 Christmas Desserts

Classic Christmas Italian Panettone

Written by 
Elaine Lemm
Tested by 
Diana Rattray
Updated 10/20/20

 
The Spruce / Yana Karin
Prep:40 mins
Cook:85 mins
Chilling & Rising:15 hrs
Total:17 hrs 5 mins
Servings:10 to 14 servings
119 RATINGS
 
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Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
470 Calories
21g Fat
60g Carbs
9g Protein
 See Full Nutritional Guidelines
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should
be considered an estimate.)

From the Italian panetto or small cake, panettone is a large fruity enriched

sweet bread, offered typically during Christmas throughout Italy and
in Italian communities around the world. Originated in Milan, it is a large, dome-
shaped cake that has been leavened with yeast. It has a slightly light and airy
texture but a rich and buttery taste, and is not very sweet. The jury is still out on
whether panettone is a cake or a bread because it's both as chewy as a loaf of
bread and as fruity and sweet as a fruit cake. Pandoro, another Italian
Christmas bread, is often confused with panettone but is a star-shaped golden
cake, without any dried fruit, from the city of Verona.

Filled with dried fruits and candied peels, spongy panettone needs care and
attention, but making it is not as difficult as it might seem, as our straightforward
recipe shows. Sliced or pulled by hand, alone or with butter, cream, or fruit
preserves, don't miss out on this wonderful dessert, great for brunches, coffee,
and tea times.

Ingredients
For the Fruit:

 10 ounces mixed dried fruits (currants, raisins, cranberries, dried

cherries)
 4 ounces candied lemon and orange peel (finely chopped)
 2 ounces candied cherries
 6 tablespoons Cointreau (or your favorite liqueur or fruit juice)

For the Dough:

 1 1/2 tablespoons dry yeast
 6 ounces milk
 1/4 cup sugar
 4 cups strong bread flour
 1 teaspoon salt
 6 large large eggs
 10 ounces unsalted butter
 1 ounce almonds
Steps to Make It
HIDE IMAGES

Note: While there are multiple steps to this recipe, this panettone is broken
down into workable categories to help you better plan for preparation and
cooking.

Prepare the Fruit

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Put all the dried and candied fruits into a bowl and mix thoroughly.
 3. Pour in the Cointreau, mix again.

4. Cover, and store in a cool dark place overnight. Do not refrigerate.

Prepare the Dough

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Warm up 5 ounces of the milk to lukewarm temperature. Reserve the

remaining ounce of milk in the fridge. In a heatproof jug or bowl, sprinkle
the dry yeast over the warmed milk, stir in the sugar, and leave to one
side for 5 minutes.

‫ احتفظي باألوقية المتبقية من الحليب في‬.‫ أونصات من الحليب إلى درجة حرارة فاترة‬5 ‫سخني‬
، ‫ وقلبي السكر‬، ‫ رشي الخميرة الجافة فوق الحليب الدافئ‬، ‫ في إبريق أو وعاء عازل للحرارة‬.‫الثالجة‬
‫ دقائق‬5 ‫واتركي جانب واحد لمدة‬

3. Tip the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
Sprinkle the salt into one side of the bowl. Pour in the frothy yeast
mixture onto the other side—salt should never come into direct contact
with dry or fresh yeast as it will kill the yeast, making the bread dense
and hard.

3. ‫ صب‬.‫ يرش الملح في جانب واحد من الوعاء‬.‫ضع الدقيق في وعاء الخالط المزود بخطاف للعجين‬
ً ‫ يجب أال يالمس الملح الخميرة الجافة أو الطازجة‬- ‫خليط الخميرة الرغوية على الجانب اآلخر‬
‫أبدا ألنه‬
‫ مما يجعل الخبز كثي ًفا وقاسًا‬، ‫سيقتل الخميرة‬

4. Mix the flour, salt, and yeast at slow speed to combine the ingredients.
Add 5 of the eggs, turn the mixer to medium speed and continue mixing
until the dough smooths out, although it will become sticky.
 ‫ اسكب‬.‫ يرش الملح في جانب واحد من الوعاء‬.‫ضع الدقيق في وعاء الخالط المزود بخطاف للعجين‬
‫ يجب أال يالمس الملح الخميرة الجافة أو الطازجة أب ًدا ألنه‬- ‫خليط الخميرة الرغوية على الجانب اآلخر‬
.‫ مما يجعل الخبز كثي ًفا وقاسًا‬، ‫سيقتل الخميرة‬

5. Cut 9 ounces of the softened butter into bite-sized chunks. Raise the
speed of the mixer and add the butter a few pieces at a time.

}‫ ارفعي سرعة الخالط وأضيفي‬.‫ أونصات من الزبدة المذابة إلى قطع صغيرة الحجم‬9 ‫قطع‬ ّ .5
‫الزبدة بضع قطع في المرة الواحدة‬

6. Let the mixer continue to run for at least 5 more minutes. The dough will
turn glossy and even smoother and so soft and airy that it will be
impossible to handle. This is the texture that you're looking for.

7. Grease a large baking bowl or dish with 1/2 ounce of the remaining
butter. To retain the maximum amount of air, let the dough slide down
into the greased bowl by its own weight. Do not force it out.

8. Scrape down any leftover dough with a soft spatula. Cover the greased
bowl with a lid or tightly with plastic wrap and put it into a very cool place,
preferably the fridge, and leave to proof overnight—the cold, long, slow
rise will deliver the lightest of cakes. Slow is always better, and the result
is a light and airy cake with a soft crumb.

Make the Panettone

1. Place dough on a floured work surface and spread out into a rectangular
shape. Strain the soaked fruits through a fine sieve, discard the juice.
Place half of the fruits onto the spread-out dough.
2. Strain the soaked fruits through a fine sieve, discard the juice. Place half
of the fruits onto the spread-out dough.

3. Fold the dough over the fruits and lightly roll the dough around to evenly
distribute the fruit. Spread the dough again and repeat as before with the
remaining fruit. The dough will be lumpy and knobbly, but look out for
clusters of fruit and give them another roll around to redistribute it, if
needed.

4. Form the dough into a roughly shaped ball.

5. Grease a 7-inch panettone tin or panettone paper case with the

remaining 1/2 ounce of butter. If you have neither of these, use a regular
cake tin, but line the base and sides with greaseproof paper standing at
least 2 inches above the rim.

6. Drop the dough into the center of the tin, tuck the almonds into the
surface of the cake, and cover loosely with a tea cloth. 

7. Proof the cake in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours until the dough is well
risen and rising above the tin. If 3 hours isn't enough, give it enough time:
The key here is to have the rise above the rim of the tin or case.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Mix the remaining egg with the remaining
ounce of milk and brush over the surface of the cake. Bake in the middle
of the oven for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 300 F and cook for a further
 40 minutes. The panettone is ready when a skewer comes out clean from
the middle part of the cake.

9. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes in the tin on a cooling rack, then remove
and leave it to cool completely.

What Is an Enriched Dough?

An enriched dough is one that has more ingredients than the basic yeast,
flour, salt, and water. Eggs, sugar, milk, and/or butter are added to the
dough. The addition of these enrichments makes the dough very heavy
but also helps the final texture be really airy and fluffy, like our
panettone, challah, or stollen. Enriched doughs need enough time to
proof, once after mixing and once after shaping.

Additional Flavors and Substitutions

o Soaking the fruit in Cointreau or any liqueur of your liking

enhances the flavor of the cake. But even without it, the panettone
will be delicious. If alcohol is not your thing, or the cake is for
children, then substitute orange or apple juice for the Cointreau.
o Our recipe is for the classic combination of fruits and thereby
flavor. You can choose the fruits in any proportion you prefer, or
avoid one or more altogether.
o Switch out the almonds on the top of the cake for walnuts or
cashews. Or leave out the nuts altogether and sprinkle with pearl
sugar.
o Although not a part of the classic recipe, adding chocolate chips
complements really well the fruity flavor of the cake. If chocolate is
your thing, add 3/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips at the same
time you incorporate the dried fruit.

How to Store Panettone

o The cake is delicious eaten fresh and keeps well in an airtight tin
for a week at room temperature. It also freezes well for up to two
 months. Thaw slowly in the refrigerator overnight and slightly
warm up in the oven, avoiding crisping up the bread.

Recipe Tags:

 Cake
 Panettone
 Dessert
 Italian

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