The Most Popular Cinco de Mayo Desserts

Cinco de Mayo, which is Spanish for the fifth of May, is a Mexican holiday. As with all Mexican holidays, the occasion gives a great opportunity to enjoy the best Mexican food recipes, the most well loved Mexican dessert recipes and really enjoy the party.

What is Cinco de Mayo all About?

Cinco de Mayo, which is the commemoration of Mexico's victory over the French on May 5, 1862, is a Mexican holiday but it is celebrated in other countries including in the United States.

This Mexican holiday is comparable to St Patrick's Day which used to be celebrated only in Ireland and is now celebrated all over the world. Cinco de Mayo is often incorrectly described as Mexican Independence Day but that is a different holiday altogether.

Cinco de Mayo Food

Because Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of national pride, unity, and culture, there is no set Cinco de Mayo foods or Mexican dessert recipes especially for this date. Rather, each family will make their favorite Mexican dishes including snacks, main meals, desserts, and drinks. This means that the most popular Cinco de Mayo desserts are likely to be the same as the most popular Mexican desserts.

Tres leches cake (three milk cake) is a traditional Mexican dessert recipe and is always enjoyed on Cinco de Mayo. Flan is popular and so are dessert empanadas, Mexican cookies like biscochitos or sugar cookies, and all kinds of Mexican cakes.

Quite often, in a large Mexican household, the women will spend a couple of days making batches of the most popular Mexican foods and the best loved Mexican dessert recipes rather than trying to prepare everything the evening before or even on the day.

Cinco de Mayo Celebrations

A typical Cinco de Mayo party will be outdoors. There will be music and games as well as seemingly boundless food and drink and all generations take part in the festivities. Cinco de Mayo is a time for families to get together and celebrate the holiday with gusto. Parades, folk dancing, and mariachi music are all favorite ways to enjoy Cinco de Mayo.

Cinco de Mayo Drinks

Drink is as important to the Cinco de Mayo celebrations as food and Mexican favorites include beer like Sol or Corona, jugs of homemade margarita and the coffee-based liqueur Kahlua, either on the rocks or served with cream, milk or cola.

Mexican Desserts for Cinco de Mayo

Champurrado is a Mexican chocolate drink but you could call it a dessert because it is so sweet and rich. Combining flour, sugar, chocolate, milk, aniseed and more, champurrado is a wonderfully satisfying dessert-like drink, which is incredibly popular in Mexico.

Cinco de Mayo is about being proud to be Mexican and enjoying authentic Mexican recipes and traditional Mexican foods is one great way to mark the occasion. If you want to celebrate Cinco de Mayo or have a Mexican themed evening in recognition of the date, why not make a few different Mexican dessert recipes, put some mariachi music on and surprise your family with this deliciously different food? There are plenty of quick Mexican dessert recipes you can make for your loved ones.