A selection of creative bakery and pastry launches for Christmas 2017
A selection of creative bakery and pastry launches for Christmas 2017
Pastry chefs and food manufacturers have been particularly inspired for Christmas 2017, offering consumers both classic seasonal treats and truly stunning desserts.
Barry Callebaut has been cake hunting all over Europe to bring you a summary of Christmas 2017 directions and a selection of inspiring concepts.
Happy reading!
Coffee and hazelnut buche, with chocolate-coated coffee beans, Picard, France.
Flavor developments
Chocolate, caramel, and hazelnut (praliné) are still the biggest seasonal flavors for Christmas all over Europe, plain or in combination with other flavors (cranberry, orange, …). Chestnut and coffee were also very much favored this year for new launches.
Citrus and exotic fruits - clementine, passion fruit - have proved popular. Newly combined with pistachio or pecan, they add freshness to classic creations.
Yann Menguy, Patisserie La goutte d’or, France
Decorations & finishing
Pastry chefs dreamt of a White Christmas too this year. Many creations featured a velvety white finishing.
Edible pine cones, filled with chocolate mousse and a gooey chocolate filling, Marks & Spencer, UK
Winter shapes were a hit again with many retailers - either playfully decorated with bright colors or gold dusted for more opulence. Beyond decorations, desserts all featured fillings or inclusions that brought them depth and indulgence.
Santa Stuck up the Chimney cake, Marks & Spencer, UK
Showstoppers
As for every seasonal occasion, showstoppers bring excitement to the table, either with perfect design and flavor combinations or with a surprise element.
Christmas buche by Angelo Musa and Alexandre Dufeu, Plaza Athénée, France.
Quite the opposite to white purity, rough finishings are popular this year. The buche below made a rough-looking yule log - quite literally. Looking like a real piece of wood, playfully cut in individual pieces, it features a combination crunch and smoothness, chocolate and a ginger-banana compote. Stunning!
Goal achieved to keep guests entertained at the dinner table with Tesco’s reveal dessert: a Belgian chocolate dome dusted in gold, revealing a delicious surprise.
Free from gluten and wheat mince pies, ASDA, UK
Free-from
Since a few years, consumers on free-from diets can also enjoy the best of Christmas, with more and more products now available in vegan, gluten- and/or lactose-free version.
In the middle of next year’s Christmas brief?
For more Christmas inspiration:
