Sweeten Your Christmas with This Year’s Best ‘Szaloncukor’

The jury of the sixth annual ‘Szaloncukor of the Year’ competition tasted over 12,000 pieces of the traditional Hungarian specialty this year. The competition was won by the creation of the Szent Korona Confectionery from Soltvadkert (southern Hungary).

This year’s best Szaloncukor was selected from a record number of entries, with 24 manufacturers submitting 165 Christmas sweets, turizmus.com reports. A total of nearly 200 tasters decided on the winners in the competition’s eight categories.

The ‘Szaloncukor of the Year’ award went to the Lotus biscuit caramel candy coated with caramelized white chocolate dreamed up by the Szent Korona Confectionery in Soltvadkert.

Second place went to Keszthelyi Sütibolt’s delicacy made of crunchy wafer with salted caramel, that was already named the best caramel Szaloncukor of 2021. Third place went to the Gyulai Kézműves Cukrászda DJC Stílusgyakorlat (“Stylistic Exercise”) candy, made by the winners of the 2025 Cake of Hungary competition.

Fact

Szaloncukor, Hungary’s beloved Christmas candy of fondant covered in chocolate, was officially added to the Hungarikum collection in 2024. Though its ancestor, fondant sugar, originated in medieval France, the treat became a Hungarian specialty and a Christmas must-have by the late 1800s. Today, the iconic sweets, wrapped in shiny tin foil, are still a highlight on Hungarian families’ Christmas trees.

Szaloncukor hangs on a family’s Christmas tree in Budapest, 1940. Photo: Fortepan / Tivadar Lissák

Manufacturers could also enter a separate ‘Professional’ category. The winner of this category was the Promenád Café in Balatongyörök with its confit orange essence dark chocolate orange cream bonbon, second place went to the Hóvirág Confectionery in Orosháza for its smoked whiskey hazelnut specialty, while third place went to the Hisztéria Confectionery for its sour cherry sweet covered in dark chocolate.

The best ‘Jelly Szaloncukor’ was Keszthelyi Sütibolt’s “Old Times” jelly candy, followed by Sulyán Confectionery’s sour cherry jelly dessert. Third place went to Damniczki Confectionery in Székesfehérvár for its Unikum plum jelly Szaloncukor.

In the category of ‘Jelly Szaloncukor without added sugar’, Diabette’s orange and marzipan creation was the best, while in the ‘Gluten-free’ category, Hisztéria Confectionery’s blackcurrant jelly dessert won. In the ‘Dairy-free’ category, Stühmer’s sour cherry-marzipan sweet was awarded.

In the ‘Children’s Favorite’ category, the winner was Demeter Chocolate’s Dubai’s chocolate bonbon from Kiskunlacháza, followed by Ricsi Confectionery’s raspberry-cotton candy flavored creation in second place and Sulyán Cukrászda’s real blueberry jelly dessert in third place.

The ‘New Flavor of the Year’ award went to Jogos Desszert for its pumpkin seed-Berriolette puree-white chocolate bonbon.

“Szaloncukor” – Edible Ornaments Hang on Hungarian Christmas Trees