It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Raisins and nuts and a dried fava bean // which Portuguese cake do you mix these things in?

Answer: Bolo Rei

Bolo Rei - King's cake - is baked (among other things) from a white dough, raisins, candied fruit and a dried fava bean. With the exception of the last one quite common Christmas ingredients.

The cake has a hole in the middle to make it look like a crown and is covered with candied and dried fruits. It is eaten between December 25 and Epiphany, the day of the three wise men (kings), hence the crown. Whoever finds the bean has to pay the cake in the next year.

Boas Festas!

That's Portuguese. I started in Portugal, because I have a sister in law from this country.

2. Coconut milk and rice ground to flour // which Philippine cake is sweet, but not sour?

Answer: Bibingka

Rice flour and coconut milk seem to be the two ingredients that are always used, the rest varies. Bibingka is made in a special terracotta mold lined with a banana leaf and baked over hot coals. When the bake is finished, a topping is added, for example grated coconut. As not everyone can use a coal fire, gas or electric ovens are also used today.

It is something you might get in the Philippines after a midnight mass, which is a daily event from December 16 to December 24.

Maligayang Pasko!
This is Tagalog, the language of another sister in law.

3. Meringue, some whipped cream and plenty of fruit // which Aussie and Kiwi treat tastes mighty good?

Answer: Pavlova

Before I write anything else: I am not taking a side by naming Australia as the first in the question. I merely used the alphabet as a guideline. And Australia is some letters before New Zealand. That's all!

The pavlova is named after Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova. Both New Zealand and Australia claim this sweet thing as their invention. It is made from meringue, usually filled with whipped cream and fresh fruit. As it is quite warm at Christmas time on this part of the globe, fruit is easily obtained and desired.

Meri Kirihimete! (Maori)
Merry Christmas!

4. From Iceland to Canada with cardamom and prunes // which cake makes you happily, gleefully swoon?

Answer: Vinaterta

Vinaterta (towering torte) is a layered cake spiced with cardamom, filled with boiled and spiced prunes. It is eaten on the Christmas days, together with lots and lots of other food. The prunes might be a good relief for an overstrained digestive tract.

Interesting fact for all cat people: there is a Christmas cat lurking in Iceland to eat all the little children without new clothes! This is Gr�la's cat, not a nice little puss at all.

Today, this sweet treat is better known to Canadians with Icelandic heritage than on the distant island itself.

Gle�ileg j�l!

5. Candied orange, some yeast, lemon zest // which Italian grand oeuvre is here at its best?

Answer: Panettone

There are different versions about the origins of the word panettone, most likely it is just "large cake", which fits.

If you want to bake this Milanese sweet bread yourself, you must consider that you need a lot of time.
The yeast dough has to prove for several days. Next to the candied stuff, raisins are part of it. If you've made everything right, it should be a fluffy domed delight. It is eaten the whole Christmas time, accompanied by hot beverages or sweet wine.

Buone Feste Natalizie!

6. Made also from yeast dough, but with poppy seeds // which cake is the one thing a Pole's Christmas needs?

Answer: Makowiec

The name of this cake is derived from the Polish word for the papaver which provides the amply-used poppy seeds in this cake.

A sweet yeast dough is made. Spread on it the filling made from poppy seeds, walnuts, honey and other nice things. Roll it to a roulade.

Traditionally a Polish Christmas dinner should contain twelve courses. Poppy seeds are considered to bring luck, something wanted at the end of the year.

Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia!

7. Genoise, buttercreme, rolled up - et voil� // make each French gourmet say: tr�s bien, oh, l�, l�?

Answer: B�che de No�l

This cake is a Christmas treat you might encounter in France and other French speaking countries, like parts of Belgium and Canada. It is simply translated as yule log. It is a rolled up genoise sponge, filled with dietary stuff like icing, chocolate buttercream, jam, etc. It is styled to look like a log.

Most likely it will be served at the end of the Christmas meal, which is called "R�veillon". But this will not be served before you have been at the midnight church service. Well, at least you should have been there...

Joyeux No�l! Also to you, mazza47.

8. The alcohol devil, whole almonds on top // which cake makes a Scotsman most certainly stop?

Answer: Whisky Dundee

Now that should have been easy: Dundee is a Scottish town, and whisky is Scottish!

This Christmas treat is at first a fruit cake, made with things like raisins and candied peel. It is decorated with whole almonds. Don't be miserly with them. And then you "feed" it with whisky. Baste it. Just like you might feed a savarin with syrup.

But beware: too much tasting of the whisky while baking degenerates your driving ability.

Nollaig chridheil huibh!

9. Molasses and rum in a raisin-filled cake // what thing did Welsh settlers in Argentine bake?

Answer: Torta Negra Galesa

A cake with a special history, torta negra galesa was first made by Welsh immigrants to Patagonia at the end of the 18th century. They threw what they had in a bowl - raisins, nuts, molasses, rum and everything else except the cat - and baked nice Christmas cakes for their loved ones.

It must have been good, they kept the recipe.

Feliz Navidad!
Nadolig Llawen!

The last seasonal greeting is especially to Upstart3, who gives her/his whereabouts as Wales and is the donor of the quiz player/author challenge title.

10. Cinnamon, orange and oodles of cloves // which is this sweet bread a Greek sure will love?

Answer: Christopsomo

Christopsomo is another cake/bread full of nuts, raisins and extras like warm red wine, pine nuts and olive oil. But the list is much longer. It is lovingly decorated, for example with an X (chi) for Christ. Baking it is considered a sacred tradition; Greek-orthodox bakers might even cross themselves before baking it.

Kala Christouyenna! With special greetings to our Greek cat people Tiye and DeepHistory.

Source: Author heidi66

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor WesleyCrusher before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Questions		Choices
1. Raisins and nuts and a dried fava bean // which Portuguese cake do you mix these things in?		Bibingka
2. Coconut milk and rice ground to flour // which Philippine cake is sweet, but not sour?		Whisky Dundee
3. Meringue, some whipped cream and plenty of fruit // which Aussie and Kiwi treat tastes mighty good?		Makowiec
4. From Iceland to Canada with cardamom and prunes // which cake makes you happily, gleefully swoon?		Torta Negra Galesa
5. Candied orange, some yeast, lemon zest // which Italian grand oeuvre is here at its best?		Pavlova
6. Made also from yeast dough, but with poppy seeds // which cake is the one thing a Pole's Christmas needs?		Bolo Rei
7. Genoise, buttercreme, rolled up - et voil� // make each French gourmet say: tr�s bien, oh, l�, l�?		Christopsomo
8. The alcohol devil, whole almonds on top // which cake makes a Scotsman most certainly stop?		Vinaterta
9. Molasses and rum in a raisin-filled cake // what thing did Welsh settlers in Argentine bake?		Panettone
10. Cinnamon, orange and oodles of cloves // which is this sweet bread a Greek sure will love?		B�che de No�l

Something that makes Christmas the most wonderful time of the year are wonderful cakes and sweet breads. I'll tell you their homelands and something you need. You'll match the cake. Only the name, you don't have to bake. Enjoy your meal!