Italian paska called panettone drives you crazy with its aroma and amazing taste. This traditional European Easter cake is really worth making for Easter to feel like you’re in cozy Europe. We will tell you how Italian panettone pasca is baked at home.
Italian pasca panettone has become a traditional Milanese pastry made from yeast dough with the addition of dried fruits, zest, candied fruits, and nuts. The recipe for Italian paska is very similar to the recipe for traditional Easter cake, which is passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, you can safely take on the preparation of Italian pasca panettone, which will proudly decorate the Easter table. By the way, be sure to try a piece of European cake with coffee - it’s simply a heavenly pleasure.
Italian pasca panettone
Italian Easter recipe with photos
120 g butter
25 g fresh yeast (or 10 g dry)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
90 g pine nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar)
Italian pasca panettone: how to cook
1. When preparing the dough for Italian paska, you need to heat the milk in advance (it should be slightly warm, but not hot). Dissolve yeast in milk, adding 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let the dough swell a little.
2. Melt the butter and 120 grams of sugar in a small saucepan, it is important to take the exact amount of sugar. Let the butter cool and add to the milk with yeast, knead the mass well.
3. Break two eggs into a bowl, and add three more yolks, separated from the white. Grate two teaspoons of lemon zest. Then mix the zest with raisins, candied fruits, nuts and add 1 teaspoon of flour.
4. Add eggs to the dough and mix. Then sift half the flour and salt into it and mix. Add all the dried fruits and nuts, add vanilla extract and mix.
5. The most crucial moment in preparing panettone is to add flour in small portions, and then start kneading the dough. This will take at least 10 minutes. The dough should not stick to your hands; if necessary, add more flour.
6. Grease a deep bowl with vegetable oil, put the dough there, cover with a towel and place in a warm place for 2 hours until the dough rises.
7. Grease baking pans with butter and line them with parchment. Pour the dough into the molds, not filling them completely. Brush the top of the Italian paska with oil and leave for 30 minutes.
8. Place the molds with the dough in the oven, preheated at 180 degrees, for 40-45 minutes. Check the readiness of the Italian cake with a toothpick.
Italian pasca panettone can be decorated with icing or fondant for Easter cakes. Read more about this in our material.
Cooking instructions
6 hours + 3 hours Print
1. The first thing you need to do is prepare the dough for Italian paska. Heat the milk a little (it should be slightly warm, but not hot). Dissolve yeast in milk, stir, add a teaspoon of sugar, stir. Let the dough swell a little.
2. Mix the butter with 120 g of sugar (you can melt the butter a little in a saucepan) and add the slightly cooled butter to the milk with the yeast, stirring the mass well. Crib How to prepare yeast
3. Break two eggs into a bowl, add three more yolks to them. In a separate bowl, mix lemon and orange zest with raisins, candied fruits, nuts and add 1 tsp flour so that the mixture is crumbly.
Crib How to prepare the zest
4. Add eggs to the dough and mix. Then add half the sifted flour and salt and mix. Add the mixture of dried fruits and nuts and mix.
Crib How to check egg quality
5. The most crucial moment in preparing panettone is to add flour in small portions, and then start kneading the dough. This will take at least 10 minutes. The dough should not be liquid, but not thick, it may stick to your hands a little, the dough should “breathe”.
6. Grease a deep bowl with vegetable oil, put the dough there and cover it with a towel.
7. Place in a warm place for 3.5-4 hours until the dough has risen 1.5-2 times.
8. After the dough has risen, pour it into the molds, not filling them completely. Brush the top of the Italian paska with oil and leave for another 30 minutes (the dough will rise almost to the end of the pan).
9. Place the molds with the dough in the oven, preheated at 180 degrees, for 40-45 minutes. Check the readiness of the Italian cake with a toothpick. Tool Oven thermometer How the oven actually heats up, even if you set a specific temperature, can only be understood with experience. It is better to have a small thermometer on hand that is placed in the oven or simply hung on the grill. And it is better that it shows degrees Celsius and Fahrenheit simultaneously and accurately - like a Swiss watch. A thermometer is important when you need to strictly observe the temperature regime: for example, in the case of baking.
10. While the eggs are preparing, make the fudge. To do this, beat the whites until stiff peaks form, add powdered sugar and beat again. If desired, you can add lemon juice. Grease the paskas with glaze and decorate to your taste.
Crib How to beat egg whites
120 g unsalted butter,
120 g sugar,
25 g fresh yeast (or 10 g dry),
240 ml water (or milk),
1 tsp salt (5ml),
2 eggs,
3 yolks,
720 g flour,
120 g dried pineapples (optional),
2 tsp lemon or orange zest,
180 g raisins,
90 g pine nuts (optional),
1 tsp anise seeds (optional),
1
vanilla pod or vanillin,
vegetable oil.
Panettone is a traditional Milanese Christmas cake made from sweet yeast dough with the addition of candied fruits, dried fruits and nuts. Despite the fact that Italians bake it on Christmas and New Year's Eve, this pie is an excellent analogue to Slavic Easter cakes due to the strong similarity in recipes and appearance.
In Italy, Panettone has many different origin stories, but the one constant in all these stories is the birthplace of this cake - Milan.
Name " panettone" comes from the Italian word " panetto", which means " small bread pie". Magnifying Italian suffix " -one" changes the value to " big pie".
The origin of this cake dates back to the Roman Empire. The ancient Romans sweetened ordinary yeast bread with honey and added candied fruits and dried fruits. For centuries this " tall yeast fruitcake" appears occasionally in art, for example, in the 16th century painting of Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Also, panettone is mentioned in the book of the famous Italian Renaissance chef Bartolomeo Scappi, the personal chef of the popes and emperors during the reign of Charles V.
The first record of Panettone can be found in the writings of the 18th century Italian philosopher Pietro Verri, who called the pie " Pane di Tono", which means " luxurious pie".
This recipe is from the book “On Cooking”, page 1139. I changed practically nothing in the recipe, except that I replaced the water with milk, and the lemon zest with orange; I only had raisins as dried fruit, but the original recipe contains dried pineapples and pine nuts. But you can add whatever you like to it, for example, dried apricots, figs, candied oranges, prunes, and any nuts. Pine nuts are tender and sweet, in my opinion, and are best suited. You can sprinkle powdered sugar on top or glaze with sugar, as you prefer. A very important point: the eggs must be at room temperature, and the yeast must be fresh (both dry and not dry).
Ingredients:
1. In a large bowl, make the dough: dilute it in warm milk or water (about 40 degrees, do not overheat - the yeast will die in hot liquid) 1 tsp. sugar and 25 grams of fresh yeast or 10 grams of dry. Leave them aside and let them swell a little. 
2. Melt the butter and sugar in a small saucepan. Set aside to cool. An important point: you need to add exactly as much sugar as indicated in the recipe - 120 grams; if you add more, the cake will not rise. 
3. Separate the yolks from the whites. For the dough we need 2 eggs + 3 yolks. 
4. Grate the zest. We need it to be 2 tsp. zest. The original recipe calls for lemon zest, but whatever you like is best. I like the orange scent, it's sweeter. But these green oranges are sold in the Dominican Republic. The quality is no different from ordinary oranges, only the color of the peel is green. 
5. Mix all the dried fruits, zest, vanilla beans (if using), nuts with 1 tsp. flour. Set aside. 
6. Add melted butter and sugar to the water (or milk) with yeast, which is already slightly swollen. Mix well. 
7. Add lightly beaten eggs. Knead again. 
8. Sift half of the flour (360 g) and salt. 
9. Knead so that there are no lumps left. 
10. Add dried fruits, zest, vanilla beans and nuts rolled in flour. Mix. 
11. Add the remaining flour in small portions. Knead the dough for about 7-10 minutes until the dough becomes soft and elastic and no longer sticks to your hands. You need to look here, because... Different flours behave differently, so the dough may take a little more flour. To prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, lightly grease your hands with vegetable oil. Place the dough in a bowl greased with vegetable oil. Cover with a towel and let stand in a warm place for about 1.5-2 hours; we want the dough to double in size. 
12. While the dough is rising, cut out circles from baking paper for the bottom of the molds and strips for the sides. 
13. Grease the molds with vegetable oil, place paper on the bottom and sides. Molds with a capacity of approximately 1 liter. 
14. Check the dough. It should rise at least 2 times. 
15. Transfer the dough to a work surface sprinkled with flour. Divide into two equal parts. Form smooth balls, cover with a towel and let them rest for 5 minutes. 
16. Place the dough balls into the molds. Grease the top of the dough with vegetable oil. Let it sit for another 35-50 minutes. 
17. The dough should double or even triple again. Mine rose very much, you could safely take three liter molds, since the dough will rise even more in the oven. Or you can bake all the dough in one large pan, for example in a 5-liter pan, as I will do next time. 
18. Heat the oven to 180 degrees. Bake the Italian cakes for 35-45 minutes until the tops are well browned. We take the finished cakes out of the oven and check their readiness with a wooden stick. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes. Then remove from the tins and let cool completely before slicing. These cakes (and all cakes) usually taste better the day after baking. I left them in the mold overnight. 
19. That's it! The next morning, sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar or pour over sugar icing, which can be made from 100 grams of powdered sugar and 2-3 tbsp. lemon juice. In general, we decorate the Easter cake at our own discretion. 
20. And here it is in cross-section - perfect! And how delicious it smells! The aromas of orange zest, vanilla beans and the delicious smell of yeast baked goods linger in the house all night and all day! The crumb of the Easter cake turned out to be tender, soft, fragrant, and moderately sweet. I can imagine how delicious this cake is if you add dried pineapples, candied citrus fruits and pine nuts, as in the original recipe! 
21. Here comes the rabbit! Easter symbol in the culture of some countries of Western Europe and the USA. The symbol has pagan roots, dating back to festivals dedicated to fertility and spring. According to the Center for Children's Literature and Culture at the University of Florida, the origins of the Easter Bunny go back to ancient Germanic traditions. The Teutonic deity Eostre (Ostara) was the goddess of spring and fertility. Celebrations in her honor were held on the day of the spring equinox. Its symbol was the rabbit, an animal distinguished by its extreme fertility. The roots of this tradition are most likely lost in the mists of time, since the hare was the animal that accompanied Aphrodite. 
22. Well, this is the second Easter cake! For some reason, he rose strongly, but very smoothly, from his form, reminiscent of the instinctive-unconscious;). 
23. You can also bake the dough in other forms. I baked it in a cake pan and in this round pan. 
24. It turned out very well and conveniently. The main thing is that you don’t need to add more flour than in the recipe, then the cake will turn out very airy. The more flour, the denser the crumb. Since the dough is not quite stiff and sticks to your hands, just lightly grease your hands with vegetable oil, and then it will be convenient to work with the dough. 
25. But most of all I liked this dough in the form of buns. Of dried fruits, only 120 grams of prunes and 180 grams of raisins. It turned out divine! I have never eaten such delicious buns before. In fact, I don’t really like buns, for me the most delicious bun is a pie, but these buns are a big exception. 
26. They are completely self-sufficient and don’t need any filling. Sweet, tender, airy, fragrant, freshly baked, soft warm buns. Mmmmm. I will make these buns not only once a year for Easter, but also from time to time, since the recipe is really very simple: I mixed everything in one bowl, waited until the dough had risen, and kneaded it; We waited again, then into the molds and into the oven! And with buns it’s even easier: after the dough has risen twice, form balls, put them on a baking sheet, wait until they rise a little; Lubricate with vegetable oil and place in the oven. 
27. That's it! I wish you more kindness, love, miracles and delicious Easter cakes on the bright holiday of Easter! 
28. And these are Easter cakes 2014! I baked this recipe again, only I made the white glaze, as Evgenia advised me below in the comments. 
29. This time I divided the dough into three liter molds and 9 mini cakes from Ikea muffin tins! 
30. Protein glaze looks more elegant and familiar, plus it makes the cake sweeter! 
31. And this is Kulich 2015! Last year I forgot to take a cross-sectional photo of it, this year I'm catching up. This time I again added only raisins, 300 grams (which I mixed with flour and vanilla beans in point No. 5), and decorated with fondant sugar at the rate of 250 grams of powdered sugar + 2 tbsp. boiled water (you can use lemon or orange juice instead of water). Add water gradually to get the correct, moderately thick consistency. 
32. Since the recipe contains only 120 grams of sugar, the cake turns out moderately sweet, and 300 grams of dried fruits and sweet sugar fudge just give the perfect balance of the sweetness of the cake. 
33. Happy holidays to you, dear friends! With all my heart I wish you peace, goodness, health and joy! Let your home be filled with comfort, warmth, happiness and prosperity every day. 
34. Traditional update. Kulich 2017. Photos from your phone, if necessary :)
Photo “before and after”, here you can clearly see how the dough rises in the mold in 40 minutes. From the specified amount of dough you get one large round roll (Ikea form) and a liter form (regular mug).
35. This year’s glaze is protein-based: 3 egg whites, 1 cup of powdered sugar and the juice of half a lime (you can use lemon). Just beat everything with a mixer to soft peaks and apply it to the still hot cakes.
36. If desired, you can dry the glaze in the oven on the lowest heat, about 30-40 minutes. I dry it, because the air in the Dominican Republic is very humid and this glaze does not harden so easily. If you have dry air, then there is no need to dry it; this glaze dries quickly on hot Easter cakes.
37. Easter cakes 2018!
How beautifully the dough rose! That's what good fresh yeast means! As you can see, the dough rises even higher in the oven.
38. In the photo on the left, I’m drying the white glaze in the oven, since the holidays this year were rainy, the humidity was almost 100%. The main thing here is not to dry it out! With the addition of lime juice (about 2 tablespoons), the meringue turned out very tender and airy!
39. Happy holiday, Orthodox Christians!
Many people mistakenly believe that panettone is an Italian Easter cake.
I already wrote once that panettone in Italy is a traditional Christmas pastry. But I always bake panettone for Easter.
Firstly, because they are the same shape as our kulchas (obviously they have the same roots), and secondly, they are very tasty, soft, fibrous and airy.
The crumb of this panettone is porous and very soft. It looks more like a cupcake than a pastry.
Here in Greece, I couldn’t find panettone pans at that time, so I took paper cake pans.
For a change, this time I decided to make panettone with chocolate chips and chocolate icing.
To be honest, I didn’t like the chocolate here. I advise you to make it according to the classics of the genre - with raisins and candied fruits. I wrote you a recipe for homemade candied fruits yesterday. Plus, after this recipe you will have 4 free egg whites, which is a great opportunity to glaze the panettone.
I’ll warn you right away that the dough preparation procedure will take you a couple of days, but a) it’s worth it, b) you don’t have to do anything special, you just need to let the dough rise properly.
But to make your life easier, I will sort the cooking steps by hour.
Products:
*for 2 panettones, 500 gr. or for 4, 250 gr.
16:00 – sourdough
- strong flour (bread flour, 13 g protein) - 80 g.
- dry yeast - 5 gr.
- warm water - 40 gr.
21:00 - first dough
- premium flour - 100 gr.
- dough - 90 gr.
- butter, softened - 70 gr.
- sugar - 70 gr.
- warm water - 170 gr.
09:00 - second dough
- strong flour (bread flour, 13 g protein) - 160 g.
- premium flour - 20 gr.
- honey - 10 gr.
- salt - 1 pinch
- butter, melted - 20 gr.
- egg yolks, room temperature - 2 pcs.
- juice of 1 orange
- chocolate or raisins soaked in alcohol - 170 gr.
- candied fruits - 170 gr.
- sugar - 20 gr.
- butter, milk or cream for greasing - 30 g.
- wooden skewers for hanging panettone - 4 pcs.
When choosing flour, look at it nutritional value: The higher the protein content in the flour, the stronger it is. We need flour with a protein content of 13 grams. As a rule, this is bakery flour or 1st grade flour, but not always. Nordic flour also has 13 grams of protein.
Cooking procedure:
It is important not to leave the dough to proof longer than I have indicated. If you can’t follow the recipe, it’s better to undercook, otherwise the dough will sour.
16:00 – sourdough
21:00 - first dough
09:00 - second dough
16:00 - baking
Panettone tastes the best the next morning.
Store panettone, carefully wrapped in cling film, for up to 3 days. If you need it longer, the finished panettone or dough can be frozen in the freezer.
Happy upcoming holiday to you!
Delicious Easter cakes and strong eggs to everyone!!
Olya Athenskaya
Helping you bake better
It is impossible to imagine the Italian Easter table without the delicious Panettone cake, which looks very similar to our traditional Easter cake. According to official history, this cake was first baked in the 16th century for Duke Ludovico il Moro according to his own recipe, which has not changed since then.
The appearance of the Panettone cake is surrounded by legends. According to one version, its name comes from the Italian pan del ton, which means “bread of luxury.”
Italians themselves like to associate the appearance of this culinary masterpiece with the romantic legend about the young man Tony from a rich and influential family who fell in love with the daughter of a Milanese baker.
To be closer to his beloved, Tony hired himself as an apprentice to her father, and so that the girl would pay attention to him, he invented a recipe for amazing-tasting sweet bread in the shape of a dome with raisins, lemon zest and orange slices. Hence the name of the cupcake - Pani di Antonio (“Bread from Tony”).
The original recipe is simple, although it may vary slightly depending on the availability of products and your own wishes. Panettone comes with chocolate, pine nuts, and exotic fruits. And since everyone who tried it liked it, today Panettone is the pride of not only Italy, but also France, Spain and even Latin America!
In our stores you can also find these cupcakes in large elegant boxes. Housewives began to experiment and are trying to bake Panettone at home.
Italian Easter cake
INGREDIENTS
- 850 g flour
- 25 g yeast
- 50 g sugar for dough
- 1 tbsp. l. sugar for dough
- 180 g butter
- 2 eggs
- 4 yolks
- 150 g raisins
- 100 g candied fruits
- 100 g nuts
- 1.5 tsp. salt
- zest of one medium lemon
- 1/2 tbsp. water
COOKING
To make the cake turn out great
- Cake batter loves heat, so don't put it in a draft.
- The dough must be kneaded thoroughly: well-kneaded dough can be easily cut and will not stick to the knife.
- Before baking, the oven must be preheated to 150–180 degrees.
- The baking pan must be filled 1/3 full as the dough will rise.
- You need to place the pan in the oven very carefully so that the dough does not settle.
- While baking Panettone, do not open the oven too often.
- The cake should be coated with powdered sugar or glaze immediately after baking.
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