Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweets, cheese, fruit, cordials, coffee, or liquor. The word comes from the French word "desservir" meaning "to clear the table" or "to serve." Common desserts include cakes, cookies, pastries, pies, custard, ice cream, and candies.http://www.joyofbaking.com/History.html

Cake and other sweet baked goods are usually prepared with flour, sugar, water or milk, eggs,butter, and flavoring like vanilla, rum or almond. Ingredients are combined to form a dough which is then baked. Once cooled, decorations and embellishments like frosting, fruit, chocolate, candies, syrups, sauces or powdered sugar can be added.http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,186,140165-236206,00.html There are also desserts which are meant to be served warm such as pies, cookies and muffins.http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/desserts/desserts-serve-warm-10000001644312/

Desserts can be simple to prepare or complex and grand. An example of this is the 2004 world's largest wedding cake consisted of 7 tiers, was 17 feet high and weighed 15,032 pounds. It was made with 10,000 pounds of batter and 4,810 pounds of icing.http://www.allweddingideas.com/biggest-wedding-cake.shtml

Most dessert recipes involve cooking or baking a combination of ingredients. Baking has been many cultures' favorite way to create desserts for many generations. Ancient records indicate that the first baking occurred when humans soaked wild grass grains and mashed them into paste, poured the paste onto a hot rock or flat surface and voila, bread. It was not long before the Greeks invented cheesecake and the Romans, fruitcake, and soon dessert became a focal point of their celebrations and feasts.http://www.foodmuseum.com/excake2.html

Eventually the art of baking spread throughout Europe, east to Asia, and west to America. Early confections were created at home and sold from hand carts. This mode allowed pastry chefs to deliver their morsels to households and restaurants which caused demand to grow and spread.http://www.pfisterconsulting.com/history.htm

Dessert can mean different things to different cultures. For Americans, the sweeter the dessert is the more they like it. According to TLC, ice cream is the favorite American dessert. The first ice cream parlor opened its doors in the United States in 1776 in New York City. Number two on the TLC list is chocolate cake. The first chocolate cake was baked around 1674. The next dessert is one that is described as an American classic and that is the apple pie. However, this dessert really started being made as far back as 1390. Jell-O comes in at number four. This dessert has a colorful appeal. It can be eaten as is or with added ingredients such as fruits or whipped cream. Number five on the list is cheesecake. Cheesecakes can be traced to Ancient Greece. The most common cheeses used are cream cheese, cottage cheese, ricotta and Neufchatel.http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/food-facts/5-most-popular-desserts-in-america1.htm