Gillian Knows Best guide to Italian Christmas cakes
It's time!
It’s Panettone and Pandoro Season
I spotted my first panettone at the grocery store in early October. That was far too early. Now the moment is upon us. It’s time to buy your Italian holiday treats. The two stars of the holiday table are panettone and pandoro, the rich cakes that fill every pasticceria window and grocery store endcap from November until January. I admit that in my early years I was not a fan of panettone. I now understand I just hadn’t had a good one. I even like the ones with candied dried fruit! At our house we are big fans of the local focaccia Veneziana and for the past few years I have mail ordered my panettone from Rome and pandoro from Arzignano (a town in-between Vicenza and Venice.)
Panettone vs Pandoro: A Sweet Italian Rivalry
The debates are endless. Commercial or artisan, traditional or gourmet, with candite or senza. And that is before you enter into the unwinnable arguments over Pandoro versus Panettone.
The briefest of pandoro and panettone history
There is no point in arguing. Both panettone and pandoro are delicious and non negotiable elements of Italian Christmas.
Panettone comes from Milan and maybe gets its name from a cook in the Sforza family kitchen named Toni when Ludovico il Moro named his emergency creation Pan de Toni. Maybe it comes from Ughetto degli Atellani or Sister Ughetta or simply the Milanese word for raisin, ughett? It is most certainly a Christmas feast food with origins in the Middle Ages that was popularized in the 1920s by Angelo Motta. Modern panettone is made with yeast, butter, eggs, candied fruit, and raisins. It has a long leavening process (for part of that process the panettone is flipped upside down so the smooth round top stays that way) creating the signature light, airy texture.
Pandoro comes from Verona. Veronese nobility to be precise and the name means golden bread, which makes sense because of all the sugar, butter and eggs used to make it. In 1894 Domenico Melegatti patented his recipe. He worked with a local artist, Angelo Dall’Oca Bianca, who designed the now iconic eight-pointed star shape. Pandoro is soft and fluffy and is served dusted with powdered sugar. We sometimes slather slices of it with tart wild cherry jam and SprayPan for breakfast. I have wanted a pandoro baking pan forever. I will never make one but I think it would be a great serving dish (imagine it filled with potato chips or as an ice bucket?)
Focaccia Veneziana: A Local Favorite
I am still pretty new to the focaccia Veneziana. Soft and fluffy like pandoro but with a round panettone shape with a top that is covered with crunchy oblong beads of sugar and sliced of almonds. I impulse bought one at a bakery near the Ghetto that first December in Venice on the way home from another frustrating meeting at the notaio during the endless trying to buy our house year. After one bite we were hooked. Last year we ate 4 of them in the 5 weeks between Noah and Dani’s arrival and departure from Los Angeles. This is where I buy them.
Where to buy the best pandoro and panettone
Here in Italy it is easy. You can find it all. Tiny boxes of pandoro that are perfect for a stocking or an oversized panettone that weighs 3 kilos from the fanciest pasticceria. You know already I am going to tell you to start at the alimentari and the grocery store. From November there will be a dedicated section stocked with all kinds of things from panettone to seasonal chocolate.
Buy Italian Christmas Sweets Online
If you are not in Italy, Eataly makes it easy. I send pandoro, panettone and my favorite torrone from Abruzzo to my family in Tennessee.
Last year I ordered an incredible grappa soaked pandoro from Olivieri. You can pre-order panettone now.
I am intrigued by this savory version by Alajmo with lemon, capers, olives and candied chili peppers.
Gustiamo usually has a small selection of high quality panettone.
I read about a panettone with balsamic soaked cherries in a New Yorker article last year from Acetaia Leonardo in Modena and put a reminder in my calendar to order one.
There is an official Milan Cortina Olympics Panettone.
I have gathered some online shopping Italian Christmas essentials here.
Luxury Italian Pasticceria Worth the Splurge
These two luxury pastry shops only ship within in Italy
I start refreshing the Casa Manfredi website daily the last week of November. Their chocolate version is my absolute favorite panettone.
I dream about these elaborately decorated confections from Marchesi, one of the most elegant pasticceria’s in Milan.
More traditional Italian Christmas sweets to look for
Torrone. I like the soft (tenero) version from Fratelli Nurzia in Abruzzo that come in the prettiest boxes. The famous coffee shop Sant’Eustachio makes a chocolate covered version with a stripe of coffee creme. There is a hard (friabile) version of torrone but I fear my teeth are not strong enough.
Panforte. This comes from Siena in Tuscany (since the 1400s!) and is a dense mix of nuts, candied fruit and spices. I keep a few beautifully wrapped rounds by the front door for last minute gifts. judy witts francini has a recipe for my favorite version, fig and walnut panforte.
Are you team panettone or pandoro?1 Tell me your favorite in the comments or tag me on Instagram with your Italian Christmas table!
Both is the answer
We have a fishmonger here, of all things, who always imports a fabulous selection of panetonne for the holidays. I always indulge.
There is something so comforting/Italian about the grocery store panettone display, mixed with the water bottles. A great list as well!!