“Panettone or Pandoro? This is the question. Whether it is nobler to the soul to bear sultanas and candied fruit or to take arms against this sea of tribulations and be shipwrecked in the soft icing sugar…”
Luciana Littizzetto
Less than a month to Christmas and the festive atmosphere infects cities, supermarkets, shops and tables all over the world. Lights, festively decorated windows, decorated trees, presents and then… the Hamletian doubt that divides Italy, friends and family into two factions: Pandoro or Panettone? Everyone has their own preference, so much that this is also an “ice-breaker” question. It may be surprising, but it works!
Speaking globally, the clash is easy decidedly easy: Panettone wins with a naturally leavened fermentation of a dough richly composed of butter (at least 16%), vanilla berries, egg yolks, candied fruit and flavorings. There are hundreds of variations: without candied fruit, or instead of candied fruit we find chocolate drops, or the dough with liqueur, or even with different dried fruit and so on in infinite possibilities and versions.
The history of panettone is a real fairy tale. It seems that an apprentice called Toni at the service of Ludovico il Moro in Milan, in order to save the Christmas Eve lunch, replaced the burnt cake of the cook with bread seasoned at the last moment with what he had on hand, so mainly dried fruit. The recipe won over the court so much that this new cake was replicated and so called “Pan del Toni”, hence “panettone”. Today, each region customizes it with typical products, without compromising its soul.
Pandoro, an excellence of Veneto products, defends itself very well with its sweet, refined, balanced and rich character. Its appearance is decidedly imposing, compared to that of its “rival”, and it remains the simplest, easiest and most obvious choice for those who do not like candied fruit or sultanas. This cake, by the way, is easily paired with hot drinks and creams of all kinds. The must is pandoro and mascarpone cream: a real treat that warms up Christmas tables.
The word “oro” (gold) in the name of this cake is nothing more than the addition of eggs to the dough, so the yield is actually more yellow, but it is also said to be due to the custom, in Renaissance Venice, of covering cakes with pure gold leaves.
In order to reconstruct the history of pandoro, or rather, of its star-shaped form, one has to think of the ‘nadalin’ to which it is heir: a very simple cake prepared at Christmas in all the houses of the Verona area. In fact, it is Verona where the production of pandoro became established as early as the nineteenth century.
At the AbanoRitz, Christmas is one of the most important and heartfelt celebrations, representing the family. We have already started preparing decorations and lights that will gradually bring the festive atmosphere into this house.
On our tasting evenings, there is certainly no shortage of typical desserts. Which one do you choose? Are you more Pandoro or Panettone? To help you in this choice… all you have to do is visit us: December is just around the corner and the offers are very appetizing!
