Traditional Christmas Baked Goods & a Recipe!
With Christmas on our doorstep the atmosphere on the streets is utterly festive in most places. I hope you are enjoying getting ready for Christmas, and if you don’t happen to celebrate Christmas, I hope you’re getting some downtime and some well-deserved rest.
To get into a festive mood I thought it would be nice to share some Christmassy treats that are traditionally enjoyed in the Netherlands and Belgium. And as a bonus I’m sharing a recipe!
Dutch Baked Goods
Kerststol
This is an absolute favorite in my Dutch family. Every year during the Christmas breakfast on the 25th and the 26th of December this is main dish. The bread itself is full of raisins, and in the middle of the bread there is a roll of sweet almond paste. When you slice the bread, you can take the almond paste out of the round and spread it over the bread. Absolute delicious sweetness!
Banketstaaf -RECIPE-
This is a baked good that is eaten at Sinterklaas as well as Christmas in the Netherlands. It has a similar sweet almond paste in the middle as in the ‘Kerststol’, but it has puff pastry around it. I will share the recipe here:
Part A:
Ingredients for the almond paste:
- 250 gram white almonds
- 250 gram white sugar
- Zest of half a lemon
- 1 egg
How to make the almond paste:
1. Mix the white almonds, the sugar and the zest in a food processor
2. Add the egg and continue mixing until it is a paste
Part B:
Ingredients for two ‘Banketstaven’:
- 400 gr sweet almond paste*
- 1 roll of fresh puff pastry (270 gr)
- ½ egg (beaten)
Also:
- ½ egg (beaten), to smear over the pastry
How to make the banketstaven:
1.
Preheat the oven 220 *C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Briefly knead the almond paste and add half an egg to make the almond paste more pliable. Make two rolls out of the almond paste of around 31-33 cm in length.
2.
Roll out the puff pastry and cut the dough in half lengthwise. Place the first roll of almond paste in the center of each piece of puff pastry and hold the two short ends of the dough over the almond paste. Lightly brush these two ends with water. Fold one long side of the dough over the almond paste and moisten it slightly. Finally, fold the other side of the dough over the roll of almond paste and firmly press it. Place the ‘Banketstaven’ on the baking tray with the seam down and refrigerate for about 20 minutes
3.
Brush the pastry sticks with the beaten egg and bake for 25 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Let the ‘Banketstaven’ cool down and enjoy!
Belgian Baked Goods
Bûche de Noël
This is a traditional Belgian and French Christmas dessert, also called a Yule log. Besides from the lovely sweet flavour, another highlight of this dessert is that it’s often decorated beautifully.
Cougnou/ Cougnolle
During a festive Christmas breakfast, many Belgians eat this sweet type of bread, called Cougnou or Cougnolle dependent of where in Belgium you are, with a bit of butter and jam.
Speculoos/ Speculaas
This is a sort of gingerbread cookie with a spice mix of pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg. It is one of those warm, incredibly festive biscuits that you want to try.
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Let's Share!
Ok, that’s it! I hope you enjoyed this little list of traditional baked goods. Leave us a comment to tell the community what your favourite Christmas treat is, or share a family recipe. And if you bake the 'banketstaaf' this Holiday season please share a photo with the community and tell us if you enjoyed it! You can do so via the forum: https://academy.europa.eu/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=8128#p17347