This recipe for Panettone, a delicious Italian Christmas Cake, is simple to follow.
Panettone Recipe
Panettone is a rich Italian Christmas cake. It is a spongy, yeasted cake with plenty of fruit and tastes good sliced and spread with butter. Alternatively eat a slice of fresh panettone with a glass of sweet wine, such as Vin Santo. It's a versatile cake and can also be used in a variety of desserts – and if you have some left over after Christmas and it’s a little dry, then use it in a trifle instead of ordinary sponge, or toast it and eat with butter and jam.
Ingredients – For panettone that serves 8
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried yeast
- 4 tablespoons milk (or buttermilk)
- 100g (4oz) butter
- 50g (2oz) caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 3 (free range if possible) eggs, beaten
- finely grated rind of ½ a lemon
- finely grated rind of ½ an orange
- 400g (14oz) plain (all purpose) flour or white bread flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 100g (4oz) raisins or sultanas
- 75g (3oz) chopped mixed peel
Method - to make the panettone
- Preheat the oven to 400F, 200C, Gas Mark 6. Butter a 20cm (8 in) cake tin and line with lightly buttered greaseproof paper.
- Pour the milk (or buttermilk) into a bowl, then sprinkle on the sugar and yeast. Leave for around 10 minutes – it should start to go frothy.
- Combine the butter and caster sugar in a bowl and beat them together until they are very fluffy. Then beat in the eggs gradually, followed by the lemon and orange rind (and the vanilla extract if you’re using it).
- Place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Now gently fold in the milky/yeast fluid, followed by the creamed butter/sugar mixture. Mix them all together until you have a soft dough.
- Put the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until it’s smooth.
- Then place the dough into an oiled plastic bag (or cover with a tea-towel and leave in a warm place). Leave it for about an hour until it has doubled in size.
- Sprinkle the raisins/sultanas and mixed peel over the dough. Knead until they are completely mixed in. Place the mixture in the cake tin and leave it in a warm place, until it has doubled in size again. It will take about 45 minutes.
- When it has risen, bake it in the oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F, 180C, Gas Mark 4 and bake it for another 30 minutes. When it’s done it should be golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool the panettone, and dust it with icing sugar.
The copyright of the article Panettone Recipe in Italian Baking is owned by Rebecca Ford. Permission to republish Panettone Recipe in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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