The 7 best traditional Christmas desserts in the world

24.11.2023 - 17:07 / lonelyplanet.com

The Christmas season is all about celebrating the joys of life, and what’s more joyful than dessert?

But just where do Christmas desserts come from? And how did they become part of the holiday season? Here’s a handy guide to some of the most delicious traditional Christmas desserts that you might not have heard of, and the most fun part of all: where you can try them yourself.

Bibingka is a type of sweet, glutinous rice cake commonly eaten during the Christmas season, which begins in September in the Philippines. The batter is traditionally poured into a terracotta dish lined with a banana leaf and steamed in a clay oven with coals above and below.

The sticky cakes were originally presented as offerings to gods or given as gifts to honored guests. Today, bibingka is still a special pleasure among Filipinos, who often have it for breakfast or right after dawn masses during the holidays. The popular delicacy is also enjoyed in parts of Indonesia. 

Where to try it: Cafe Via Mare in Manila.

These light, crisp, sweet discs are a beloved treat in Mexico during the holidays. A legacy of the Spanish colonists, buñuelos are made of fried dough sprinkled with sugar or soaked in piloncillo syrup (made from cane sugar). The precise recipe and shape vary from state to state. For instance, in Tabasco, people make a similar version to the original, while in Veracruz they come in different flavors, such as sweet potato, pumpkin, or almond, and some are small balls or donuts fried in lard and dusted with sugar. In other Latin American countries, such as Colombia, buñuelos are ball-shaped and filled with cheese.

Where to try them: Street food stalls across Mexico sell them at Christmastime.

In Egypt, making kahk (cookies) is a custom as old as the pharaohs. Drawings of women making kahk have been found on the walls of Pharaonic temples in the ruins of Thebes and Memphis. 

In ancient times kahk were often stuffed with dates and figs. Today the shortbread-like cookies, imprinted with a geometric pattern, are made with a variety of stuffings – dates, pistachios, walnuts – or spiced with cinnamon, cloves and ginger, and sometimes also fennel seeds, anise seeds and mahlab (ground sour cherry kernels).

Kahk are enjoyed by both Muslims and Coptic Christians to mark the end of Ramadan and Advent fasting respectively, as well as other festivals. Coptic Christians often bring a box of kahk as a gift when visiting friends and family at Christmas. 

Where to try it: Zack’s Bakery Cafe or the legendary Khan Al Khalili bazaar, both in Cairo.

Rose cookies are especially popular at Christmas in the Indian state of Goa, which was subjected to Portuguese rule for almost 500 years. Known in Portuguese and Goan as rose de coque, they are not really