Skip to content
  • AB
    • About Us
    • Barcelona Apartments
    • Contact Us
  • Tourist Guide
    • Places
    • Food and Drink
    • Nightlife
    • Shopping
    • Museums
  • Things To Do
    • Activities
    • Events
    • Day Trips
    • Tours
    • Outside Barcelona
  • Visiting Barcelona
    • Accommodation
    • Useful Information
    • Neighborhoods
    • Gaudí
    • Bars, Cafés and Restaurants
    • Summer
  • Spanish life
    • People
    • Culture
    • Traditions
  • EnglishEnglish
    • SpanishEspañol
    • FrenchFrançais
    • ItalianItaliano
    • GermanDeutsch
    • DutchNederlands
    • RussianРусский
    • Chinese (Simplified)简体中文
Menu
AB Blog
  • AB
    • About Us
    • Barcelona Apartments
    • Contact Us
  • Tourist Guide
    • Places
    • Food and Drink
    • Nightlife
    • Shopping
    • Museums
  • Things To Do
    • Activities
    • Events
    • Day Trips
    • Tours
    • Outside Barcelona
  • Visiting Barcelona
    • Accommodation
    • Useful Information
    • Neighborhoods
    • Gaudí
    • Bars, Cafés and Restaurants
    • Summer
  • Spanish life
    • People
    • Culture
    • Traditions
  • EnglishEnglish
    • SpanishEspañol
    • FrenchFrançais
    • ItalianItaliano
    • GermanDeutsch
    • DutchNederlands
    • RussianРусский
    • Chinese (Simplified)简体中文
Hit enter to search or esc to close
Home  >  Bars, Cafés and Restaurants • Culture • Food and Drink • Home • Things To Do • Tourist Guide • Visiting Barcelona  >  Traditional Christmas sweets in Barcelona

Traditional Christmas sweets in Barcelona

sweets barcelona

Barcelona Typical Sweet treats

Sweets and baked goods make up some of the most popular and traditional Catalan food. Some of the headliners being Crema catalana, Xuixo, and Turrón! Although Catalonia is famous for its savoury delights, let’s look at the sweeter side for some of the traditional Christmas food you can buy here in Barcelona!

Turrón

turrón

Turrón or Torró is one of the most well known Spanish Christmas foods to find in Barcelona. This sweet treat is also eaten in Italy and parts of South America. Turrón is made up of ingredients of honey, sugar, egg white; and with toasted almonds or other nuts. The final product is shaped into a long and thin cuboid before being layout cut into pieces for everyone around the table to enjoy over the festive period, especially on Christmas day.

It is considered that the first time Turrón was first made in Spain dates back to the 16th Century, when a similar recipe was recorded in a cooking manual at the time. Since then, it has become a traditional Christmas sweet that is enjoyed all over the Catalan capital during the holiday season.

Crema Catalana

crema catalana

Crema Catalana is another sweet dessert that is enjoyed by locals all over Barcelona. It is considered as the city´s take on Crème brûlée and was first found in Catalan recipe books in 14th century- some 300 years before the first Crème brûlée recipe. The recipe included uses custard cream, over which sugar was poured and then burnt with a hot iron rod, creating the trademark burnt crust. Some differences between the Crema Catalana and Crème Brûlée include the cooking method and subsequent consistency; the French have a cream and vanilla hint, while the Catalan flavour with milk, cinnamon and lemon zest

Xuixo

Xuixo

Xuixo is a more common sweet of Barcelona, that is also eaten around Christmas time in Barcelona. This pastry is filled with… custard cream! The marriage of the two make it a very sweet treat that is enjoyed for breakfasts with a side of Café con leche, a combination that will make your mouth water. With it first becoming popular in Girona during the 1920´s, it is definitely a staple of this country and is a must try if you find yourself in Barcelona. This viennoiserie pastry is made from a yeast dough and has lots of sugar added, leaving you with a puff-pastry consistency and is then filled with custard cream.

The naming of this one is a story in its own too! Legends suggests an entertainer in Girona was having a secret relationship with a baker’s daughter. When visiting her in the shop, her father arrived and the entertainer hid amongst the ingredients but then sneezed (making the noise xui-xui), which alerted the baker. The entertainer quickly then proposed to his daughter and the marriage was sealed with the exchange of this recipe!

Churros

churros

This fried dough delight is Barcelona in a sweet! They are common in Spain and Portugal, as well as South America. Their origins are suggested to have come back with Portuguese traders who went to China. Here, they used to fry star-shaped dough, rather than the current, pulled and piped technique. Once the dough is fried, they are coated in sugar and then, in Catalan fashion, drizzled, coated or dipped in hot chocolate. Our tip- try it with melted white chocolate and stand out from the crowd!

For the best places to find Churros in Barcelona you have so many to choose from!

Neules

Neules

Lastly, Neules, are lemon-flavoured waver thin biscuits that are rolled into a cone and enjoyed with a glass of cava, the ´Catalan Champagne´. In modern day Spain, they are dipped in chocolate just like Churros! The ingredients of each mixture are egg whites, butter, sugar and flour; before being rolled and seasoned. An addictive snack that are very accessible in Barcelona´s dessert shops, especially around Christmas.

Now, we hope you have an idea on the common desserts Barcelona has to offer as Christmas comes closer, from Turrón to Churros, you have some seasonal and some traditional. Whatever your preference, you simply must try some of the sweet treats Barcelona has to offer.

A traditional sweet treat experience in Barcelona!

Pastisseria La Colmena

Since 1849, La Colmena has been leaving customers satisfied in the heart of the Gothic Quarter. This enchanting shop has stayed true to its roots, offering incredible baked goods in a truly beautiful building. They do an array of goods, from breads and snacks, to the most traditional treats in Barcelona. They are so passionate about baking and that is why we adore them.

If you are in Barcelona you simply must head down. Whether you know what you want to buy or that you just want to be wowed, they will leave you wanting more! The beauty of baking in its simplest form- That’s why they’ve been in the trade for 170 years.

Opening times
Everyday: 09:00-21:00

Tags: christmas sweets barcelona Christmas traditions
Owen Mawer

Owen is an International Business and Spanish student at the University of Leeds currently working as a Digital Marketing Intern at AB Apartment Barcelona. He is a contributor to Apartment Barcelona's blog, as well as their social media channels.

LinkedIn
Previous Article Traditional Catalan Winter Dishes to Try
Next Article 7 Reasons Why you Need to Visit Barcelona in 2021

Subscribe Now to Our Newsletter, It's Free! Get the best content delivered straight into
your inbox!

Related Posts

catalan-culture-traditions

Catalan culture and traditions – All you need to know

Are you getting ready for your trip to Barcelona and want to know more about the festivals and traditions that await you? We’re here to help!

Read More about Catalan culture and traditions – All you need to know
Posted By AB Apartment Barcelona Posted on June 8, 2023
Comments are off
sant joan

Sant Joan Festival 2023 – Kicking Off Summer with a Bang

On the night of June 23rd, the city skies of Barcelona come alive in one of the most anticipated summer celebrations: the Festival of Sant Joan. Considered the official kick-off to summer, fireworks, bonfires and all night fiestas fill the beaches of Barcelona in honor of Saint John. Read on as we discuss this memorable night out!

Read More about Sant Joan Festival 2023 – Kicking Off Summer with a Bang
Posted By AB Apartment Barcelona Posted on June 6, 2023
0

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Find an apartment

The Weather in Barcelona

Weather – Tutiempo.net

  • Popular
  • Recent
  • Las Ramblas, Barcelona
    The Tourist Tax in Barcelona – All You Need to Know November 20, 2012
  • montjuic
    The Magic Fountain of Barcelona October 2, 2013
  • pacha-barcelona
    Barcelona Nightlife – The Best Bars and Clubs in Port Olímpic August 5, 2016
  • The Wonderful Works of Gaudí in Barcelona June 20, 2012
  • catalan-culture-traditions
    Catalan culture and traditions – All you need to know June 8, 2023
  • sant joan
    Sant Joan Festival 2023 – Kicking Off Summer with a Bang June 6, 2023
  • sustainable-bcn
    Top 7 sustainable and eco-friendly brands in Barcelona June 1, 2023
  • Grec Festival 2023: Celebrating the Arts in Barcelona May 30, 2023

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our Newsletter, It's Free! Get the best content delivered straight into your inbox!

More top Barcelona tips

Tweets by @ApartmentBCN
Facebook Twitter YouTube
Follow us on Instagram

    About us

    AB Apartment Barcelona is an online tourist apartment agency with more than 1000  Barcelona apartments to rent for both short and long-term stays.

    From luxury apartments in Barcelona to studios and from Ramblas apartments to beach apartments in Barcelona, we have a great choice of accommodation in a wide variety of locations across the city. We now also offer apartments in Costa Dorada and Sitges.

    Whether you are coming to Barcelona on a short break, vacation, or even if you want to move here, you will find the perfect home-away-from-home with AB Apartment Barcelona.

    Social Media

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • YouTube

    Categories

    • Accommodation 18 Posts
    • Architecture 49 Posts
    • Bars, Cafés and Restaurants 185 Posts
    • Culture 171 Posts
    • Day Trips 100 Posts

    Recent Posts

    • catalan-culture-traditions
      Catalan culture and traditions – All you need to know June 8, 2023
    • sant joan
      Sant Joan Festival 2023 – Kicking Off Summer with a Bang June 6, 2023
    • sustainable-bcn
      Top 7 sustainable and eco-friendly brands in Barcelona June 1, 2023
    • Grec Festival 2023: Celebrating the Arts in Barcelona May 30, 2023
    Apartment Barcelona
    • Privacy Policy
    • Tourist Guide
    • Things To Do
    • Visiting Barcelona
    • Spanish Life