With the Christmas holidays approaching many Italians are choosing the panettone to celebrate the festivities. In fact, the traditional sweet bread is considered a must in this season, and so it has been for a long time. However, while until a few years ago pastry chefs seemed to challenge each other to produce ‘the most authentic’ panettone following the historic Milanese, in the last few years, many creative versions of the sweet dome-shaped delicacy started to enrich the Christmas tables with their unique combinations of flavors. Here are some of the most original reinterpretations.
Panettone Mediceo (Pasticceria Mannori, Prato) – Created by Tuscan pastry chef Luca Mannori, this recipe balances the scent of spices with the Brunello used in processing, as well as the slightly sour notes of the Moltancino prunes counterbalanced by the 72% dark chocolate.
Panettone Invero (D&G Patisserie, Padua) – In the dialect of pastry chef Denis Dianin, the name means ‘in the glass’, in fact, it is cooked enclosed in a jar, under vacuum. Sold in the same jar, its incredible fragrance comes out as soon as the cap is removed to reveal scents of citrus as well as butter, and vanilla.
Panettone Melanzane e cioccolato (Severance, Rome) – Pastry chefs Paola Tomasiello and Angelo de Vita created a ‘Panettone with aubergine and chocolate’. The baby candied aubergines, whose bitter notes blend with not overly sweet spices, are incorporated in a soft dough that is darkened due to the presence of coffee powder and dark chocolate; all enriched with the scent of the Strega liqueur.