Festive Belgian Bakes + Beers
Belgian chocolatier Sarah Frison shares her favourite treats for Christmas and beyond to celebrate the release of her book The Festive Belgian Bakery.
I’m really happy to share with you this special collaborative newsletter between Sarah and I, because it’s undoubtedly made me feel more Christmassy than anything else has yet this year! I hope you enjoy it xox
When Sarah Frison reached out with her new book The Festive Belgian Bakery, I saw her confections in my minds-eye and my first thought was, of course, “ooh, what beers would go with those?”
Luckily, Sarah wanted to know too, so we started working on some pairing ideas.
There are more than 400 breweries in Belgium, giving Belgians the choice between more than 1600 different beers. Narrowing the choice down is tough, but looking at some of the traditional festive treats baked in the region all winter long, obvious pairings start to jump out.
A beer for Saint Nick
Our first beer pairing is just as much a personal gift as it is an occasion. What sort of beer would be perfect to serve to St Nicholas himself? Giver of gifts to all children and famously, a lover of speculaas biscuits, chocolate figures, mandarin oranges and marzipan, he needs a great beer to go with all these wonderful goodies. Quite obviously, St. Nicholas has a sweet tooth, so we need to look for something that’ll satisfy his sugary cravings. The spiciness of the speculaas biscuits, the rich Belgian chocolate, the almonds in the marzipan and the fragrant mandarins all together make for a complex flavour profile, but thankfully there are Belgian beers that can stand up to the festive assault.
If our patron saint of the season wants to treat himself, he should look for a Chimay Red. Easy to track down and great value for money, this beer was almost made for him—its toffee and caramel notes blending seamlessly with seasonal citrus fruits and nougat.
Best served: beside a shoe put in front of the fire. This is the signal for St. Nicholas to come by your house and see if you've left a wish list or drawing for him. Don’t forget — he loves those and cherishes them. On December 6th you'll wake up and find all of his favourite treats by that shoe, maybe you'll even get a note saying thank you for drawing and a Chimay Red of your own!
Stollen
It’s tradition to cut yourself a slice of stollen bread as a treat on an afternoon in the run up to December the 25th. This rich, sweet bread with a heart of marzipan is stuffed with raisins and confit orange, and served with a good slice of butter.
It’s hard to think of a beer that would pair better with stollen than a Belgian Stout like Gulden Draak Imperial Stout by Brouwerij Van Steenberge, a dark and luxurious combination of a strong Belgian ale and an Imperial Stout. Pairing a sweet and heavy cake with a beer full of dried fruit and chocolate flavours might seem cloying, but a more bitter beer would clash — sugar can make bitter flavours seem even more bitter.
Sometimes nothing tastes better than a good cup of coffee or hot chocolate with a slice of stollen, since a hot drink helps the marzipan and butter to melt in your mouth in the most delicious, decadent way. Perhaps you might want to try mulling a beer to drink alongside your cake? Glühkriek is a wintery favourite, made by warming up kriek (cherry beer) and adding mulling spices. Leifmans make their own beer ready for mulling — all you need to do is heat it up.
Mendients
On Christmas day, we're having mendiants. These dark chocolate disks studded with walnuts, raisins and candied orange peel are a little like florentines, and originally come from the south of France, but are now an essential part of any Belgian’s Christmas day.
According to tradition, there are four toppings used on these little chocolate coins, each representing one of the Catholic orders created in the 13th Century: white almonds for the Dominicans, raisins to represent the grey of the Franciscans, brown hazelnuts for the Carmelites, and dried figs for purple of the Augustinians.
These flavours, the raisins, the sticky dried figs, the hazelnuts, are all a definitive shoe-in for pairing with the Trappist beer Rochefort 8. Of course, you could go one higher and opt for the dark richness of Rochefort 10, but with an 8 you’ll receive more fruit and spice, spicier top notes, and a touch of caramel. The 10 is all decadence with a hit of winter spice and alcohol warmth — not a bad thing, of course, but a little overwhelming for these little chocolate medallions, unless you’re planning on eating the whole box. In which case, crack open that 10 and pour us some too.
Sprits Biscuits
We're probably going to be having a few visitors over the next few weeks. Sprits biscuits are the only biscuit to have on hand for those sorts of days with unexpected visitors and endless cups of afternoon coffee.
Nobody said it has to be coffee though. Turn your festive catch-up into a celebration in its own right and grab a beer instead.
A great beer to go with that crisp but melt-in-your mouth almond and butter biscuit is Brasserie de la Senne’s Zinnebir. Cut through the butteriness with a crisp Belgian pale, and enjoy the fragrant, fruity hop aromas of stone fruits and marmalade as they waft from your glass. A deliciously light beer with a bit of a warming kick — it’s 5.8%.
Belgian Candlemas Pancakes
If you thought the festive season was over as soon as January the 1st rolled around, you’re not thinking like a Belgian. On the 2nd of February, the country celebrates Candlemas, the day when the manger scenes can be put away and the last feast day of Christmas.
Like all Belgian festivities, there is a typical food to make and enjoy. Today, on Candlemas, we’re lighting all the candles in the house and having pancakes. Not nearly as thick as American pancakes but not quite as thin as a French crepe, these symbolic treats have been eaten on Candlemas since the 5th century. It's said to bring you good luck for the year if you make pancakes for the occasion, and it even matters how you flip them. What doesn’t matter is how and when you eat them: You can either have them for lunch or dinner, and serve them rolled up with jam, sugar, syrup, or even chocolate sauce and ice cream.
The right beer for the occasion needs to be light, to make sure these delicate crepes aren’t overpowered. The whole point of Candlemas pancakes is to celebrate the return of spring, the growing hours of daylight, and the use of early-sown wheat, so in the spirit of all things agricultural and rustic, let’s pull out a Saison. No funny business here, we’re opting for Saison DuPont, which hits all the right notes: Dry, fresh, earthy, and a touch of clove and spice. Delicious.
Sarah’s book is available to buy now, from Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
What great ideas - thanks!
Let me know if you try any of them;