Beyond religious traditions, Christmas has become the most widespread celebration in the western world, a holiday that is inevitably associated with food. For sweet lovers, it is also an exciting time, especially since there are some desserts that are exclusive to this time of year. Let’s take a small tour through some of these traditional desserts seen during this season.
Panettone - Italy
Panettone is a sweet bun originally from Milan, which consists of a brioche dough with raisins and candied fruits, although there are many other flavors, such as chocolate. Its popularity has crossed borders and in addition to being very consumed in Spain, in some Latin American countries it is especially essential during the Christmas holidays. The best companion for a piece of panettone is undoubtedly a glass of milk or hot chocolate.
La Bûche de Noël - France
The bûche de Noël or Christmas log, is a dessert that enjoys great popularity in France and French-speaking countries alike. It is said that this dessert emerged after the custom of burning a wooden log to celebrate the arrival of the winter solstice. Since the middle of the 19th century, Noël's bûche has been consumed for Christmas. This is a cake very similar to a wooden log, which is covered with chocolate cream, although the filling can take many variations, from butter cream, praline or coffee.
Turron - Spain
Another dessert of millenary tradition is nougat, which is believed to have originated in the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabs were the ones who took that dessert to the Mediterranean coast specifically to Spain and Italy at the time of Al-Andalus. Its preparation is obtained after cooking honey, to which almond paste, egg whites, and glass sugar are added. There are many flavors of nougat, although the most common are Alicante and Jijona. There are more exotic flavors that move away from the traditional recipe, such as chocolate, coconut or truffles. It has become one of the favorite sweets of the season.
Pavlova - New Zealand
Pavlova is a very popular dessert in both Australia and New Zealand, which is always present for Christmas dinner. This sweet is made with meringue. It was named in honor of Anna Pavlova, a Russian dancer who visited New Zealand. It is crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. It is decorated with red fruits and mascarpone cream, lime and vanilla.
Buñuelos - Mexico
This confection is made by frying a stretched-out piece of dough or by using a mold to make Buñelos de Aire (Air buñelos). It can be mixed with water, milk, egg and yeast and its covering can be sweet with sugar and cinnamon or honey made out of piloncillo, but they can also savory. In Mexico it is common to find them in popular fairs and being sold by vendors on the streets during the months of December all through February.
The world can be very sweet during Christmas celebrations, what type of desserts are unique to your area during the holiday season?