Edible Christmas presents

You know it's Christmas when you see and smell of festive food, especially cakes, pastries, and other sweet treats, everywhere. It also seems like more people are going for edible Christmas presents
— new and unique treats for the palate that they can share with family and friends over cups of coffee or even for Noche Buena. Here are some of the exciting new must-tries:

Pinoy-style fruitcakes
Personally, I know that it's Christmas when an elegant box of premium fruitcake by the fruitcake queen herself, Ju.D Lao, arrives at home. Her fruitcakes have become a holiday tradition for 47 years now.
Inspired by the brandied flavor of European fruitcakes in 1975, she created a Filipino version rich in fresh butter, glazed cherries, walnuts, raisins, orange peel, dates, honey and brandy. It turned out to be a big hit.

Now, there are four fruitcake variants to choose from: Classic Fruitcake (the original fruitcake), Coffee Prune Cake (dark fruitcake with prunes, walnuts, Kahlua coffee liquor), Ju.D Blue (rich, dark fruitcake made with Blue Mountain coffee, fruit glacé, and walnuts, then aged with Kahlua coffee liquor), and Golden Fruitcake (light, honey fruitcake with golden apricots, red cranberries, walnuts, and candied ginger).

Two signature cookies fall under the Ju.D's brand: Chewy Chewkies (fruitcake cookies) and Butter Ginger Cookies (buttery ginger cookies with honey, young ginger, golden apricots, and cranberries). For orders, call +632 8633-1188 or +632 8633-0808.

Frozen dessert
One truly Filipino dessert that you can enjoy cold or frozen is buko pandan salad. Chef Edward David Mateo, chief proponent of Frozen Spoon, which is under the La Royale Patisserie Group, has a version that is good in both refrigerated and frozen forms. Exclusively available at S&R stores nationwide under its Members' Value brand, this buko pandan was developed by chef Edward himself and his Frozen Spoon business partner chef Kelvin Paul Sy. It is made using natural ingredients, such as real pandan leaves sourced from Mindoro, buko from Laguna, and natural agar-agar processed in Taguig. It contains no artificial flavoring. Buko pandan is available in two-kilogram tubs at P799.

The 'Bleu Cheese' difference
Not all cheese rolls are created alike — and, usually, the quality of the bread and the cheese used makes a world of difference. Flour Pot Manila's version, Cheddar and Danish Bleu Cheese Rolls, makes use of its handmade heirloom brioche bread dough, fills it with two kinds of cheese — cheddar cheese and Danish bleu cheese — brushes it with a little butter, sprinkles it with sugar, and bakes it fresh in small batches every day.

Flour Pot's cheese rolls come in a special Cheese Rolls Discovery Gift Box with a small pot of honey because the best way to enjoy these cheese rolls is lightly toasted and drizzled with honey. For orders for delivery, call 0916-4937488.