Panettone or Pandoro? The Christmas Question
These holiday cakes are vying to be tastiest on your plate
Panettone or pandoro? This is the question going around Rome in these days leading up to Christmas. And I know what you’re thinking: Is panettone really worth all the hype? What is pandoro?
To answer the first question: I grew up hating panettone. It was Christmas torture, a heavy cake with hard sugar fruits that stuck to your teeth. It was a joke and totally not worth any hype. And then I moved to Italy where I sat by as my family fought over crumbs. I got curious, and what started with a few bites, turned into my tasting my way around Italy to learn all about the magical Milanese Christmas cake . To my surprise, I discovered panettone is legendary. Literally. Check out my article (originally appearing int the Washington Post) to learn who was the true Toni was behind panettone.
Pandoro, on the other hand, is the panettone’s seemingly shyer little sister who doesn’t try to impress you. The star-shaped cake is simpler (no added fruits), sweeter and at least a few centuries younger. Invented in 1894 by a pastry maker in Verona, pandoro for decades was a very local treat. Now, she’s on every Italian table by Christmas, and making everyone debate which cake is better. What do I think? I’m a panettone kind of girl but I wouldn’t pass up a slice of pandoro.
Panettone in the USA
I’ve had a hard time finding truly artisanal panettone and pandoro that could be sent to my friends and family in the USA without having spent months in a warehouse and tasting stale. 2023 changed all of that when I set out to interview Italy’s award-winning panettone bakers for a podcast on how to eat panettone. They shared great recipes, if for any reason there should be left over panettone, and they enlightened me on the US panettone scene.
From Roy Everyone I interviewed for the Panettone podcast mentioned a guy named from Texas who made incredible panettone. Roy, they told me, was the best panettone maker ever. I couldn’t believe it so I decided to reach out to Chef Roy Shvartzapel of From Roy to find out for myself. I totally fell in love with him- he’s a great story teller and a very passionate baker whose commitment to making the best panettone meant living and working in Italy for more than a decade just to learn the secrets. Roy’s goal is to make panettone a year-round treat. I thought he was crazy, and then I had my first bite. Listen to the episode to learn more!
Olivieri USA Baker Nicola Olivieri of Olivieri 1882 is my go-to baker whenever i want to talk panettone. He loves what he does, and his family has been perfecting their panettone recipe for 130 years. The Olivieri panettone was the slice that changed my mind and attitude. Darius and I began ordering Olivieri panettone to overnight shipped to the US to a few select family members. They loved its but the cost was a bit steep. No longer! Last year, Nicola decided to open a baking facility in the US and now makes panettone (in a few flavors) and pandoro in the US, still with that same 130-year-old recipe.
Today in Rome
December 8th is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. In Italy, it’s a national holiday. In Rome, it means that Darius and I get up at 6:15am and head to Piazza di Spagna to watch the firefighters climb a 20 meter ladder to put a wreath of flowers on the station of the Madonna. Enjoy!
fantastic.