Not a fan of panettone? Maybe you just haven’t met the right one
Have you ever tasted a panettone and wondered why it’s even a thing? Yup, same. My first panettone, a well-meaning Christmas gift from a gourmet retailer in the early 2000s, cut open to reveal parched, feathery strands of brioche-like dough lashed with the scent of dried oranges. It was the pastry equivalent of a papery old lady blanketed in too much foundation and expensive perfume.
Since then, countless panettones have bounced on my desk and into the regifting pile. Every once in a while, I’d slice one open to check if, maybe, I just hadn’t met the right one. Every time, said panettone was relegated to bread pudding, French toast or, one year, soaked in custard and tossed into the ice cream maker (it still tasted like French toast).
Then, last year, a tall, dark, handsome panettone arrived at my doorstep. Its path to the regifting pile was detoured simply because it was chocolate. I don’t refuse anything chocolate — the darker the better — and I wasn’t about to start then.
That panettone from Art di Daniele was revelatory. It tasted like flossy threads of cocoa silk bejewelled with velvety pools of dark chocolate. Thus began my inquiry into why some panettones taste like the spirit of elderly aunties past while others conjure up the sensual pleasure of adult candy floss.