Sri Lankan Christmas Breudher Recipe

Sri Lankan Breudher recipe is a Sri Lankan dutch burgher buttery yeast cake baked inside a bunt cake mould. This bread cake is a cross between bread and cake. Firstly, bread dough is made then the bread dough is transformed into a cake. It’s so soft and buttery, filled with sultana and candied peel. I just can eat this every day for breakfast lunch and dinner.

Sri Lankan Breudher and my childhood

Definitely coming from a burgher background from my mum’s side, Breudher was a must at home for us, but my mum never made breudher at home and neither did my grandmother. We always bought it from Hilton, and my grandma bought it from Perera and sons. I am assuming many people don’t make this at home, because it is quite a process and also a bit difficult because not many recipes out there give proper instructions. To be honest most of these Christmas recipes are guarded secrets and not everyone likes to give them out.

Now I know many of my readers are so used to the Perera and sons version of the breudher but what if I told you the Hilton hotel breudher cake was to die for, it is so buttery, so soft and when compared to the Perera and sons one it definitely rated far superior.

How do I know?, because I ate Hilton breudher cake every year at home and also ate the Perera and sons version at my grandmother’s place. Now, why am I comparing all these breudhers? hmmm, that’s because I am going to give you the Hilton hotels version of the breudher recipe. How can I do that?? Well, Hilton is where I did my first internship at, and I was very lucky to work during Christmas and learn all the yummy recipes.

When I worked in the pastry kitchen during Christmas at Hilton, it was the busiest time of the year. The breudher, stollen (German fruit cake) Christmas cookies making process will start 2 months in advance. The chefs would also make a huge gingerbread house, which is where all the Christmas goodies are sold. I was very fortunate enough to be involved in all these activities. I can assure you making a huge gingerbread house was a lot of hard work. Well getting back to the breudher. I have to give credit of this recipe to Hilton Colombo. I am making minor tweaks but the base is definitely what I learnt at Hilton.

This recipe is not given any where, I searched the internet and looked in all most all recipe books, no one has this recipe, so if i see this recipe copied anywhere, I would definitely know its my recipe!!! hahahhahah But if you do make this recipe and genuinely love it as much as I do. Please leave a comment and star rating under the recipe and also share with me, as nothing else would make me happy than seeing my recipes recreated by you all.

Sri-Lankan Breudher recipe origin

Like all other Christmas recipes I have published, the Christmas cake, Love cake this too is a dutch burgher influenced recipe, it is believed that this cake was originated from the dutch cakes for breakfast. Thank god for the colonization in Sri Lanka we have a few recipes that we can call truly Sri Lankan Christmas recipes!!! ( The dutch colonized Sri Lanka during the 17th Century)
The word breudher is from the Dutch word, brood-tulband, referring to the fluted turban-shaped mould that is used to bake the cake in.

Sri Lankan Breudher pronunciation

Pronounced as broo-dhuh)

How to eat Sri Lankan breudher

I personally like to eat it plain, but I have seen and heard many people use the below condiments to eat breudher.
Topped with Edam cheese
Spread with Butter
Topped with Banana
Spread with Jam

This cake can be eaten warm or at room temperature.

How long in advance can you make Sri Lankan breudher

In Hotels, we definitely make it months in advance and we freeze it and thaw accordingly, but I haven’t tried freezing it at home, and I believe nothing can beat a freshly made breudher. But I have tried keeping it more than a week and it dried out a little. I recommend making it 2-3 days in advance, so it will have the best eating quality.

How to store Sri Lankan breudher

This product needs to be tightly wrapped in cling film and stored in an airtight container in a cool and dry place. If you have a cake board, place it on top of a cake board and tightly wrap it with cling wrap.

When do you eat Sri Lankan breudher

Its mostly eaten during the festive time, especially for Christmas breakfast and also the new year.

How long does it take for the bread dough to rise?

So many people ask how long does it take to rise, the simple answer is, it depends from country to country, place to place, season to Season.
Warmer the country, place, season quicker the rise. Melbourne is quite cold most of the time so it takes me someday 3-4 hours for the first rise (When it is raining and very cold).

How long to soak the fruits

I call this soak but it’s mixed with rose water and spices. Usually, in hotels this is actually is mixed for 1 month, but you can do this for 3-4 days if not 1 week as well.

Can I make Sri lankan breudher without the fruits

You definitely can. If you like to omit the candied peel, you can do that too. but trust me. It’s not like the ordinary breudher you have tasted before, the fruits are actually sooo flavoursome with all the rose water and spices, you definitely would want to add it. I don’t like a lot of fruit too. so my breudher actually has the fruits only on the top part. If you want raisins all around the cake, then reserve some fruits and add the batter to the mould, and halfway through sprinkle the fruits then pour the batter again.

Tip and tricks to get the perfect Sri Lankan Breudher cake

The trickiest part is making the bread dough. Trust me making bread is hard. But my step by step guide should guide you all the way. Make sure you give ample time for the rising process. If you don’t rise the bread and the breudher batter, you will end up with a dense cake. so make sure it rises properly.