Desserts are an integral part of every cuisine in Andalucia and are heavily influenced by medieval Andalusian cuisine. Notable dishes include pestiños (a deep-fried pastry bathed in honey), alfajores, amarguillos (a form of almond macaroons) from Medina Sidonia, the polvorones (almond cookies of Estepa), lard bread, wine doughnuts, and torrijas.

The Arabian connections are easy to see with cakes and tarts flavoured with aniseed, cinnamon, sesame, ground almonds and often bathed in honey.

Each region of Andalucia has its own speciality sweet dishes, many of which have been hand-made for centuries by nuns who have kept the recipies secret in order to preserve the local traditions. Nun's Sighs or "Suspiros de Monja" is an example of these traditional desserts.

Cakes and pastries such as the "torta de la Virgen" and "roscos" are just a couple of typical local favourites of the Malaga region. Malaga, as the longest lasting Islamic stronghold of the Spanish mainland has a particular affinity to sweets which make the most of ingredients favoured by the occupying forces such as almonds and honey.

It is not uncommon for the different kind sweets and desserts of Andalucia to be associated with agricultural and festive cycles. For example, a typical dessert eaten on the 6th January each year is "The Roscon de Reyes". It is a large ring shaped cake that is decorated with candied fruit, symbolic of the Emeralds and Rubies that adorned the robes of the three Kings.

A few other delicious Andalucian dessert dishes can be found below:

Yemas de San Leandro - a kind of marzipan sweet
Tocino de cielo - a luscious custard and caramel dessert
Yemas - candied egg yolks
Tortas de aceite - round, flat cakes
Dulce de membrillo - quince jelly
Bizcocho Malagueño - Malaga sponge
Bollos de nata - Cream buns