Panettone is a type of sweet bread originally from Milan. It is buttery and has deep flavors similar to a fruit cake but is much lighter in texture. These loaves come in all sorts of flavors like candied fruit, chocolate or lemon, and are perfect on their own as a dessert. To up the ante I wanted to make bread pudding using this unique bread. Also, the raisin and candied fruit panettone that I recently bought was not really to my liking when eaten on its own.
This bread pudding is easy and quick to make and you need only about 15 minutes to prepare this dish for the oven. It is a lighter version of a bread pudding partly because I just used what I had available in the fridge and partly because the I wanted the challenge of trying healthier ingredients (the original contained 9 tbsp of butter along heavy cream.)
Serves 16
Ingredients:
1x 2 lb. panettone,
3 tbsp. butter, plus extra for greasing,
2 tbsp. white sugar,
1 tsp. vanilla extract,
1¼ c. milk,
1 c. 10% cream,
4 large eggs,
⅓ c. light brown sugar,
3oz white chocolate, chopped,
1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips.
You will need an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. Wrap the tart pan in aluminum foil. Grease the foil with butter.
3. Sprinkle the sugar into the pan, shaking it around to coat.
4. Slice the sides off the panettone using a serrated bread knife. Use these pieces to line the bottom and the sides of the tart pan. Press together gently to compact.
5. Cut the rest of the panettone into large cubes for the filling. It will look like a lot to fit into your pan, but trust me- once you soak it in the custard, it will fit nicely.
6. For the custard, place the vanilla into a pot with the milk, cream, and butter. Simmer until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat.
7. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until smooth.
8. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the eggs. This is called tempering the egg mixture and it is done slowly to avoid scrambling or cooking the eggs.
9. Pour ⅓ of the custard mixture into the base of the tart to soak into the bread lining the pan.
10. Add the bread cubes to the rest of the custard and soak briefly, about 30 seconds to one minute.
11. To assemble, layer the bread with the chocolate tucked in.
12. Place the tart onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in the center of the oven for about 25-30 minutes. The tart is ready when puffed and golden brown. Let the tart rest for 10 minutes before serving. Remove from the tin and cut into slices.