Dominican desserts reflect three primary cultural influences: the Taíno Indigenous population whose ingredients — cassava, sweet potato, corn, and tropical fruits — form the base of many traditional preparations; West and Central African foodways brought through the Spanish colonial slave trade; and Spanish baking techniques introduced during colonization beginning in 1492. The island of Hispaniola, which the Dominican Republic shares with Haiti, has a complex shared and divided food history shaped by colonial boundaries, the Haitian Revolution, and subsequent political relations between the two nations.

Majarete is a cornmeal and coconut milk pudding flavored with cinnamon and vanilla, one of the most traditional Dominican desserts with clear Taíno and African influences. Arepa dulce is a baked cornmeal cake — distinct from the savory arepa of Colombia and Venezuela — made with coconut milk, raisins, and spices. Dulce de leche cortada is a curdled milk sweet made by cooking milk with lime juice and sugar until it separates into curds, producing a textured confection distinct from Argentine or Chilean dulce de leche.

Habichuelas con dulce is one of the most recognizable specifically Dominican preparations — sweet cream of beans made from red kidney beans cooked with coconut milk, sweet potato, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves, served cold and garnished with milk cookies. It is traditionally prepared during Holy Week and is so culturally central that the period between Palm Sunday and Easter is sometimes called the habichuelas con dulce season.

Tropical fruits including guava, papaya, tamarind, and passion fruit appear in preserves, sweets, and drinks across the country, with guava paste and coconut-based confections common as everyday sweets.