The Breudher is probably the most traditional and typical Sri Lankan cake associated with festivities, made with flour, sugar, raisins, butter, and yeast.

It’s a “buttery yeast cake” of Dutch Burgher community origin — i.e., Sri Lankan Burghers, descendants of Dutch settlers.

The name probably comes from the Dutch term “brood-tulband” (bread in “tulband”/torciglione), referring to its particular shape: it is baked in a bundt cake mold.

It is considered an integral part of the Christmas and New Year festivities for many families in Sri Lanka: it’s eaten at Christmas, New Year, festive breakfast, or on special occasions.

⁠Its dough and flavor represent a cultural fusion: bread-like structure, cake flavor — it reflects the fusion of Dutch traditions and local/colonial ingredients.

In some “Eurasian” communities (such as in the Malacca community in Indonesia and Malaysia) there is a variant of Breudher that uses toddy (fermented palm sap) instead of yeast — probably as a local adaptation when yeast was not easily available.

Indeed, in the original and oldest recipe of the traditional Sri Lankan Breudher, toddy was used instead of yeast.

The Breudher is to Sri Lankans what pandoro and panettone are to us — a festive cake, rooted in colonial history and Christmas family traditions.

It is sliced and spread with butter or served with Dutch Edam cheese.

In some traditional versions of Sri Lankan Breudher, especially those passed down in Burgher families (Dutch and Portuguese descendants), they add a drizzle of sugar syrup.

In Sri Lanka, they use a kithul-based syrup, especially in families that want to give it a more local touch.