like flavor.
12. Liu Sha Bao (Salted Duck Eggs Custard Buns 流沙包)
Liu Sha Bao are those dreamy Cantonese steamed buns with a surprise inside: a luscious salted duck egg custard that’s salty, sweet, and unlike anything else. The dough is featherlight, and when you tear one open, that golden lava like filling just oozes out. It’s a dim sum classic that always feels special, and I think you’ll be completely smitten.
13. Tapioca Thousand Layer Cake
This southern Chinese favorite is a chewy, moist, beautifully layered tapioca flour cake. You can spot it instantly by those distinct, slightly translucent stripes.
Making it takes a little patience because you steam each thin layer individually, about four minutes per addition, building them up one by one. The result is so worth the effort.
14. Winter Melon Puff (Wife Biscuit or Sweet Heart Cake 老婆饼)
The Wife Cake, or Sweet Heart Cake, is a traditional pastry with shatteringly flaky layers and a sweet filling of winter melon and almond. Winter melon is actually a mild squash, so it easily goes sweet or savory, but here it turns into the most delicious, fragrant sweet paste. So delicate and lovely.
15. Fortune Cookies
And finally, the fortune cookie, the most iconic “Chinese” dessert that, fun fact, isn’t actually Chinese. They trace back to a darker Japanese version that made its way to America in the late 1800s.
So even though they’re not traditional, they’re a sweet little note to end on. I love that crisp, vanilla scented snap before the fortune.
16. Chocolate Chinese Five Spice Cake
Imagine all the warmth of clove, fennel, cinnamon, star anise, and pepper—usually in savory dishes—wrapped into a chocolate cake. If you enjoy chocolate with a little chili kick, this five spice cake will absolutely win you over. It’s perfect for anyone who thinks regular chocolate cake is a bit too much, adding a cozy, aromatic twist that’s irresistible.
17. Tang Yuan (Sweet Rice Balls)
Tang Yuan are sweet rice balls with a chewy mochi like texture. Traditionally, they’re stuffed with a rich mixture of black sesame, lard, and sugar, and many still hide that nutty black sesame surprise inside.
This version keeps things beautifully simple with plain glutinous rice balls served hot in a fragrant sweet broth, like tiny, tender dumplings. Pure cozy comfort.
18. Fa Gao (Fortune Cakes)
Fa Gao, or fortune cakes, are dense, slightly chewy little steamed cakes that pop up during Chinese New Year celebrations. They’re also called prosperity cakes because they’re meant to bring good luck in the year ahead.
The high heat of steaming makes the top crack open into a signature four petal blossom. So symbolic and fun.
19. Mung Bean Cake
Mung bean cake is a classic summertime treat with a wonderfully delicate, nutty flavor from mung beans. Like so many Chinese desserts, it hides a sweet paste inside, and though it’s shaped in moon cake molds and looks similar, it’s a little bit different in texture and taste. A lovely, cooling bite.
20. Steamed Asian Pears with Rock Sugar (冰糖雪梨)
This steamed pear dessert doubles as a beloved Chinese cough remedy and a gorgeous simple treat. Those Chinese white pears are incredibly juicy and crisp, almost like apples, and they get even better when you simmer them with goji berries and jujubes.
Whether you steam or gently boil everything, the juices mingle into something beautifully fragrant and sweet. So comforting and yum.
21. Fried Milk
Fried milk is a rich, creamy bite that I could happily snack on all day long. It looks like a mozzarella stick, but inside it’s a luscious set mixture of coconut milk, milk, cornstarch, and sugar.
The traditional version skips the breadcrumb coating, but I adore the modern twist with that extra crunchy exterior. Such a satisfying contrast.
22. Chinese Pumpkin Cakes (南瓜饼 Nan Gua Bing)
These sticky rice pumpkin cakes are little pan fried discs of joy. Unlike steamed buns, they get a golden, crispy crust while staying wonderfully tender inside.
They’re mildly sweet, so a little drizzle of honey or maple syrup takes them over the top in the best way. A super fun snack you’ll want to make again and again.
23. Chinese Red Bean Paste Buns
Red bean paste, or hong dou sha, is a beloved classic made from adzuki beans, sugar, and a touch of fat, and you can enjoy it smooth or a little chunky. This recipe wraps that sweet, earthy paste inside fluffy steamed buns for an authentic treat. I often see these at the breakfast table, and honestly, they’re a warm, pillowy way to start the day.
24. Soy Milk Pudding
Soy milk pudding is impossibly soft, silky, and smooth. Just soy milk and soybean flour come together with a little gelatin or agar agar to create this dreamy, velvety texture. Straight out of the fridge, it’s a cool, refreshing spoonful of happiness that’s perfect for hot summer days.
25. Sachima
Sachima is a sweet, crisp treat that starts with egg noodles and a sticky syrup, an unlikely duo that absolutely works. Deep frying turns those noodles into airy, crunchy bites, and the syrup, which you can flavor with different extracts, binds them into irresistible clusters. It’s crunchy, chewy, and wonderfully unique.