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Holiday baking is a chance to honor traditions both familiar and far-flung, and these festive cakes highlight the flavors and stories that shape celebrations around the world. From the crisp honey-layered medovyk of Ukraine and Italy’s buttery, chocolate-studded panettone to coconut-rich Filipino bibingka and rum-soaked Jamaican black cake, each recipe reflects a cherished seasonal custom and the cooks who carry it forward. Whether you’re drawn to airy sponge cakes, dense fruit-laden loaves, or striking rolled showpieces, this collection offers a globe-spanning tour of sweets fit for any holiday table.
Galette des Rois (King Cake)
Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
This classic galette des rois layers flaky puff pastry around a rich frangipane made with almond flour, butter, and a touch of orange marmalade and rum for warmth. Traditionally served on Epiphany, it hides a fève inside, crowning whoever finds it “king” for the day.
Plum Pudding
This dessert is not pudding in the American sense of the word, but in the British sense—meaning dessert. The bright orange zest, warm spices, and dried fruit in this rich, moist, dense steamed cake bring all of the holiday feels to the table. The hard sauce that accompanies it is basically brandy butter. When you dollop it on top, it slowly melts into the warm cake, infusing the pudding with the richness of the butter, the sweetness of the sugar, and the warmth of the brandy.Â
Stollen
Jordan Provost / Food Styling by Thu Buser
This Dresden-style stollen from baker and Great American Baking Show winner Martin Sorge is a beloved German Christmas treat. Rum-soaked dried fruit, citrus peel, and almonds are folded into a rich, tender dough for a dense, aromatic, and long-lasting loaf.
Julia Child’s Bûche de Noël
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Julia Child’s classic bĂ»che de NoĂ«l balances an airy orange-scented sponge with a light chocolate-meringue filling and a smooth, ganachelike frosting that’s textured to resemble tree bark. Finished with crisp meringue mushrooms and optional sugared cranberries, it’s a gorgeous showpiece that’s as flavorful as it is festive.
Medovyk (Ukrainian Honey Cake)
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
This slightly simplified recipe from Ukrainian cookbook author Anna Voloshyna layers crisp, honey-based cake sheets with a tangy sour cream frosting. Chopped prunes lend a jammy sweetness, while a hazelnut–cinnamon crumb made from baked cake scraps adds a toasty finish.
Jamaican Black Cake
Food writer and cookbook author Brigid Ransome Washington draws on the delicate flavor of raw almonds and almond extract, the warm complexity of allspice, and a generous measure of rum in this traditional Caribbean cake, giving her rendition a distinctly Jamaican character.
Vasilopita (Greek New Year’s Day Cake)
Food & Wine / Photo by Brie Goldman / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Natalie Ghazali
This aromatic vasilopita from Greek celebrity chef Argiro Barbarigou channels her country’s New Year traditions with a tender, meringue-lightened crumb infused with orange, brandy, and warm spices. Chopped walnuts add richness and texture, while a hidden flouri coin is said to bestow good fortune on whoever finds it.
Almond-Cardamom Budapest Roll
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
F&W’s Ann Taylor Pittman shares a recipe for an indulgent roll cake that combines a light almond flour meringue with sweetened whipped cream and bright citrusy orange segments.
Saffron Tea Cakes
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
At Lost Larson bakery in Chicago, Timmy Gibbons and Bobby Schaffer make these airy brioche tea cakes. They echo the classic flavors of lussekatter — the Swedish saffron-scented pastry accented with warming spices and raisins.
Panettone
A mix of toasted hazelnuts and velvety chocolate gives Chicago baker Greg Wade’s Italian panettone its rich, buttery character
Christmas Boiled Fruit Cake
Andrew Zimmern drew inspiration from a boiled fruit cake he encountered in Newfoundland to create this forgiving version. Simmering the dried fruit with rum, molasses, cream, and spices yields a cake with a wonderfully moist, sponge-like texture.
Chocolate Babka
Baker and cookbook author Melissa Weller enhances this babka with a swirl enriched by cookie crumbs, deepening the flavor and texture. She finishes it with a generous layer of glossy, ultra-rich chocolate glaze.
Grandma Zerr’s Apricot Kuchen
Kuchen, based on classic German yeast cakes filled with fruit or cheese, is widely baked in North Dakota — pastry chef Nancy Olson notes that it appears in countless church cookbooks — and enjoyed throughout the day. This version is Olson’s take on the one her grandmother made. “I love that this is a hearty, rustic, belly-filling pastry; nothing dainty about it,” she says.
Bibingka (Sticky Coconut-Rice Bread)
Con Poulos
Filipino American chef Dale Talde shares this recipe for bibingka, a classic Filipino coconut–rice bread with a texture closer to cake. Made from sweet rice flour, shredded coconut, and coconut milk, it bakes into a tender, sticky treat.
