What to sell or serve for Christmas dessert
The holiday season and Christmas are becoming more celebrated in the home. Cosy family time and home bake trials give the last course of the dinner or at tea time just that extra dimension.
Restaurants and caterers are also pairing up to propose five or six course dinners as takeaway and home deliveries. Travelling through Europe teaches us that there are a number of different ways for bakers or pastry chefs to treat the sweet tooth. Most of them are real classics for ages but a review of those possibilities can give a boost to your sales
Where are the classics
Germany and the Netherlands prefer Christmas Stollen. A rich loaf, kind of brioche made with lots of butter, eggs, spices, candied fruit filled with an almond sausage and topped with icing sugar. The baked stollen are submerged in melted butter to give them a longer expiration date, so customers can send them, nicely packed, to their family or relatives.
The same style applies to Pannetone. Rich brioche type, stuffed with candied orange, citron, lemon zest, and raisins on the inside. This typical dome shaped loaf is very Italian but also popular in Spain. Both countries run contests for the best Pannetone. It is a long and very technical process but gives a great margin of profit.
Just like the stollen, Pannetone is extremely suitable as a Christmas gift to send all over the globe, due to his high butter and sugar content. The exquisite and aromatic flavor of butter makes it a delicious bakery product. Daniel Alvarez, Relais & Dessert patissier in Elche, Spain shares his recipe with us.
Belgium and France are the countries of the classic French Patisserie; Christmas Yule logs or bûche de Noël. It looks like a tree trunk and is made out of sponge cake and filled with buttercream or whipped cream. These days we see lots of design versions. Important pastry houses in Paris (Pierre Hermé, Ladurée, Dalloyau) show their Christmas collections with the brilliance of a catwalk showcased by the best French fashion designers.
We like to share one of our Debic favorites by Bruno Van Vaerenbergh our International Pastry Advisor: Madagascar. Crème brûlée, petit beurres, chocolate mousse, trendy glazing. This Madagascar yule log will be a surefire hit in your shop window. How about combining Madagascar chocolate with butter biscuits from Nantes? Thanks to the finishing touches in this recipe – a matte glazing with a hint of coffee jelly – you can prove that technology and style really are so 2020!
Verrines & ice cream
In the last few years we can already see a growth of fancy and tasteful desserts in glasses called ‘verrines’; transparent, crystal clear pastry in a glass. Classics such as Tiramisu, Pavlova, or Profiterolles dressed in a glass are the new cakes. A big classic is the marron-cassis. A perfect food pairing example gently built up in a glass. The controlled acidity of cassis fruit combined with the winter taste of chestnut in a butter cream perfumed with a golden touch of Cognac Rémy Martin. This is how a French classic granny becomes sexy and commercial.
Debic desserts can also help you make work easier. Why shouldn’t you try the easy way to sell ice desserts? Debic Parfait is the perfect way to support your creativity. Honey, Greek yoghurt and kataifi will pimp your Parfait ice dessert to a festive frozen party dessert, like in this Hellas recipe.
Find culinary inspiration for a new creation here. Developed by and for professional bakers and pastry chefs.
Discover all recipes
