Making Panettone

Since we have returned from Normandy it has been a hive of activity here and I have realised that we are not as prepared for Christmas as we should be.

Thanks to the internet I have managed to order some gifts for French Boyfriend in between trying out some Christmas recipes.

Everytime that we purchase panettone, Italy's version of the traditional English Christmas fruit cake. I am not a huge fan of panettone as the majority of the ones you find here in SW France, are processed and store-bought.


After traweling the internet, I learnt that panettone is best eaten the week that it is made hence the products that we have been buying in the shops are older than this and probably full of preservatives. Note the word preservative makes me giggle as this means condom in French.

I decided that I would have a go at making some for our Christmas guests and found this recipe for mini panettone.

French Boyfriend loved the result and I am already planning on making some more this weekend.

For those of you that would like to try, here is the recipe that I used.

Prep time: 2 hours 40 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 3 hours 20 mins

Author: Adore Foods
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 10
Ingredients

    1 tbsp dried active baking yeast
    225ml water
    ⅓ cup sugar
    2 eggs
    3 &1/2 cup all purpose flour
    1 tbsp rum
    ⅓ cup raisins
    ⅓ cup candied citrus peels, chopped
    some melted butter
    icing sugar, for dusting, if preferred

Instructions


1.    Combine yeast, water and sugar in a bowl. Cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes or until foamy.
2.    Add the eggs to the flour, mix to combine. Slowly add the liquid mixture until a manageable dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes, adding a bit of flour if necessary, until the dough is soft and pliable but not sticky.
3.    Place dough in a large and lightly floured bowl. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 - 1.5 hours. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the dried fruits with rum.
4.    Once the dough has risen, tip onto a floured surface. Knead for a minute or so, then start to knead in the dried fruits until evenly distributed. Form the dough into a smooth ball, then divide into equal size of 10. Line your pans/ molds with large panettone paper molds and place each small dough into a panettone casing. Cover loosely with cling film and leave to rise for 1 hour in a warm place until the dough rise above the pan. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 390F/ 200C.
5.    Place your mini panettone in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350F/180C and bake for another 10 minutes. Reduce the heat again to 325F/160C and bake for 30 minutes until the tops are well browned and a skewer inserted into the panettone comes out clean. You may need to cover the top with foil after 20 minutes to prevent it browning too much.
 6.   Brush some melted butter after removing the panettone from the oven. Then, cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar, if preferred.              Bon appetit à tous, Leeann x