Italy's festive season is a chance to show off the country's rich regional
culinary traditions in sweets. Struffoli from Naples, caggionetti
from Abruzzo, and panforte from Siena are topped in popularity by Italy's Christmas
cakes from Milan and Verona - panettone and pandoro. Around countless
tables in December and January the choice between the two will be made.
A traditional pandoro from the side looks like a mini winter snow-capped
mountain. It is commonly about 10 inches tall and 8 inches wide and viewed from
the top is in the form of a star. Although made with just flower, sugar, egg,
butter, yeast, and cocoa butter, the preparation and baking process is elaborate
meaning it is rarely made at home.
A whole industry exists around producing the best pandoro. Running up
to Christmas, the bakeries which make them set out on aggressive marketing campaigns
and rumour-mongering to try and win first place in this most lucrative market.
This activity is the culmination of centuries of sugar-topped recipe history.
The name pandoro comes from "pane d'oro", or "bread of
gold". Ideas as to the origins of the cake are mixed. Some believe it comes
from a mediaeval Venetian banqueting extravagance of having a cake actually
covered in gold leaf. Others believe it is an evolution of an old recipe of
the Veronese nadalin cake. Then, there are those who unpopularly suggest
that it was developed first in Vienna by the Hapsburgs. What is clear is pandoro
was perfected in Verona in the 1800s and has since been proudly claimed by the
city as its own. It has, however, become the national Christmas cake.
Most commonly, the pandoro is placed in a bag with icing sugar and shaken
to evenly coat the moist, golden-brown sweet bread. The points of its star are
then cut to provide a long, mouth-watering slice of Christmas. The taste is
a culinary masterpiece of sweet, buttery, soft sponge, rich but surprisingly
light - so there is probably room for another piece!
Attempts to modernize the pandoro by shaping it into such forms as Baba
Natale and adding ingredients like chocolate and vanilla, have had limited
success. The original pandoro, looking like Christmas and tasting like
heaven, is set to continue its proud place on Italian tables as a symbol of
the seasonal celebrations.
To find out more about pandoro and even try a recipe, visit: http://www.mangibene.it/it/news/index.cfm?id_news=28
http://www.cookaround.com/cucina/nuovidolci/pandoro.php
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