5 European Christmas Dessert Ideas

Europe is where so many popular Christmas traditions have originated from. This doesn’t just include Christmas carols and folklore, but food too! The Christmas dinner is a large part of the day – as well as a lot of indulgence – and so, naturally, each country has their own traditional Christmas dessert. If you’re looking to spice up your Christmas a little with some European influence, take some inspiration from the European Christmas dessert ideas below.

1. Saffron Buns – Sweden

St Lucia’s Day takes place every year in Sweden on the 13th of December. It is celebrated with costumes, songs and most importantly, Saffron Buns. They are however eaten throughout the festive season, starting as early as November.

Find the recipe here.

2. Turrón – Spain

This southern European Christmas dessert is normally made with toasted almonds or other nuts such as hazelnut or pistachio. There are two types of this Christmas sweet, the Alicante version which is hard with whole almonds, or the soft version, also known as the Jijona variety, which is softer as the almonds are reduced to a paste.

Find the recipe here.

3. Panettone – Italy

This beloved sweet bread is eaten in Italy across Christmas and New Year. It originates from Milan more specifically, and has now spread to parts of South America, such as Argentina, thanks to Lombard immigrants following WWII. The dessert is so popular that Italian food manufacturing companies and bakeries produce 117 million panettone and pandoro cakes every Christmas.

Find the recipe here.

4. Bûche de Noël – France

The European Christmas dessert is named after the Yule log, and emerged in the early 20th century. It is most popular across French speaking countries, however is also well known in English speaking countries as a ‘chocolate yule log’. If not already obvious, it is constructed to resemble a log with a dusting of snow.

Find the recipe here.

5. Mulled Wine

Although belonging to different names depending on where you are, mulled wine is popular across much of Europe during Christmas time. It is a red wine spiced, sweetened and heated up. The earliest known spiced and warmed wine is actually traced back to the Romans in the 2nd century. Mulled cider is a popular non-alcoholic alternative, made with apple juice and (most commonly) cinnamon.

Find the recipe here.