World Cuisine: Around the World in 30 Christmas Desserts – Part 1

It’s a holiday season once again and we’re giving you a tasty tour (should I say, via scroll down…) around the world in 30 Christmas desserts! Yup! Ever wonder what it’s like celebrating Christmas in a foreign country? Other than sparkling decors and cultural traditions, let’s get to know some of the classic holiday desserts from other countries.

 

Christmas won’t be Christmas without home-cooked meal shared with our loved ones on Christmas eve. Here’s the first part of our World Cuisine series featuring traditional Christmas desserts and who knows, it could turn out to be a yummy gift idea!

 

White Christmas | Australia

White Christmas, a dessert made with rice bubbles, powdered milk, desiccated coconut, glace cherries, raisins, icing sugar, and hydrogenated coconut oil (used as a as the binding ingredient). Try this no-bake White Christmas recipe by Catherine Robson. Want a twist? Substitute hydrogenated coconut oil with white chocolate! Get the recipe here.

 

Cougnou | Belgium

Cougnou or bread of Jesus, is a sweet bread traditionally baked during Christmas time and given to children. It’s best paired with a cup of hot chocolate. This sweet bread is shaped like a swaddled baby. As the name suggests, it represents baby Jesus. Want to try your hand at baking? Here’s the recipe from Meilleur du Chef.

 

Rabanada | Brazil

 

Rabanada or Brazilian French toast is prepared by cutting the bread into thick, oval shape then soak the slices in milk and then coat it with beaten eggs. After that, the slices of bread are fried in oil until well-browned. Cooked bread slices are dredged with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Optional, you can drizzle it with honey or maple syrup and garnish with berries. Want to enjoy a cup of coffee? Try making rabanada with this recipe from 196flavors; because they’re a perfect snack.

 

French Canadian Tourtière | Canada

 

A Christmastime staple, tourtière is a classic French-Canadian meat pie made with ground beef or pork and potato. Try this classic family recipe here.

 

Pan de Pascua | Chile

 

Originally introduced by German immigrants, Pan de Pascua is a popular Christmas cake with candied fruits, raisins, and chopped nuts. Recreate this classic Chilean cake from this recipe.

 

Natilla | Colombia

 

Natilla is a sweet custard that’s popular during Christmas gatherings. This sweet treat is made with whole milk, cornstarch, coconut milk, grated coconut, and condensed milk. Add sugar and cinnamon powder to taste. Check out this family recipe from mycolombianrecipes.com.

 

Vanocka | Czech Republic

 

With a reputation of being difficult to make and accompanied with superstitious beliefs, vanocka is a braided brioche made with lemon rind, butter, milk, egg, and raisins. According to customs, the housewife kneads the dough while wearing a white apron and a headscarf. She should refrain from talking. She is supposed to jump up and down while the dough rises. Want to try making this bread? See the recipe here.

 

Risalamande | Denmark

 

Risalamande (also spelled as ris à l’amande) was said to be created during the last part of the 19th century. Risalamande is made out of rice pudding that’s mixed with heavy cream, vanilla, chopped almonds and then topped with cherry sauce. Give it a try with this recipe from 196flavors.

 

Joulutorttu | Finland

 

Joulutorttu, translated as Christmas tart (torttu: tart), is traditionally a star-shaped puff-pastry with prune jam in the middle of the tart. Eager to make your own Finnish Christmas tart? My Dear Kitchen in Helsinki will show you how to bake this Christmas goodies.

 

Bûche de Noël | France

Bûche de Noël is a sponge cake roll, covered in chocolate buttercream textured to resemble the bark of Yule log. Optional, can be decorated with mushroom meringues or candies. FrenchEntrée.com will show you how to make this traditional French dessert.

 

It’s true that Christmas reflects our culture and traditions. And food has a way of letting us see the culture beyond ours. Stay tuned for our part 2 and 3 of this holiday desserts blog series.