Panettone 

Panettone is a gold treasure to make your Christmas special!

Bring the King of Christmas to your table. You can pronounce this incredible Italian Christmas cake “Panettone”: pan – eht – ton – eh. It’s the traditional Christmas sweet cake of Milan – Italy and is now well-known all around the world.

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The origins of panettone have faded into legend and as is the case with most legends there are a variety of stories all claiming to be true.

One of these mysterious stories takes place in the 15th century when Ludovico il Moro was the Duke of Milan. It begins, one evening when the Duke’s cook was asked to prepare a delicious banquet, for himself and a number of nobles. The cook was successful in his feast, however, he had forgotten about the dessert in the oven, which had burnt by the time he realized.

The cook was in despair but thankfully the little kitchen boy, Toni, suggested using the sweet cake he had made for himself in the morning using flour, butter, eggs, lime zest, and raisins. The cook was afraid he had no other solutions, so agreed to offer the cake to the guests. They both nervously stood behind the door to see the reactions of the Duke’s friends.

To the cook’s relief, everybody loved the cake. The Duke enjoyed it so much that he asked for its name. The cook responded “L’è ‘l pan de Toni”, meaning ‘the bread of Toni’. The name has since evolved to Panettone.

Although there are a number of different legends surrounding the creation of this typical Christmas cake, its birthplace is the same throughout – Milan.

The panettone is traditionally served during Christmas and the Milanese have a special tradition of preserving a portion of the same cake for February 3^rd  to eat for the Saint Biagio feast. During Christmas time food manufacturing companies and bakeries produce more than 117 million pieces!

The ingredients for this artisanal cake are flour, water, salt, eggs, milk, butter, sugar, candied fruits (especially orange and citron), raisins, vanilla, and mother yeast. The preparation is very long because the dough must rise for at least 24 hours, and during this time it must be kneaded several times. The pastry chef must carefully follow each step because the rising times vary depending on several factors such as which fruits are added.

In some regions of Italy it is served with “crema di mascarpone”, a cream made from mascarpone cheese, eggs, sugar, and typically a sweet liqueur such as “Amaretto di Saronno”.

This cake is a true tradition during Italian Christmas, especially in Milan. On November 25 and 26, in Milan, there will be the “Re Panettone” event in honor of this delicious sweet.
Stanislao Porzio is an author who writes on topics related to the world of gastronomy and advertising but, above all, is the creator and the organizer since 2008, of the event “Re Panettone: the party of the sweet Milanese”. The purpose of the event is to spread and make known the culture with exhibitions and tastings of handmade cake. In addition, 30 selected pastry chefs for the event must adhere to the choice of using only natural ingredients. In this way, the event promotes the freshness, genuineness, and originality of pastry creations, all carefully subjected to rigid controls.

The perfect for giving and sharing with family and friends during the Christmas holidays.

Do you know how to spot a high-quality panettone? It’s a matter of scent, shape, color, alveolation, consistency, size and, quality of ingredients

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