Anyone who has spent any time in Germany at Christmas would know that sweets, baked treats and chocolates are a central component of the celebrations. 

But in the not-so-official Christmas rankings of the favourite sweet staple, gingerbread has come out on top, according to a study completed by German opinion researcher YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency. 

Gingerbread took out top spot with 54 percent support, followed by spiced shortbread biscuit Spekulatius (Speculaas) with 50 percent. 

Chocolate Santa Clauses came in third at 41 percent, followed by Stollen (39 percent) and cinnamon stars (33 percent). 

Gingerbread, known as Lebkuchen (life cake) in German, has experienced somewhat of a resurgence in recent years. 

In 2013, some were concerned that the traditional baked cake had lost its lustre, after a sharp decline in sales. 

The rebound in popularity shows however that there still is life in the old cake, after all. 

Yougov opinion research institute surveyed almost 2,100 people aged 18 and over a few days before Christmas.