Who doesn’t love a Christmas atmosphere? After all, in addition to all the good things this season, we can try delicious foods. Many of them we only consume once a year, so the expectation is great indeed! And it is in this Christmas vibe that we have listed the typical Christmas dessert recipes from every country in the world! For you to taste the world without leaving home and still enjoy a good experience!
Typical Brazilian Christmas Dessert: Romeu e Julieta na Travessa
Our first recipe is typically Brazilian and features a national delicacy, guava! It is likely that the origin of the dessert was in Minas Gerais, when the Portuguese started producing cheese in their colonies. The cheese represents Romeo and the guava represents Juliet. How romantic!
Romeo and Juliet on the Platter Recipe
Ingredients for the Cream Cheese:
- 1 box of condensed milk (395g)
- 1 carton of heavy cream (200g)
- 200g cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1 small package of unflavored, uncolored gelatin (12g)
- 7 tablespoons hot water
Ingredients for the Creamy Guava:
- 100ml water
- 250g guava cut into pieces
How to Prepare the Cream Cheese:
Before you begin, dissolve the gelatin in the hot water, mixing until well dissolved, then set aside. In a blender, place the condensed milk, the heavy cream, the cream cheese, and the grated Parmesan cheese. Whisk for about 2 minutes or until smooth. Then add the dissolved gelatine. Whisk for 1 more minute to incorporate. Pour this mixture into a serving dish or bowl. Put this dish in the refrigerator and leave it for 30 minutes or until the cream is firm.
How to Prepare the Creamy Guava:
In a pan, put the water and the guava. Take it to low heat. Stir continuously until all the guava is melted. Turn off the heat and wait for it to cool a little. Then pour this creamy guava over the cream cheese. Spread out and refrigerate for another 2 hours. Serve immediately.
Dessert from the UK: English Christmas pudding
Christmas Pudding (or Plum Puddin) is a very old recipe and almost resembles a cake, because of its consistency. Its composition cannot lack many dried fruits. The flavor is unmatched, because this dessert is baked for several hours, and its dark color gives it a very special touch.
English Christmas Pudding Recipe
Ingredients for the pudding:
- 1 cup black raisins
- 1 cup white raisins
- 1 cup of wheat flour with yeast
- 1 cup cold, grated butter (approximately 115 grams)
- 1 cup lightly toasted crushed bread
- 1 cup muscovado sugar (can be replaced by demerara or brown sugar)
- 1 cup mixed nuts, chopped
- 1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of “mixed spice” (it’s a spice mix, to make at home for this recipe I suggest mixing ¼ teaspoon of each of these ingredients: nutmeg, clove powder, ginger powder and chili powder)
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 egg
- Butter for greasing
Ingredients for the syrup:
- 85g butter
- 100g brown or demerara sugar
- 200ml heavy cream (preferably fresh)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Some assorted nuts, or of your preference, to decorate
For the Pudding: Butter a 1.5-liter baking dish (it should fit loosely into a pan that is taller than the dish). In a bowl place the first 9 ingredients. Then add the milk and the egg. Mix well and pour into the greased baking dish. Squeeze this mixture well in the baking dish. Cover the baking dish with a double sheet of aluminum foil that must be buttered on the side that will be inside. Make a fold in the foil to allow the candy to grow. Tie the aluminum foil around the baking pan with string and place the pan into a large pot. Pour hot water so that it covers half of the baking dish. Leave it in a water bath for 2½ hours. If necessary, add more water. Let it cool a little and unmold onto a plate that the candy will be served on. If not served immediately, place plastic wrap over the baking dish and set aside.
For the syrup: Put all the ingredients (except the walnuts) in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Let it bubble for about 2 minutes until the sugar is well dissolved and the syrup has a caramel color. Remove from heat. Pour the syrup over the pudding and decorate with assorted nuts.
Dessert from Portugal: Bolo Rei
Bolo Rei is so traditional in the Portuguese Christmas that it is almost impossible to think of Christmas without remembering this delicacy in Portugal. It is served from the beginning of December until Three Kings Day, January 6. The wreath shape suits the time of year very well, and it is decorated with candied fruit and nuts.
King Cake Recipe
Ingredients for the dough:
- 500 g wheat flour
- 2 bars of fleshman yeast
- 1 cup of milk (200 ml)
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for the filling:
- 100 g pitted white raisins
- 100 g pitted black raisins
- 100 g pitted plums
- 100 g chopped peeled almonds
- 150 g peeled walnuts
- 150 g chopped candied fruit
- 1 cup sugar with cinnamon
Ingredients for the topping:
- Candied fruit (3 figs cut in half, 2 pineapple slices cut in half)
- Cherries in syrup
- icing sugar
Directions:
Crush the yeast in the warm milk. Place the flour on a marble stone and make a hole in the middle. Gradually add all the ingredients. Mix it all together with your hands, kneading it until it loosens from your fingers (if necessary, use a little more flour). Let it rest for two hours. Open the dough with a rolling pin. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Put all the ingredients for the filling mixed together. Roll it up like a roll. Trim the ends and join the beginning with the end, forming a thread. Let it rest for another hour. Brush with egg yolk. Make a few shallow cross-sections. Bake in a hot oven. After 10 minutes, set it to medium temperature. When it’s browned, turn off the heat and pour icing sugar over it.
Dessert from the United States: Gingerbread
This is one of those desserts that are so beautiful and charming that you pity eating them! Gingerbread is a very aromatic cookie and leaves the whole house with that nice spicy smell. You can also make little holes in them to decorate the tree and besides, it’s a recipe that will beautify your Christmas table all by itself!
Gingerbread Recipe
Ingredients:
- 130 grams (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 1 egg
- 135 grams brown sugar (1/2 cup + 1/4)
- 45 grams (1/4 cup) crystal or demerara sugar
- 410 grams molasses (1 cup + 1/3)
- 3 tablespoons of rum
- 700 grams of flour (approx. 5 cups + 1/2 cup + 1/3 cup)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ginger powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Directions:
Beat the butter with the two kinds of sugars in the mixer until everything is white and fluffy. Add the molasses and mix. Add the egg and rum and mix. Sift through all the dry materials and add them all at once. Mix everything together with your hands or with the paddle attachment of the mixer, just until everything is blended. Spread the dough between two sheets of parchment paper 3mm thick for large cutters, or 6mm thick for very small cutters. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Cut the dough with the help of the cutters. Put it in the freezer for 15 min. Remove the burrs and arrange them on a baking sheet. Take it to the freezer for another 15min. Bake at 180°C for about 15 to 20 min, depending on the size of the cookies. Take out of the pan and let cool on a wire rack. Decorate only when they are cold.
Typical Christmas dessert from Argentina: Chocotorta
A classic Christmas dinner from the hermanos is the Argentine Chocotorta, which is reminiscent of the good old pavé. It is one of the most popular desserts in the country. The chocotorta is a layered sweet made with “Chocolina” chocolate chip cookie and delicious Argentinean dulce de leche!
Chocotorta Recipe
Ingredients:
- 300 grams of cream cheese
- 300 grams of Argentine dulce de leche
- 245 grams of chocolate cookies “chocolina” (36 units)
- 1 cup of strong, cold, strained coffee
- 2 tablespoons of rum (optional)
Directions:
Whip the cream cheese with the dulce de leche just until smooth. Divide the cream into 4 parts. Line a rectangular serving dish with plastic wrap, in case you want to unmold it like I did. Mix the rum into the coffee. Wet the cookies and arrange them on the platter in a layer of cookies. Dip each cookie with another 1/2 teaspoon. Arrange the first layer of cream on top of the cookies and carefully spread evenly. Place another layer of wet cookies on top of the cream. Alternate the layers: 4 layers of cookies and 3 layers of cream. Reserve the fourth part of the cream for decoration after unmolding. If you choose to serve it on the platter, finish the preparation with the last layer of cream. Refrigerate for about 5 hours. Unmold and use the last part of the cream to decorate, or serve chilled on the platter.
We hope you enjoyed the recipes and have a great year end! For more content like this, keep browsing the blog.
