These Are The Most Famous And Delicious Christmas Desserts From All Over The World

Christmas is just around the corner. It's a time to celebrate with loved ones, coming together primarily over food and sharing love and moments of joy. An integral part of the lavish Christmas meals is the desserts that have delighted people for several years and become part of family traditions. All over the world, people make unique dishes and pass the recipes on to their families, the tradition continuing from one generation to the next. Here are some of the delicious and mouthwatering desserts made in different parts of the world, unique and traditional, and worth trying at least one time in your life, whether on christmas or otherwise.

Bibingka - Philippines

This is essentially a sweet rice cake, commonly enjoyed during the Christmas season, which starts in September in the Philippines. A dish, often a terracotta dish, is lined with a banana leaf into which the batter is poured. It's then covered and steamed in a clay oven, in which coals are placed above and below the dish, their flavor seeping into the food being prepared. These sticky cakes are often presented as an offering in temples and given as gifts to guests. It's often consumed as breakfast in the Philippines and can be found in parts of Indonesia as well.

Buñuelos - Mexico

There are light and crispy discs enjoyed in Mexico during the holiday season. They originate with the Spanish colonists and are made of a fried dough that’s sprinkled with powdered sugar or soaked in cane sugar- made piloncillo syrup. . Across Mexico, the recipe and shape of the dessert change slightly, depending on the state you're in. For instance, they can be made in flavors like sweet potato, pumpkin or almond, and can be shaped as balls or donuts. In other Latin American countries like Colombia, they are round and filled with cheese.

Kahk - Egypt

Kahk are essentially cookies and the custom of making them is as old as the pharaohs. In the ruins of Thebes and Memphis are Pharaonic temples, whose walls have drawings of women making the dish. In ancient times, it was normally stuffed with dates or figs. Nowadays, the cookies, imprinted with geometric patterns, can have stuffings like pistachios, walnuts or dates and can be spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and ginger and sometimes also anise and fennel seeds. \Muslims during Ramadan and Coptic Christians during Advent fasting enjoy the kahk alike.

Rose cookies - India

Rose cookies are especially popular in Goa, whose culture is deeply influenced by the almost 500 years of Portuguese rule. Called rose de coque in Portuguese and Goan languages, they aren't exactly cookies but actually fried dough infused with cardamom and vanilla. A cast iron mold with a round flower design is used to achieve the unique rose-like shape. After frying, they’re either dipped in or dusted with powdered sugar and enjoyed during Christmas.

Malva Pudding - South Africa

Also called lekker pudding, which means delicious pudding, this is a rich and sweet cake with roots in South Africa’s Cape Dutch culture, especially popular in Cape Town. Called malvapoeding in Afrikaans, it is often prepared with apricot jam and a little malt gives it a caramelized flavor. There are many variations of the dish and it can also include ginger or brandy. After baking, it's doused in a creamy sauce that gets absorbed into the cake as it cools, turning it into a moist and sticky pudding. Besides Christmas, it's also enjoyed on other special occasions like weddings and social gatherings.

Stollen - Germany

The stollen resembles a cake but is actually a fruit and nut-filled bread coated in icing sugar. It originates in Dresden and has a protected geographical status, meaning it can only be made in or around the city by respectable and formally-recognised bakers. It has roots in the Middle ages when it was a hard bread made with oats, flour and water which was enjoyed during the Advent fasting period. In 1490, the Pope allowed bakers to use ingredients like butter, raisins and marzipan to make their Christmas bread, which were earlier forbidden during the Advent period. In 1560, Dresden bakers began the tradition of presenting Saxony rulers with an enormous stollen during Christmas. In 1730, the Saxon leader Augustus the Strong' ordered a stollen that could feed 24,000 people, which ended up using 36,000 eggs and weighed 1.8 tonnes. The tradition of making a huge stollen continues even today at the annual Dresden Stollenfest.