Vocabulary · Food and drink
Desserts in English
A2
Desserts in English: cakes and pies, ice cream and other cold desserts, cookies, biscuits and sweets, and words to describe them like sweet and delicious. With British pronunciation (IPA) and examples.
Quick answer
Cakes and pies
| Word | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| cake(n.)“I love chocolate cake.” | a sweet baked food for parties | /keɪk/ |
| pie(n.) | fruit or meat inside pastry | /paɪ/ |
| apple pie(n.) | a classic dessert of apples in pastry | /ˈæpəl paɪ/ |
| cheesecake(n.) | a creamy cake with soft cheese | /ˈtʃiːzkeɪk/ |
| chocolate cake(n.) | a brown cake made with cocoa | /ˈtʃɒklət keɪk/ |
| cupcake(n.) | a small cake for one person | /ˈkʌpkeɪk/ |
| muffin(n.) | a small sweet cake, often with fruit | /ˈmʌfɪn/ |
Ice cream and cold desserts
| Word | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| ice cream(n.) | a frozen sweet food made from milk | /aɪs kriːm/ |
| sorbet(n.) | a frozen dessert made from fruit juice | /ˈsɔːbeɪ/ |
| mousse(n.) | a light, airy, creamy dessert | /muːs/ |
| pudding(n.) | a dessert (UK); a creamy dessert (US) | /ˈpʊdɪŋ/ |
| jelly / Jello(n.) | a sweet, wobbly dessert made with fruit | /ˈdʒeli/ |
Biscuits and sweets
| Word | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| cookie(n.) | a sweet baked snack (US) | /ˈkʊki/ |
| biscuit(n.) | a sweet baked snack (UK) | /ˈbɪskɪt/ |
| brownie(n.) | a soft, square chocolate cake | /ˈbraʊni/ |
| candy / sweets(n.) | small sugary treats like lollipops | /ˈkændi/ |
| chocolate(n.) | a sweet brown food made from cocoa | /ˈtʃɒklət/ |
Ingredients and adjectives
| Word | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| sugar(n.) | the white powder that makes food sweet | /ˈʃʊɡə/ |
| cream(n.) | the thick, fatty part of milk | /kriːm/ |
| whipped cream(n.) | beaten cream, light and airy | /wɪpt kriːm/ |
| sweet(adj.) | tasting of sugar | /swiːt/ |
| delicious(adj.) | very good to eat | /dɪˈlɪʃəs/ |
Common mistakes to avoid
Pudding: any dessert (UK) or a creamy dessert (US)?
In the UK, pudding often means any dessert. For example, What's for pudding? asks what the dessert is today. In the US, pudding is one type of dessert: a soft, creamy one.
Cookie (US) or biscuit (UK)?
In the US, it is a cookie. In the UK, it is a biscuit. It is the same sweet snack. Be careful: an American biscuit is a small, soft bread roll.
Practice quiz
Related pages: Desserts
Pages on a similar topic or with a similar use, so you can keep exploring.
Going further
The “Desserts” topic is part of the contest vocabulary
Every year, the English contest uses a wide range of cultural topics. Register your students so they can see what they really remember.
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Practise on PLAYDesserts: learn these words for good
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For teachers“Desserts” vocabulary, ready for your lessons
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a cookie and a biscuit?+
In the US, a cookie is a sweet baked snack, like a chocolate chip cookie. In the UK, people usually call it a biscuit. But in the US, a biscuit is a small, soft bread roll, popular in the South.
What does pudding mean?+
In the UK, pudding often means dessert in general: any sweet dish at the end of a meal. In the US, pudding is a soft, creamy dessert. Bread pudding is a baked dessert made with old bread. Don't confuse it with French toast, which is bread fried in egg.
How do you say a dessert looks good?+
Say It looks delicious!, It looks yummy! or It looks tasty! Yummy is very informal: children use it a lot. Delicious is more polite. When you taste it at the table, say This is delicious!
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/vocabulary/desserts
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.