We have discovered panettone! It is an Italian sweet bread that is really more like a cake. It is originally from Milan and is usually available during Christmas and New Year. I have seen them in the stores in the USA but I never thought to try them. They are delicious!
Panettone is like a lighter, sweeter challah bread or a heavier angel food cake. It is made through a long process that involves curing the dough similar to making sourdough. This process can take several days. It tends to be a very tall cake and is usually served in wedges, cut vertically.
There are many varieties of panettone. The cake can be yellow (egg) or chocolate. It can be plain or have candied fruit, raisins, pastry cream or chocolate cream in it.
We have tried several brands of panettone as part of our research for our blog. Our favorite has been the Tre Marie cake alla cream e cioccolato. It has a thick chocolate glaze on top of the cake with sugar sprinkles. Inside the cake is chocolate cream. It is delicious!
(Panettone by Tre Marie)
We have also tried the DalColle brand with profiteroles on top. Profiteroles are little cream puffs dipped in chocolate. The cake is covered with a chocolate glaze and the profiteroles are on top. Inside there are several layers of chocolate cream. This was our second favorite.
(Profiterole Panettone by DalColle)
We have also tried a plain panettone and one with candied fruit. They were good but not as good as the other two. They were also different brands and less expensive so the comparison might not be fair.
If you happen to see them in your supermarket I highly recommend trying one. They are a great addition to your holiday sweets.
I have been eating them for years but I’ve never seen the varieties you’ve mentioned. I’m sure I’d love the 1st one but I’ve never seen it here.
Enjoy it while you can.
We looked online and didn’t see them available in the US. Let us know if you see them.
We looked on Amazon and they have those brands but not those varieties. The local grocery store had a ton of them and we were hoping to get another at a reduced price the day or so before Christmas. We went back yesterday and the place looked like it had been hit by vultures. There was almost nothing left. We scored the last cream filled chocolate covered one that they had. It was €1.00 cheaper.
Cake!!!!