Move over mince pies, gingerbread, stollen and cookies, and make way for panettone
This season I’m ‘in an Italian mood’ thanks to the December publication of my new novel, The Echoes of Love, which is set in Venice, Tuscany and Sardinia. So what better Christmas treat to share than the staple Italian seasonal cake: panettone.
Panettone, in case you haven’t tried it, is a light, fluffy, sweet bread traditionally eaten over Christmas and New Year in Italy (and abroad – many people love the taste and texture). It usually has a quintessential ‘cupola’ shape, but sometimes you find star-shaped panettone. Traditional additions to the bread are orange and lemon zest, and raisins – and chocolate chips are popular internationally. It’s usually served with a hot drink such as coffee or hot chocolate (for a sumptuous recipe, see here), or a liqueur like amaretto.
The sweet bread dates back to Roman times, when it was made with honey, but the modern version was first created in Milan. The origin of the name ‘panettone’ is somewhat up for debate:
It comes from the Italian word panetto, meaning a small loaf cake (adding ‘one’ at the end charges the meaning to large, so ‘the small large loaf cake’!).
It means ‘bread of Toni’ (pan de Toni) and is named for either Toni, the daughter of a poor baker, or Toni, a kitchen boy who invented the cake, or a Friar Toni, whose ecclesiastical hat inspired the shape.
It comes from the Milanese phrase pan del ton, which translates to ‘cake of luxury’.
Panettone isn’t an easy Christmas delicacy to make at home (though if you’re up for the challenge, you may find this article useful: ‘How to make the perfect panettone’). So you may be best checking out the options at your local gourmet food outlet or deli (imported from Italy will taste best). The coffee chain Café Nero serves a variety too.
Here are some recipes that offer inventive ways to use the panettone in other dishes – well, if you haven’t eaten it all for afternoon tea, that is!
Layered panettone and ricotta pudding (Antonio Carluccio)
Italian Christmas pudding cake (Nigella Lawson)
Steamed panettone pudding with hot punch sauce (Delia Smith)
Summer panettone cake (Jamie Oliver)
Panettone break and butter pudding (Jamie Oliver)
Coffee and maple panettone (Lorraine Pascale)
Enjoy!
