The Best Local Christmas Sweet Treats Of 2025
Vicki Young
Freelance Sub-Editor | Urban List NZ
It’s the festive season—or should I say feastin’ season—and if you’re a bit of a sweet tooth who cares more for the pav station than ham this Christmas, read on. Here are my picks for the best Christmas treats to get your hands on this year—all made locally in Aotearoa, by talented bakers and pastry chefs.
Here are the best Christmas treats in 2025.
Best Classic Christmas Treat
Image credit: Baking NZ 2025 Christmas Tart Champs | Vicki Young
Love it or hate it, the classic fruit mince pie is something that traditional Christmas purists cannot go without—so much so that Aotearoa has a Baking NZ Christmas Tart Championship every year. As one of the lucky judges for this year’s comp, myself and two other baking legends got to blind-taste countless entries back in October. We came to a unanimous decision with Tāmaki Makaurau’s Paneton taking out the 2025 championships this year. Made with an all-butter sweet pastry, cognac flavoured fruit mince with local apples and mixed peel, serve these just warmed with soft cream or smashed into a good tub of vanilla ice cream (you can thank me later). Luckily for the rest of Aotearoa, this is available online or at selected Paneton stockists.
Best Non-Traditional Christmas Treat
Image credit: Daily Bread | Website
If you’re a fan of fruit mince, get your hands on Daily Bread’s summery spin on the classic—their Strawberry Mince Pies. With a boozy rum-soaked mix of strawberry with apricot and candied peel sitting in a cinnamon and rye shortcrust base, it’s their “traditional” take on a Christmas Mince Pie that’s giving Aotearoa summer. Also great warmed with cream (or smashed into ice cream). Available nationwide online or check your local Daily Bread to see if there’s any on the shelves.
Best Interactive Christmas Treat
Image credit: K Cake | Supplied
I’ve long admired Chef Ken of K Cake’s patisserie artistry, and this year’s Christmas signature is fun, elegant and has all the bells and whistles (of the chocolate ribbon variety). Enter their stunning 100% chocolate Christmas present, expertly tempered for that satisfying crack—especially when the wooden mallet hits. In case you hadn’t cottoned on, this is the ultimate smash cakes of all smash cakes—Christmas edition. Hit the red velvet-matte finish chocolate present to reveal (spoiler alert) gingerbread cookies, milk chocolate bites, meringue kisses and candy canes. Unfortunately this is way too delicate for overnight couriers, so it’s a pick-up or local delivery for Tāmaki Makaurau only.
Best Cookies To Leave Out For Santa
Image credit: Moustache Milk & Cookie Bar | Supplied (Photography by Craving Limited @cravingnz)
Forget your standard choc chip, Moustache Cookies has entered the group chat. Their limited-edition Moustachio Crunch Cookie Pie has signature cookie dough filled with pistachio cream and roasted almonds. Pro tip: They freeze well, so you can always freeze it and then gently warm in oven just before Santa arrives (with a tall glass of milk at the ready). Available nation-wide online.
Best No-Bake Christmas Treat
Image credit: Little ‘Lato Christmas Catering Pack | Supplied
Price: Various
Cue Kiwi summer Christmases: ice cream or gelato in festive form takes the cake (or Xmas pud) for this category. From Little ‘Lato’s very own xmas pud gelato, to their plant-based gingerbread and dark chocolate, to Miann’s textural pav flavour (in an almond-infused gelato base for the marzipan lovers), or Duck Island’s return of brandy snap pieces smashed through a ginger caramel swirl. There's a festive scoop for every Christmas flavour at these Aotearoa ice cream and gelato stores this year. Check out their locations across the motu for Duck Island and Little ‘Lato, and Tāmaki Makaurau for Miann. Plus, if you’re based in Tāmaki Makaurau, you can walk down Ponsonby Road and get a scoop at each stop (Christmas gelato and ice cream crawl, anyone?).
Best Bûche De Noël Or Yule Log
Image credit: The Pantry @ Park Hyatt | Supplied
A festive treat from traditions around burning a log for good luck and to bring new beginnings has become a modern roulade focussed on flavour and texture. It makes it the perfect slice in my opinion, with the soft sponge, creamy centre and additions of gels, curds or cream that takes each bite to the next level. Executive Pastry Chef Callum Liddicoat has made it very hard to choose one roulade flavour in this year’s Christmas Collection. From ginger sponge with salted caramel and burnt vanilla whipped ganache flavours of Gingerbell Rock Roulade, to a tropical passionfruit and mango with confit pineapple in Santa’s Tropical Meringue. Last but not least—Berri’d Roulade with vanilla sponge and raspberry curd and gel, rolled in shredded snow-like coconut (like a lamington, but better). Garnished and finished with a Christmas touch, each roulade is a work of art in itself to make it the centrepiece of your Christmas dessert table this year.
Best Christmas Treat To Leave The House For
Image credit: Cocoa Wilds (24 Piece Christmas Chocolate Box) | Supplied
I was first introduced to pastry chef and chocolatier Shalvi at the NZ Chocolate Festival in Te Whanganui-a-Tara back in 2018, and was blown away by the chocolate bon bons which she had made with Criollo cacao (a very rare and precious variety which lives rent-free in my tastebud memories). Fast forward to now, she’s the head chocolatier for Byron McLean’s Cocoa Wilds and they’re making some incredibly beautiful hand-crafted chocolates. Their Christmas collection features caramel chocolate ganache Gingerbread, coconut ganache and raspberry lamington, Christmas spice with calamansi, blueberry cheesecake, brown butter pecan and a fluffy white chocolate peppermint with dark chocolate, alongside their signature range. You can buy them online (delivery nationwide) but if you’re in Tāmaki Makaurau, it’s worth leaving the house for a chocolate pick up along with one of their viral toasted fluff hot chocolates.
Best Gingerbread House
Image credit: Otti & Olli | Supplied (Photography by Erica Boyd-White)
Run by chefs Andrew and Susan (who have worked in professional kitchens in Aotearoa and overseas, and Andrew a top patissier in the country), they’ve brought next-level patisserie skills to the Tāmaki Makaurau market scene for well over a decade, as Otti and Olli. Otti and Olli’s magical Christmas collection is always a hit, with build your own gingerbread house kits, decorate your own gingerbread man, and pictured, pre-assembled and intricately decorated gingerbread houses for that show-stopping addition to the Christmas table. Those stunning creations have closed for pre-order but you can try your hand at building your own gingerbread house with their kits online which are now available from Farro—you might even be able to nab a pastry chef decorated and assembled gingerbread house (for $99.99).
Best Christmas Treat To Enjoy With A Cuppa
Image credit: Knead on Benson | Supplied
What’s better than a gingerbread biscuit with a cuppa, than an entire gingerbread tree? Knead on Benson has released their festive range which includes a stunning tree made of gingerbread biscuits glued together with royal icing and edible golden flourishes. Pop the jug on, this is a definite must-have for around the dining table.
Best Christmas Breakfast
Image credit: Beabea’s | Website
If you’re going to do a bakery run this festive season, make a bea-line (get it) to Beabea’s in Westmere. Benny the Baker has been cranking the Christmas Panettone and if you haven’t had this sweet Italian Christmas bread, then make this your sign to do so—especially from the team at Beabea’s. Pre-order online (you can get the XL size, which I strongly suggest—and it makes great French toast for that Christmas Day brekky).
Side note: To my gluten-free friends who miss the deliciousness that is panettone, word on the street is that Giapo’s GF bakery are creating panettone of the gluten-free variety for this festive season. Keep an eye on their socials for more info.
Best Pavlova
Image credit: La Petite Fourchette | Website
La Petite Fourchette in Tāmaki Makaurau has a stunning showstopper of a pavlova available for pick-up leading up to and on Christmas Day (they recommend pick up on the day of). Their Lychee, Rose and Berry Pavlova is made of piped Swiss meringue, with raspberry, rose and lychee confit, vanilla cream chantilly, and garnished with fresh berries.
Best Brandy Snap
Image credit: Butter NZ | Supplied
The best brandy snap for this festive season has got to be Butter’s Eggnog and Brandy Snap Tart. You read that correctly—it’s brandy snap in indulgent tart form. With brandy snap three ways—brandy snap custard, brandy snap caramel crunch and brandy snap garnish—you’ll never have just a cream-filled brandy snap every again. This is only available for pick-up in Ōtautahi, but we hope the talented patisserie chef Corentin treats the rest of Aotearoa with his incredible patisserie works of art one day.
Best Trifle
Image credit: Hill House Cafe | Supplied
This literally just landed on their website this week—introducing The Hill House Christmas Trifle—and it is a total showstopper. Layers of fresh berries, berry compote, mascarpone cream, vanilla bean custard and sponge soaked in berry syrup—all made fresh in-house. Weighing at around 4kg, it comes in a glass trifle bowl that you get to keep too. Order online (and get a cinnabundle while you’re at it, too).
Best Christmas Petit Fours
Image credit: J’AIME | Supplied
Aotearoa’s O.G. macaron house J’AIME has released their Christmas collection. What began as a farmers market stall in Ōtautahi and Tāmaki Makaurau from lawyer turned specialist macaron maker Bridget, J’AIME has grown nationwide with an all-female team and a range of baked goods and gift options (macs and bubbles anyone?). With flavours like Florentine, Scorched Almond, Rhubarb Rose Trifle, and Champagne, and other treats like figgy pud panforte, these are the perfect mini bites to end your Christmas feast with (or great as a wee sweet treat gift).
Want more festive gifts? Of course you do. Check out our guide for delicious Aotearoa Christmas gifts for your foodie friend.
Main Image Credit: The Pantry @ Park Hyatt | Supplied