Pan de Pascua is Chile's Christmas cake — a dense, dark, spiced fruitcake studded with raisins, candied fruit, and walnuts, perfumed with the unmistakable aroma of pisco and warm spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg). Eaten with a glass of cold cola de mono (the Chilean Christmas drink, already in this database) throughout December, it is the taste of a Chilean Christmas.
Pan de Pascua (literally 'Easter bread' but used in Chile for Christmas cake) is the traditional Christmas cake of Chile, eaten throughout December alongside a glass of cold cola de mono (the Chilean Christmas drink, already in this database). The cake is a dense, dark, butter-rich fruitcake (similar to British Christmas cake but distinct in its use of pisco and honey). It is filled with raisins, candied orange peel, walnuts, and sometimes almonds. The spice blend (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg) reflects the Chilean love of warm spices. Every Chilean family has a recipe; the cake keeps for weeks.
A slice of dense, dark, moist cake, studded with dark raisins, bright candied orange peel, and walnuts, the crumb fragrant with cinnamon, clove, and a whisper of pisco. It is rich and sweet but not cloying — the spices and the pisco cut through the richness. Eat it with cold cola de mono. It is the taste of a Chilean December.
The batter is a butter-rich batter (similar to pound cake), heavily loaded with dried and candied fruit. The pisco (a splash in the batter and some to soak the fruit) is the Chilean signature — it adds both flavor and moisture. The spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg) must be present but not overwhelming. The cake is baked slowly (about an hour) at a moderate temperature; it should be dense and moist, not light and airy.
Variations
Some soak the fruit in rum instead of pisco; some add different nuts; some add chocolate chips; the spice intensity varies.
On the Palate
Where Pan de Pascua sits in the Chilean flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 10
How it's made
10 steps · 1 hour active + 1 hour waiting
- 160 min
Soak 200 g raisins and 100 g candied orange peel in 100 ml pisco for 1 hour.
- 23 min
Preheat oven to 170°C; line a 24-cm tube tin.
- 38 min
Cream 200 g butter with 200 g sugar until light.
Watch outCream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy — this whipped-in air is what keeps the dense fruit cake from baking to a brick.
- 48 min
Beat in 4 eggs, one at a time.
- 55 min
Sift 300 g flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp clove, 1/2 tsp nutmeg.
- 65 min
Fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.
- 75 min
Fold in the soaked fruit, 100 g chopped walnuts, and 3 tbsp honey.
- 855 min
Pour into the tin; bake 55-60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
Watch outIt's done when a skewer comes out clean but the crumb stays moist — this cake should be dense and damp, so don't bake it dry.
- 930 min
Cool in the tin 30 minutes; turn out.
- 101 min
Dust with powdered sugar; cut into thin slices.
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