Last checked: November 2026
Guyana’s sweets come from every part of its history: British cakes and pastries, Portuguese and African baking, Indian festival sweets and Indigenous cassava. The ones to know are black cake, salara, pine tarts, cassava pone, coconut buns and fudge. Most are sold in Georgetown bakeries and snackettes (small snack shops) every day.
At a glance
- Where: bakeries and snackettes in every town, market stalls, and street carts for snow cones
- Best time: any day for bakery sweets; Christmas for black cake; Diwali for Indian sweets
- Cost: varies; ask for a current quote
- Best for: a mid-morning snack with a cold drink, or something to carry home
- Bring: cash in small notes for street vendors
What is Guyanese black cake?
Black cake is the Christmas cake. Dried fruit such as raisins, currants, prunes and cherries is soaked in rum and wine for weeks, sometimes months, then ground and baked into a dense, moist cake. Burnt sugar (sugar caramelised until almost black) gives the colour.
After baking, the cake is fed with more rum. Families make it in December and give slices to visitors. Bakeries sell it year-round for weddings and birthdays.
What are salara and pine tarts?
Salara is a soft sweet bread rolled around a filling of grated coconut, sugar and spice, coloured bright red. Sliced, it shows red spirals. It is glazed with sugar syrup and sold by the slice or the roll.
Pine tarts are triangles of short pastry filled with pineapple jam (“pine” is the local word for pineapple). They are flaky, not too sweet, and the most common bakery treat in the country.
Both sit next to cheese rolls and patties in almost every snackette.
What is cassava pone?
Cassava pone is a dense, sticky baked pudding made from grated cassava, coconut, sugar and spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon. Some cooks add grated pumpkin or sweet potato. It is cut into squares and has firm, chewy edges.
It is one of the clearest links to Indigenous food: cassava has been grown here for far longer than sugar.
What are coconut buns, fudge and tennis rolls?
Coconut buns are rough, crumbly buns packed with grated coconut, sometimes with raisins or cherries. Eat them with tea or a cold drink.
Fudge in Guyana is a firm, creamy milk sweet made from milk, sugar and butter, cooked and beaten until it sets. It is cut into squares and sold wrapped at shops and by vendors. Vanilla is the classic; some add peanuts.
Tennis rolls are round, slightly sweet bread rolls flavoured with a little lemon. They are not dessert exactly, but a tennis roll with a thick slice of cheddar is a classic Guyanese snack.
For festival sweets such as mithai, gulab jamun and sawine (a vermicelli and milk dessert for Eid), see our Guyanese food guide.
What about panny popo?
Pani popo (often spelled “panny popo” online) is a Samoan dish: soft coconut buns baked in sweet coconut sauce. It is not a traditional Guyanese sweet, and you are unlikely to find it in a Georgetown bakery. If you like coconut, salara and coconut buns are the local equivalents.
Is there homemade ice cream in Guyana?
Yes. Homemade ice cream is a long-standing treat in Guyanese homes, especially on weekends and holidays. Small makers in Georgetown also sell ice cream made with local fruit such as soursop, coconut and mango.
Who is the snow cone man?
The snow cone man sells shaved ice from a cart or bicycle, topped with bright, sweet syrup and often a swirl of condensed milk. You will find vendors outside schools, at events and wherever crowds gather.
It is cheap, fast and very sweet. Pay cash. If you have a sensitive stomach, note that the ice is not always from treated water.
FAQ
What is the most popular dessert in Guyana? Black cake at Christmas; pine tarts and salara the rest of the year.
Is Guyanese black cake the same as Jamaican or Trinidadian black cake? It is close. All use rum-soaked fruit and burnt sugar. Recipes differ by family more than by country.
Can I take black cake home on a flight? Usually, yes, as a solid food in hand or checked luggage. Check your destination’s food import rules before you fly.
Are Guyanese sweets very sweet? Fudge, salara and snow cones are. Pine tarts and cassava pone are milder.
Next step: Find these sweets alongside savoury snacks in our Georgetown street food guide, or bake some yourself with our Guyanese recipes to cook at home.
