The Verdict
The other Christmas cake — the panettone's rival, sweeter and simpler, from Verona. Eat it warm, dusted with sugar.
Why go
To eat the Veronese Christmas cake, the star-shaped sweet bread, in the season.
What makes it worth going
The Veronese sweet bread, star-shaped, dusted with vanilla sugar. The Christmas cake of the Veneto, the rival of the panettone.
Things to do
- pasticceria
Pasticceria in Verona (e.g. Perbellini or a local)
The benchmark pandoro, naturally leavened. The star shape, the vanilla, the butter. Buy in December.
1 hr
- experience
A Verona food walk at Christmas
Pandoro, a hot chocolate, the Verona Christmas markets.
Eat
- dessert
Pandoro classico
The classic: a sweet, airy, star-shaped bread, naturally leavened, with butter and vanilla, dusted with vanilla sugar. No candied peel, no raisins (unlike panettone). The Veronese Christmas cake.
- accompaniment
With mascarpone cream
The classic companion; the mascarpone cream, cut into the star slices.
Stay
- neighborhood
Verona center
Near the best pasticcerias. Walkable and central.
Experiences Worth Booking
Pandoro-making class
2 daysThe mother yeast, the star rise, the butter. The star is the technique.
The pandoro is a multi-day dough; a class shows you the mother, the star shape, and the rise.
Suits: Bakers who want the Veronese Christmas cake.
What's nearby & pairs with
More food from Veneto
Dish
Risotto al Nero di Seppia
Rice blackened with cuttlefish ink — Venice's most dramatic plate and the cleanest seafood risotto.
Dish
Sarde in Saor
Fried sardines in a sweet-sour onion and raisin marinade — Venice's original sailors' snack.
Dish
Fegato alla Veneziana
Calf's liver and onions, cooked soft and sweet — the dish that made liver famous.
Dish
Bigoli all'Anatra
Thick, rough-stranded whole-wheat pasta with duck ragù — the rustic pasta of the Veneto.
Dish
Tiramisù
Coffee-soaked ladyfingers layered with mascarpone and egg — the dessert the world adopted, born in Treviso.
Ready to plan?
Ready to turn discovery into a trip?
Italy Field Guide helps you decide where to go. When you're ready to build the actual day-by-day itinerary, take your saved places to Travel Itinerary Co — your interests go with you.
Turn your saved Italy places into a trip