New York Magazine

(Photo: Hannah Whitaker. Tableware courtesy of Fishs Eddy (buche de noel, candy cane cake, tortini di zenzero on glass [2], struffoli), Crate & Barrel (sicilian cassata, stollen, olive-oil cake, panettone), Anthropologie (fruitcake), and Williams-Sonoma (tortini di zenzero))

1. Almondine Bakery’s chocolate bûche de Noël is that perfect blend of festive and fudgy, embedded with crunchy bits ($25; available by special order beginning November 27; 85 Water St., nr. Main St., Dumbo; 718-797-5026; 442 9th St., at Seventh Ave., Park Slope; 718-832-4606).

2. Grandaisy’s tortini di zenzero are small, but they pack an extra-gingery punch. Made of organic rye flour and sweetened with molasses, they’re gingerbread for grown-ups ($4 each; 73 Sullivan St., nr. Broome St.; 212-334-9435).

3. Even vegans deserve to splurge, and BabyCakes indulges them with the candy-cane icebox cake, a gluten-free chocolate treat slathered with coconut-oil-based mint frosting ($49; available December 5 by special order; 248 Broome St., nr. Ludlow St.; 212-677-5047).

4. Most panettone you find is commercially made and imported from Italy, but Royal Crown bakes its own fragrant, airy, sugar-glazed version right here in Brooklyn ($4.50 per pound; 6512 Fourteenth Ave., nr. 65th St.; Bensonhurst; 718-234-1002).

5. The sweetest, most decadent of all holiday cakes has to be the Sicilian cassata: layers of rum-spiked sponge and rich ricotta encased in a thick marzipan shell ($23 at Villabate Pasticceria & Bakery, 7001 Eighteenth Ave., at 70th St., Bensonhurst; 718-331-8430).

6. Super-moist and delicious, Abraço’s olive-oil cake makes a great Hanukkah gift, and it won’t weigh you down like a plate of latkes ($27; order by e-mail at abracocakes@gmail.com; 86 E. 7th St., nr. First Ave.).

7. A lovely marzipan-topped fruitcake that defies all thoughts of regifting ($22 at Balthazar Bakery, available November 28; 80 Spring St., nr. Crosby St.; 212-965-1785).

8. The crunchy Sugar Pops–size fried dough balls called struffoli are bound together with Piedmontese honey. At Christmastime in Naples, they’re as ubiquitous as tourists in Rockefeller Center ($17.95 per pound at BuonItalia, 75 Ninth Ave., at 15th St.; 212-633-9090).

9. Somewhere between a yeast bread and a cake, German stollen is filled with dried fruit and nuts, dusted with sugar, and especially delicious with coffee ($20 at Café Sabarsky, 1048 Fifth Ave., at 86th St.; 212-288-0665).

Related:

• Archive: “Guides”
• Articles by Robin Raisfeld | Rob Patronite
• Table of Contents: Nov 23, 2009 issue of New York | Subscribe!