Bûche de Noël (Yule Log Cake)
A Yule log (or bûche de Noël is a traditional dessert, a Christmas cake served near Christmas, particularly in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Variants are also served in Canada, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Spain.
Made of sponge cake, to resemble a miniature actual Yule log, it is a form of sweet roulade.
The cake emerged in the 19th century, probably in France, before spreading to other countries. It is traditionally made from a genoise, generally baked in a large, shallow Swiss roll pan, iced, rolled to form a cylinder, and iced again on the outside. The most common combination is basic yellow sponge cake and chocolate buttercream, though many variations that include chocolate cake, ganache, and icings flavored with espresso or liqueurs exist.
Yule logs are often served with one end cut off and set atop the cake, or protruding from its side to resemble a chopped off branch. A bark-like texture is often produced by dragging a fork through the icing, and powdered sugar sprinkled to resemble snow. Other cake decorations may include actual tree branches, fresh berries, and mushrooms made of meringue or marzipan.
Christmas Pudding
Is a type of pudding traditionally served as part of the Christmas dinner in the UK, Republic of Ireland and in other countries where it has been brought by British and Irish immigrants. It has its origins in medieval England, and is sometimes known as plum pudding or just “pud”, though this can also refer to other kinds of boiled pudding involving dried fruit. Despite the name “plum pudding”, the pudding contains no actual plums due to the pre-Victorian use of the word “plums” as a term for raisins. The pudding has been heavily mythologized, including the erroneous idea that it is traditionally composed of thirteen ingredients, symbolizing Jesus and the Twelve Apostles,or that it was invented by George I Early recipes include little more than suet, dried fruit, breadcrumbs, flour, eggs and spice, along with liquid which may be milk or fortified wine. Later recipes became more elaborate.
Baked Alaska
Baked Alaska, also known as omelette norvégienne, omelette surprise, or omelette sibérienne depending on the country, It first originated in America and is a dessert consisting of ice cream and cake topped with browned meringue. The dish is made of ice cream placed in a pie dish, lined with slices of sponge cake or Christmas pudding, and topped with meringue. The entire dessert is then placed in an extremely hot oven for a brief time, long enough to firm and caramelize the meringue but not long enough to begin melting the ice cream.
Sticky Pudding
Sticky toffee pudding, also known as STP or as sticky date pudding in Australia and New Zealand, is an English dessert consisting of a very moist sponge cake, made with finely chopped dates, covered in a toffee sauce and often served with a vanilla custard or vanilla ice-cream. It is considered a British classic by various culinary experts, alongside bread and butter pudding, jam roly-poly and spotted dick puddings.
Panettone (Italian Christmas Cake)
Panettone is an Italian type of sweet bread originally from Milan (in the local Milanese dialect it is called panetton, pronounced [paneˈtũː]) usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Western, Southern, and Southeastern Europe as well as in Latin America, Eritrea, Australia, the United States and Canada.
The proofing process alone takes several days, giving the cake its distinctive fluffy characteristics. It contains candied orange, citron, and lemon zest, as well as raisins, which are added dry and not soaked. Many other variations are available such as plain or with chocolate. It is served in wedge shapes, vertically cut, accompanied with sweet hot beverages or a sweet wine, such as Asti or Moscato d’Asti. In some regions of Italy, it is served with crema di mascarpone, a cream made from mascarpone, eggs, sometimes dried or candied fruits, and typically a sweet liqueur such as amaretto; if mascarpone cheese is unavailable, zabaione is sometimes used as a substitute.