As bakeries fire up ovens and homes fill with festive aromas, Goa ushers in Christmas with its timeless tradition of sweets, bebinca, dodol, cakes and cookies; blending heritage, hospitality and flavour into a season cherished by locals and visitors alike
Christmas time is the season for enjoying festivities, going through unending shopping, savouring sweets and choosing gifts for the near and dear ones. Goa is in the celebration mood and every shop in the market is offering something or the other that’s associated with Christmas including the goodies that are exchanged in hampers. It’s a busy time for bakeries, cake and bake shops, sweet marts – packing the already prepared Bebinca, Dodol, Kulkul, Pinagra, Bolinha, Doce, Cocad, Perad, Boal, Batc, Cookies of various flavours, Neoreos as well as plum cakes, fruit cakes, cupcakes and pastries.
Some are sold in pieces, while others in kilos. A Batc and Boal costs Rs 70, and Rs 50 per piece each, and Bolinhas, Pinagra and Doce are priced at Rs 640 per kg. Chocolate cake is available for Rs 600, plum and dates-walnut cake is sold for Rs 500 a kilo and carrot cake Rs 570, white and black fruit cakes for Rs 460-480. Ribbon cake is cheaper. Choco muffins are Rs 480 per dozen. These are average prices, though each brand charges its own signature price.
The traditional sweet makers like Sweet Pink in Margao, Simonia Store in Mapusa, Mr Baker 1922 in Panaji, Pastry Palace at Corlim, Pastry Cottage at Taleigao, Padaria Prazeres at Caranzalem, St Lawrence Bakery at Agassaim, Jackris at Navelim, Confeitaria 31 de Janeiro at Panaji, La Confiserie at Candolim – all have offer a variety of cakes, cookies and pastries, with some offering traditional Goan festive goodies. Panaji has some of the most popular outlets including Geeta Bakery, Truffles Cake Shop, Carasid, Costas’, TF Cakes & More, T Centre, Nadia’s SweeTooth Studio, Zaria’s Bakehub, Braganza Stores, Café Central and Big Mishra Pedha that cater to their regular, loyal customers.
Some sweet-maker self-help groups have already prepared hampers and sold them through counters at super stores or in the markets in different cities. These contain lasting products such as Kulkul, Neoreo, coconut cookies and chocolates. The ready-to-gift hampers are priced at Rs 300-1200 depending upon the number of items and their quantity.
One of the long-standing institutions known for its variety of traditional Goan sweets is Simonia’s that sell through their three outlets at Mapusa, Candolim and Porvorim. This popular Goan baker has been in the market for over six decades and is known for making authentic Christmas cakes, Dodol, Bebinca, Bolhinas and Cookies, apart from fruit cakes, biscuits, toasts, bread and snacks made in the traditional way. The brand owned by the Cardozo family from Saipem Candolim has been operating since 1963 after Joao Cardozo and his late mother Simonia Titinha Cardozo began with a handful of bakery products and later added traditional Goan sweets. The brand is now popular even abroad, and Goans living outside often carry these sweets with them.
Brands like Costa & Co Pvt Ltd, popularly known as Costa’s make Bebinca and Dodol that can be stored for weeks and can be taken easily during long travels. Available in most supermarkets, this traditional Goan layered dessert is baked for festive occasions like Christmas and New Year in Goa with ingredients like flour, sugar, coconut milk, egg yolks and nutmeg.
Fatima Fernandes from Fatorda makes it for home consumption as well as for sales in the neighbourhood. “It needs patience to bake, layer after layer for hours together, preferably in the backyards on wood fire where the mixture turns out into golden layers of magic that melt in the mouth. Traditionally we have a unique style of preparation with an earthen oven that has two compartments where red hot charcoals are placed in the upper compartment. It bakes the Bebinca layers placed in the lower compartment,” explains Fatima who specialised in this dessert apart from Sanna and Rice Bhakri, prepared only on order.
For people living in Panaji, Mr Baker can be a popular choice for traditional Christmas sweets while Pastry Palace is the oldest and trusted bakery from Margao offering traditional Goan Christmas cakes and other sweets. Those who want festive goodies also prefer to shop at St Lawrence Bakery in Agassaim – an old-timer who bakes with authentic taste. For rich plum cakes, Boll and Bolhinas one can get a good choice at Nicolau Bakery in Panaji apart from the trusted name Confeitaria 31 De Janeiro known for traditional Goan sweets.
Padaria Prazeres at Caranzalem) is selling Christmas hampers, cakes, brownies, mince pies, and unique items like Pastéis de Nata. Christmas treats can be found at Jackris in Margao and Navelim for those living in South Goa. Curated Christmas hampers come with assorted goodies and are the ones bought to give away as gifts.
While traditional sweets like Bebinca which is a layered pudding, Dodol which is jiggery-coconut dessert, Kulkul that are crispy fried sweet curls, Cocad –a coconut fudge, Perad – guava jelly and Bolinhas which were sweet coconut cookies are made at home to enjoy with the family, friends and relatives in the good old days, are now sold in attractive packages available at superstores and exclusive outlets of popular sweet makers across Goa.
Christmas in Goa is synonymous with delicious traditional treats that are not just desserts but looked more at as a reflection of Goan culture and culinary history. Not only locals but even visiting tourists also look forward to enjoying them during this season that comes with the year-ending festival. December is the tourist season in full swing, with hotels and resorts booked in advance. The kitchens in these hotels also offer the traditional Christmas desserts, making them especially for their guests.
One of the oldest hotels in Margao, Woodlands, also runs ‘Sweet Dreams’ – a bakery chain of stores that offer cakes, cookies, pastries, brownies, bread, and afternoon snacks. “Our walnut-date cakes, plum cakes, fruit cakes are in demand apart from Christmas cakes,” said the salesperson at the counter. Sweet Dreams Bakery has multiple outlets in South Goa and is one of the popular stores for ordering party, wedding and birthday cakes.
Home baker Nadia Aslam, expert in chocolate modelling, cake deco, sugar craft, sculpting, and making French entremets, chocolate bonbons, gravity defying cakes, wedding cakes, sugar-free cakes, shares that her hands are full with orders this year. Running Nadia’s SweeTooth Studio from Miramar, she boasts having Goans living abroad as her clients. They place their orders from Dubai, Honk Kong, Australia and America for their relatives in Goa and I execute the order and delivers at their doorstep before they arrive in India to celebrate Christmas and New Year,” quips Nadia who has won ‘the title ‘Cake Artist of the Year 2025’ at Sri Lanka’s most prestigious SL Institute of Confectionery & Culinary Arts at Colombo.
Most cities in Goa have their favourite bakeries, running for decades, catering to their customers offering authentic flavours in Goan cuisine. Mr Baker 1922 at Dr Dada Vaidya Road in Panaji is a popular choice known for Bebinca, Dodol, Perad and other Goan Christmas specials. Similar is Cafe Central on 18th June Road in Panaji which is a heritage bakery serving traditional Goan sweets. Marc Brown Cake Shop & Bakery also in Panaji is famous for cookies and cakes. These bakeries are places to enjoy authentic Goan sweets and experience the rich culinary traditions of Goa during the festive season.
