Christmas has a unique smell. It's still a long way off, but there are already Christmas markets in Europe with delicious baked goods wafting in waves. Everyone at the fair will come to the sweet stall for a hand-painted gingerbread cake or a piece of crumbly muffin. And if you can't go on a family trip in December?
Find out what kind of Christmas and New Year's Eve desserts are made in other countries and have a German, Czech or Spanish homemade sweet treat. Kidpassage has collected the best baking recipes from different countries: get the kids in the kitchen and work your magic together to create a festive feast.
1. Germany: Stollen
The first secret of the Stollen is the unique shape that symbolises the swaddled baby Christ. The second secret is the massive amount of nuts, raisins and candied fruit: the dough is stuffed with them. The third secret is that the longer the Stollen is left to mature, the better it tastes. That's why Christmas cakes are baked 3-4 weeks before the holiday.
What to get your child to do: Sprinkle the Christmas cake stollen generously with icing sugar. Put the powdered sugar in a small sieve to make it easier to work with.
2. Great Britain: Pudding
English Christmas pudding, or plum pudding, also has a recognisable shape. In the past, puddings were cooked in cloth sacks, which made them dome-shaped — now, they are cooked in containers with a rounded bottoms. Pudding, like Stollen, contains large quantities of raisins and dried and candied fruits but is cooked in a water bath. This festive treat also requires curing.
What to get your child to do: Help to knead the pudding dough. Traditionally, the family kneads the pudding dough while making a wish.
3. France: Bûche de Noël
It was a custom in medieval Europe to burn a specially prepared log before Christmas — the way the log burned was used to foretell the coming year's events. This custom still survives in some places, but it has been given a more elegant form in France: the Christmas log has become a tasty pastry served on the festive table. The biscuit roll in chocolate cream certainly promises good fortune.
What to instruct the child to do: Turn the chocolate cream into tree bark. A fork or a skewer comes in handy for drawing on the cream.
4. Czech Republic: Vánočka
The name of the Czech Christmas cake comes from the word Vánoce (Christmas). Everyone here in the Czech Republic knows: When homemade vánočka comes out of the oven, Christmas is on the doorstep! You can use any yeast dough for baking, but the moulding is tricky: divide the dough into nine equal parts, roll each piece into a roll and make braids of 4, 3 and 2. The large braid will be the base of the cake, with the middle braid on top and the most petite braid on top.
What to get your child to do: Help to roll out the rolls and braid. If your child likes to tinker with the dough, you can roll out each roll to a strip, fill it with raisins and nuts, pinch the edges and make a Vánočka.
5. Hungary: Beigli
Hungarians are bound to have two rolls of yeast dough on the Christmas table — one with a poppy seed and one with a walnut filling. They also add berry jams, cinnamon, clove, coffee, raisins and lemon zest to give the filling a unique flavour.
What to get your child to do: Decorate the rolls with the leftover pastry. Biscuit cutters are helpful for this, but you can also roll up the sticks and make a pattern with them.
6. Italy: Panforte
There is another Christmas cake in Italy: panettone. But panforte isn't a cupcake: it's a massive amount of nuts and dried fruits glued together with honey syrup. It tastes like gingerbread, but you should put it in the fridge for a week or two before you try it.
What to get your child to do: Press the nut and berry mixture into the mold. The panforte mixture is thick and dense, so press it down with your hands (moisten your palms with water so they don't stick to the dough).
7. Spain: Polvorones
If you put these biscuits on the table, they'll be snapped up quickly, so making a double batch at once is best. The shape is straightforward, and the secret is in the flavour: almond flour and ground sesame seeds are added to the dough. The classic recipe uses pork lard for the polvorones, but you can also knead the dough in butter.
What to get your child to do: Cut out the biscuits. Roll out the polvorones 1 cm thick and cut out the biscuits in round or jagged shapes.
8. Greece: Melomakarono
The melomakarono (Greek: μελομακάρονο) is an egg-shaped Greek dessert made mainly from flour, olive oil, and honey. The sweet and soft melomakarono cakes bake quickly and are just as quick to eat. The original recipe uses half-and-half orange juice and cognac for the dough, but it's best to add a double helping of juice for a children's party. The main thing is to allow 15 minutes for the biscuits to soak in the syrup.
What to get your child to do: Shape the dough into balls, flatten them slightly and place them on the baking tray. After baking and soaking the biscuits in the syrup, sprinkle the melomakarono with chopped walnuts and cinnamon.
9. Finland: Joulutorttu (Christmas Star Cookies)
The main ingredients in this festive biscuit are puff pastry and plum jam. And in order to turn pastry into stars, you must remember how to fold a paper spinner. After baking, the ruddy, crispy biscuits are ready to eat immediately. And we're sure you won't have any leftovers.
What to get your child to do: roll up the stars. If your child helps, you can make crescent-shaped biscuits — cut the dough into circles, smear them with jam and fold them in half.
10. Ginger biscuits
Why didn't we specify a country? Because fragrant Christmas gingerbread is baked all over Europe. They are called Lebkuchen in Germany; in Finland — Piparkakut; in the Czech Republic — Zázvorky. The dough may vary, but spices are always added: ginger, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and cardamom. Baking fills the house with a delightful aroma, but the gingerbread does not show its full glory until it has matured.
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To round off our review, here's a simple recipe for gingerbread biscuits that you can use to make this confection with your child quickly.
Ingredients (for 18-20 pcs.)
- flour — 250 g
- room temperature butter — 70 g
- brown sugar — 80 g
- egg —1 pc
- cocoa — 1 tbsp
- ground ginger — 1 tsp
- freshly grated ginger — 1 tsp
- ground cinnamon — 1 tsp
- ground cloves — 0,5 tsp
- soda — 0.5 tsp
Frosting
- icing sugar — 250 g
- white of a big egg (approx. 40 g) — 1 pc
- lemon juice — 1 tbsp.
- warm water — 2-3 tbsp
- food colourings
- beads and snowflakes for decoration
Method
- Dice the butter and combine with the sugar and egg; beat with a mixer for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking soda, spices, ginger and cocoa. Wrap the mixture in clingfilm and place in the refrigerator for half an hour.
- Divide the dough into two portions, place one on a large piece of baking paper, flatten by hand, cover with another sheet and roll out with a rolling pin. This should form an even layer 5-7 mm thick.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Shape the dough into balls, place them on the baking tray and leave in the oven for 10 minutes. If the biscuits are thicker than 7 mm, they will need an extra 3-4 minutes.
- While the first batch is baking, prepare the second batch in the same scenario. Allow the finished biscuits to cool, and proceed to decorate.
- Combine all the icing ingredients and whisk with a mixer (you should get a stiff mass that is easy to draw with). Add more icing sugar and beat with a mixer if the icing is too thin. If, on the contrary, it is too thick, add a tablespoon of warm water.
- Divide the icing among the bowls and add the food colouring. Then place it in a piping bag and decorate. Decorate the biscuits with edible beads and snowflakes and leave to set for 3 to 4 hours to allow the icing to harden. Store the biscuits in a container with a tight lid.
What to get your child to do: Cut out differently shaped biscuits and, after baking, decorate them with icing.
What does your family traditionally bake for Christmas? Share your recipes in the comments!
