Thailand is famous the world over for its’ amazing food, but when visiting Thailand you will discover an awesome and seemingly unlimited selection of exotic Thai sweets and desserts to try. Most Thai desserts are a sweet and sometimes filling snack opposed to a light and airy Western style dessert. They are generally characterized by sweet syrups, coconut cream, tropical fruits, sweetened beans and sweet sticky rice. You don’t have to go very far to find them as they are part of the Thai street food culture and can be found from dawn and into the night.

Here are just a few of Thailand’s lesser known sweet treats:

Thong Muan Sot

Thong Muan Sot is a semi-sweet snack. It is also known as Thai fresh rolled pancake. It contains a blend of the sweetness from coconut sugar, the saltiness and the delicate scent from coconut milk, the soft texture of coconut meat and a touch of crispness from roasted black sesame. Originally, it has pale-yellow color. In some recipes, it can be created with bright colours with the addition of other ingredients such as taro, pandan or corn. Originally, it was known as a famous dessert from Kanchanaburi province in the Ayutthaya era (1350–1767), then it expanded widely to other provinces and named the OTOP (One Tambon One Product) product of Bangkok in 2006.

Khao Niew Tu-rian

Durian has a powerful aroma and may not be for everyone’s taste. However, if you find durians too pungent to try, this Thai Sticky Rice with Durian dessert may still surprise you. Unlike the more well-known mango sticky rice dessert, here Thailand’s King of Fruits the durian is used. Khao Niew Tu-rian or Durian Sticky Rice can be served with full sections of durian fruit or sometimes to lessen the full-scale assault of the pungent aroma, the fruit can be combined into a custard with eggs, coconut milk and palm sugar, served over sweetened sticky rice. Whether you’re new to durian or an old hand, this dessert is definitely worth a try.

Sankaya Fak Thong

Sankaya Fak Thong or Thai Pumpkin Custard is a popular Thai dessert which is often sold in food markets and as street food. It eats like a deconstructed pumpkin pie. It is made using a whole pumpkin or kabocha that has the seed section removed and stuffed with a sweetened coconut milk and egg custard, then steamed. As the steam heats the custard, the palm sugar and coconut milk butters and sweetens the gourd’s tender, orange flesh from the inside. A perfect balance of textures, the steamed egg custard inside shows the influence of the Portuguese on Thai cuisine, who introduced the idea of adding eggs to desserts in the 1600’s.

Khanom Krok

Khanom Krok or coconut-rice hotcakes is a traditional Thai dessert. They are prepared by mixing rice flour, sugar, salt, and coconut milk to form a dough. Then poured in to a heating mantle – a hot indented frying pan. Typically, as they are cooking they are topped with savory elements such as scallions, corn, taro, shredded coconut, or pumpkin. They are usually served by street vendors, who stack the little cups on top of each other to form flattened spheres that look almost like macarons. The ideal result is a perfectly crisp outside and a creamy middle. Similar dishes can also be found in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, South India and Indonesia.