Holiday Treats from Around the World
Italian and Dutch cakes, German sweet bread, what are the best Christmas treats?.
Panettone – A traditional Italian Christmas dessert. It comes in large or small sizes, but is always dome-shaped. Basically, it’s a cake that has been leavened with yeast. It has a light and airy texture, with a rich and buttery taste, but it isn’t overly sweet. Its native habitat is coffee shops. Remember when we could visit such places and sit inside, in comfort?
Botorkoek – Another cake, this is hugely popular in the Netherlands. If you like a sweet, dense cake that consists of nothing more than butter, almonds, sugar and flour then this is for you. If you want to keep your fitness and your figure, I would advise taking to our YouTube channel and choosing the most strenuous of our exercises.
Medivnyk – A cake (again). This is very popular with bees as it is also known as a ‘honey cake’. It’s equally popular in Ukraine and consumed in vast quantities during the Ukrainian holiday festivities. The story goes that a scarcity of sugar from the old days forced bakers in that part of the world to experiment with honey as a sweetener. I’m not sure what yum yum translates to in the Ukrainian language, but I’m going to find out… 
Stollen – This is a traditional German bread. Its proper name is Weihnachtsstollen, but you knew that, being the sophisticated person that you are and it is a fruit bread made of nuts. That’s not all, they also add spices, plus dried or candied fruit, coated with icing sugar. And who can blame them, it’s Christmas after all. 
Christmas Cake – Ah, that great British staple along with turkey, mince pies and falling asleep after Christmas dinner. To make this properly, your heavily spiced cake is packed with dried fruits and marinated in brandy or rum – or both. It must be made in October so that it can mellow before Christmas consumption.
OK, just a small slice…
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