The Verdict
The Christmas cake of Italy — eat the real, slow-fermented one, not the supermarket. Worth a pilgrimage to a Milan pasticceria in December.
Why go
To eat the real panettone, naturally leavened, from a Milan master, in the Christmas season.
What makes it worth going
The Milanese sweet bread, with candied peel and raisins, the Christmas cake of Italy.
Things to do
- pasticceria
Pasticceria in Milan (e.g. Cova, Iginio Massari, Pavoni)
The benchmark panettone, naturally leavened. The dough, the candied peel, the raisins. Buy in December; the slow ferment is the test.
1 hr
- experience
A Milan food walk at Christmas
Panettone, gianduiotto, a hot chocolate. The Milanese Christmas circuit.
- experience
A panettone-making class
The panettone is the lesson; the mother yeast, the slow ferment, the rise. The technique is the time.
Eat
- dessert
Panettone classico
The classic: a sweet bread, naturally leavened (with a mother yeast), with candied orange and cedar peel and raisins. The dome shape, the airy crumb, the long rise. The Milanese Christmas cake.
- variation
Panettone with chocolate or pistachio
The modern variations; the classic is the test.
Stay
- neighborhood
Milan center
Near the best pasticcerias. Walkable and central.
Experiences Worth Booking
Panettone-making class
2 daysThe mother yeast, the slow rise, the bake. The time is the technique.
The panettone is a multi-day dough; a class shows you the mother, the rise, and the patience.
Suits: Bakers who want the Milanese Christmas cake; the slow ferment is the secret.
What's nearby & pairs with
More food from Lombardia
Dish
Risotto alla Milanese
Saffron risotto from Milan — the dish that made saffron the flavor of northern Italian rice.
Dish
Cotoletta alla Milanese
Breaded veal cutlet, fried in butter — Milan's answer to the Wiener Schnitzel, or its predecessor.
Dish
Ossobuco
Braised veal shanks with the marrow bone — slow-cooked until the meat falls, served with gremolata.
Cheese
Grana Padano
The other great hard Italian cheese — aged cow's milk, from a broader zone across the Po Valley.
Cheese
Gorgonzola
Italy's great blue cheese — cow's milk, veined with Penicillium, in two styles: sweet (dolce) and sharp (piccante).
Cheese
Taleggio
Washed-rind cow's milk cheese from the Val Taleggio — soft, pungent, and one of Italy's best table cheeses.
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