There is more to Christmas than carols, lights, and presents. The meal is the main focus. Desserts, too, not just any food. Festive, rich, and sweet foods that unite families and create enduring memories. Every nation adds a little sugar to the holidays in a different way. Let’s take a global journey, one mouthful at a time.
- Stollen – Germany’s Christmas Classic
Germany is a master at celebrating Christmas. There is stollen wherever you look in a German market during the holidays. Imagine it as a delicious, sweet bread covered in powdered sugar, akin to snow on a mountain. It contains nuts, dried fruits, and occasionally marzipan. Each slice has the ideal ratio of crispy to chewy. Stollen has been used for millennia to represent a blanket-wrapped infant Jesus. On your plate is more than simply food, it’s a fragment of history. Stollen adds a magical touch to winter evenings and is best consumed with a steaming mug of mulled wine or tea.
- Panettone – Italy’s Towering Masterpiece
Christmas revolves around panettone. This dome-shaped bread is as tall as it is delicious. Soft, airy, and full of candied orange peel and raisins, it’s a showstopper. Italians love it so much because it’s more than dessert, it’s a tradition. Families gift it, share it, and savor it over conversations that stretch late into the night. And now, there are new spins on this classic.
- Bûche de Noël – France’s Edible Yule Log
French desserts are always elegant, and Bûche de Noël is no exception. It’s a cake, but it’s also art. Rolled into a log shape and covered with chocolate buttercream, it’s designed to look like a tree branch. Centuries ago, people burned Yule logs in their fireplaces during winter. Now, they just eat them. With decorations like powdered sugar “snow” and marzipan mushrooms, it’s almost too pretty to cut into.
- Pavlova – Australia and New Zealand’s Summer Special
In Australia and New Zealand, Christmas isn’t snowy, it’s sunny. So instead of rich, heavy desserts, they go for something light like Pavlova. This dessert is a cloud of meringue topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. Kiwi, strawberries, passionfruit and more. The crisp outside and soft, marshmallow-like centre make it a crowd favourite.
- Mince Pies – A British Tradition
Mince pies are a British holiday staple, tiny and flaky and full of flavor. The name is a misnomer; there is no meat here. Instead, they’re stuffed with spiced dried fruits, sometimes with a splash of brandy. These pies date back to the Middle Ages. They contained meat at the time, but eventually the recipe became the sweet one we know now. One paired with a hot beverage equals Christmas in a bite.
- Turrón – Spain’s Nutty Delight
Without turrón, Spain’s Christmas wouldn’t be complete. There are two styles of this almond-based nougat, hard and crunchy or soft and chewy. Either way, it’s addictive. Combining honey, sugar and roasted nuts, turrón has been a holiday staple for centuries. It’s frequently bestowed upon friends and family, which makes for a sweet accoutrement to the holiday spirit. The soft version dissolves in your mouth, while the hard one is a tooth workout, but worth it.
- Krumkake – Norway’s Waffle Cookies
Krumkake, which Norway does simply but deliciously. These thin, crisp cookies are rolled into tubes and often filled with whipped cream. They’re airy, sweet and delightful for dunking in hot chocolate. Krumkake is a family affair. In order to “press” the batter you need a special iron, imprinted with the delicate design you want to show on the cookies. The result is a dessert that’s beautiful as well as delicious. It’s tradition, craftsmanship and sweetness all rolled into one.
- Sufganiyah – Israel’s Jelly-Filled Delight
In Israel, sufganiyah is front and centre on Hanukkah, but it also appears on Christmas tables. They are filled with jam and dusted with powdered sugar, deep-fried doughnuts. Every bite is gooey goodness in the warm form. The oil in which they’re fried symbolises the miracle of the Hanukkah oil that lasted eight days. Whether you’re celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas or both, sufganiyah is the dessert you didn’t realise you needed.
- Leche Flan – The Philippines’ Creamy Crowd-Pleaser
If you’re spending Christmas in the Philippines, you can expect leche flan at every celebration. It’s a rich, silky, absurdly satisfying caramel custard. A simple dessert with maximum impact, it’s made with eggs, sugar and condensed milk. It typically follows noche buena, the elaborate Christmas Eve meal. Now, once the main courses are finished, in comes the leche flan. Rich, sweet and drizzled with caramel sauce, it’s the ideal finish to a celebration.
- Christmas Pudding – The UK’s Flaming Finale
Christmas pudding. Rich, dense and studded with candied fruit and spices, it’s a dessert that comes with a theatrical twist, it’s served flaming. Brandy is poured over the pudding and ignited, providing a show-stopping moment at the dinner table. Traditionally, there is a coin hidden in the pudding, for good luck. Just ensure that no one takes a bite of it by mistake.
This Christmas, mix it up. Pick a dessert from another country and make it part of your holiday spread. Bake a Bûche de Noël. Try your hand at krumkake. Or just grab a panettone from your local bakery. So go ahead. Indulge. Celebrate. And maybe this year, your table will have a little more world on it.
