Cooking it down forms the thick and aromatic halwa.
In recent years, desserts have become a huge part of Asian weddings.
Many earlier weddings would serve whatever desserts were available to order. But now, couples now want to serve the tastiest Asian wedding desserts to accompany their main meal.
Where menus used to feature traditional gajar halwa with ice cream or gulab jamun, they have been replaced with doughnuts, chocolate, and fruit.
After the main course and a trip to the dancefloor, guests want to sit down to a dessert that perfectly finishes off the special occasion.
Whether you’re looking at dessert ideas for your wedding or are just a dessert fanatic, DESIblitz presents the most popular Asian wedding desserts to try.
Gulab Jamun
Gulab jamun are sweet, fried dough balls which are soaked in sugar syrup before being served.
They are made with milk solids known as khoya that is separated and shaped into balls, deep-fried in ghee, and then dunked into the cardamom-infused syrup.
They are then left to sit in the syrup for a few hours before serving.
The bite-sized balls make for the perfect Asian wedding dessert.
This dessert is easy to make in large batches, meaning your guests can eat one or several!
Your guests can enjoy the traditional gulab jamun on its own, or paired with ice cream. For a tasty twist, sprinkle some grated coconut on top.
Gulab jamun is popular in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as in the Maldives.
Gajar Halwa
Gajar halwa, or carrot halwa, is a warm dessert made with milk, carrots, ghee and sugar.
This tasty dish is made by softening carrots in ghee then adding milk and sugar.
Cooking it down forms the thick and aromatic halwa.
Sprinkling chopped pistachios and almonds before serving, make this dish even more decadent, perfect for Asian weddings.
This Asian wedding dessert is delicious when it is paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
After the main course, and a dance on the dancefloor, guests will be happy to enjoy a bowl of warm carrot halwa before the next round of partying.
Ras Malai
Ras Malai is a light and refreshing dessert which is regularly seen at Asian weddings.
Consisting of dough balls in flavoured milk, ras malai is a favourite option at weddings, birthday parties, and baby showers.
Twenty-eight-year-old Fatima Ahmed got married in 2014 and spoke about how her love for ras malai meant she needed to have it at her wedding.
She said: “No matter what occasion it was, my kitchen always had ras malai ready to eat in the fridge.
“So when I got married, I just had to have ras malai at my wedding”.
Rasmalai can be served plain, or with saffron, almonds, and cardamom.
Kheer
Kheer is described as an ‘Indian rice pudding’.
This Asian wedding dessert is made with only three ingredients, them being rice, milk and sugar.
Enjoyed hot or cold, kheer is a popular dessert among all ages and will be a perfect option at an Asian wedding.
Like other Asian desserts, kheer can be enjoyed plain or with chopped nuts and raisins for an extra bite.
Kheer can also be made with vermicelli, bulgur wheat, and oats.
Fresh Fruit Display
A fresh fruit display is a simple but elegant choice for your Asian wedding dessert.
Fruit displays are an emerging trend for Asian couples.
Many wedding halls and planners offer a beautifully presented fresh fruit display that your guests will be in awe of.
There are countless combinations and colours of fruit to be used, such as vibrant strawberries, bananas, kiwis, oranges and melons.
Fresh strawberries arranged in a heart have been used before, but the freedom to choose is yours.
Oranges, kiwis and watermelons can be chopped and arranged on a table for a mehndi, emulating the wedding hall décor, and colours of the bride’s outfit.
Dessert Table
Unsure about what desserts your guests might like? Offer a dessert table with a plethora of sweet treats such as cakes, cheesecakes, jellies, and trifles.
By having a variety of desserts, there will definitely be something for everyone to enjoy.
It couldn’t be easier to source your dessert table as there are hundreds of food bloggers on Instagram and Facebook that offer a dessert table service at reasonable prices.
Saima Kahtun got married in June 2019 and chose to have a dessert table for her wedding.
She said: “Having a dessert table was such a good idea.
“Everyone loved it. The kids, adults and even grandparents did!
“You can choose whatever desserts you want, it’s so much easier when the guests can go and get it themselves.”
Dessert tables can be elaborately presented on golden trays and in crystal bowls to add a touch of luxury to your wedding.
Doughnut Wall
The trend for having extravagant Asian wedding desserts has been seen with countless weddings in recent years.
If you want the same, a doughnut wall will provide you with the extravagance you’re looking for.
Doughnutwala is a UK-based company that offers a doughnut wall service for weddings.
The doughnuts can be decorated according to your colour scheme, or theme, as their Instagram account shows.
The doughnut wall could include variations such as jam or custard-filled doughnuts, glazed, biscuit-topped or chocolate-dipped treats.
Whatever ones you decide on, you can guarantee your guests will enjoy the display and the taste.
Back-to-School Dessert Table
Have your guests reminisce their childhood with a dessert table filled with iconic British school desserts.
A table filled with portions of sprinkle cake, chocolate crunch, jam roly-poly and cornflake tart will be a unique and much-loved addition to your celebration.
A slice of these desserts can be served with pink tea or English tea.
It is a simple dessert option but your guests will come for the wedding but stay for the sprinkle cake as they reminisce their childhood.
Kulfi
Kulfi is often described as a traditional Indian ice cream and it is believed to have originated in the 16th century during the Mughal Empire.
This sweet treat will be a delicious end to your wedding meal.
Kulfi is made by boiling milk over a long period until it has reduced in volume. It is then sweetened and flavoured before freezing in moulds.
The result is a dessert that looks like ice cream but has a far creamier texture.
The most popular flavours are pistachio and saffron. However, you can also get kulfi in other flavours such as strawberry, mango, chocolate, and almond.
Sharna Ali has fond memories of eating kulfi with all her cousins as a child in Pakistan, which is why she chose to serve the dessert at her wedding.
She said: “I wanted to serve kulfi at my wedding because I was back with some of the cousins I hadn’t seen since I was 12 years old. It joined two beautiful memories of mine.”
This Asian wedding dessert can be made from scratch or bought in large quantities.
Jalebi
Jalebi is an iconic Asian wedding dessert, consisting of a deep-fried batter soaked in sugar syrup.
The batter is made by mixing flour, cornflour, baking soda, ghee and orange food colouring.
It is then left to ferment for 10 hours before being deep-fried in spirals.
There are different variations of jalebi, such as apple, paneer, saffron, and even chocolate flavoured.
The jalebi can be served in a large platter, or guests can take home individual portions after the party has finished.
This is just a selection of dessert ideas to have at an Asian wedding. The possibilities are endless when it comes to giving your guests the perfect end to a meal.
Whatever is chosen is bound to leave guests with happy memories of the special occasion.