Does anyone else remember the Great Panettone Shortage? I sure do. Every holiday season, I look forward to indulging in this impossibly rich, fruit-studded Italian classic. But one year, thanks to COVID-related supply chain issues, my cherished tradition was nowhere to be found. “I’ll just make my own,” I thought. Not so fast! Panettone is often called the “Mt. Everest” of baking challenges. Technically a bread rather than a cake, panettone is a multi-day project involving a yeasted sourdough starter, multiple rises, and precise shaping—not exactly tailored to a novice baker with limited time on her hands. Then I hit upon an idea. I decided to capture everything I love about Panettone—the glorious chestnuts (so under-valued!), orange-scented dried fruits, and buttery richness—but in a much more manageable form. Enter: Panettone Pound Cake.
So my sister Lan has been making Pannetone every Christmas for the last couple of years. It’s wonderful and festive, but it’s definitely a labor of love, so much so that it’s a once in a year project. Lan is a one woman factory, churning out these fragrant loaves, often struggling to finish off the massive quantity of egg whites that she’s left with once the pannetone project is finished. This in turn becomes the massive macaron project because it is one of the few egg white recipes her husband will eat. If this sounds like you, let me ease your holiday burden by offering a twist that will satisfy that holiday baking/gift giving itch, but preserve your sanity.
This Pannetone Pound Cake comes together in about an hour and a half and delivers all the festive flavors you crave, with none of the stress. It’s a holiday showstopper of a dessert, with each bite offering chewy fruit set against vanilla cakey goodness. And rumor has it, the leftovers make an amazing breakfast treat. Plus it’s another way to use those Roasted Chestnuts we made, so let’s get into it!
I start making my Panettone Pound Cake by simmering the roasted chestnuts and dried fruit in some juice. You can do this the day before since they need to cool down before using, but try not to eat them all! I simmer them with apple juice, which adds a gentle sweetness but more importantly moisture and softness.
Originally I tried to make the recipe without this step, tweaking the recipe over and over. But I could not get around the fact that the fruit ended up like dried, almost taffy like, pieces that were rush-to-the-dentist hard. So in order to avoid a holiday dinner table disaster, which is an unfortunate family hallmark, I decided that some simmering was a good thing.
You can really use any combination of fruit. I just happen to like this one best because it’s unusual, fragrant, and has a luxe indulgent feel. You’ll need about 3 cups total, which is generous yet doesn’t compromise the rise of the batter.
In addition to the chestnuts, which I hope you won’t skip, I add some candied oranges. If they come in large pieces, you’ll want to mince it first. I love the ones they have at Trader Joe’s, and they are wonderful in my Brussels Sprouts Salad too. If you don’t have a TJ’s near you, any dried oranges or tangerines will work as well (although you may need to simmer them along with the chestnuts to get them hydrated).
The chestnuts get simmered in the apple juice for ten minutes. They will look very soft and moist. Then pour the whole thing over the other dried fruits, letting the boiling hot liquid pump up the other fruits.
After the 30 minutes is up I strain out the fruit and let it cool to room temperature. You can use the leftover juice for hot mulled cider, a fall inspired salad dressing, or anything else…maybe some juice pops. You get the drift.
Baking the Panettone Pound Cake
Now that the fruits are ready, it’s time to make the cake. This is a rather straightforward pound cake recipe. Like with all baking, some simple steps ensure success: read the recipe through before beginning, if you don’t bake often make sure your baking powder is not expired, and if possible, weigh your flour for the most accurate measurements. If you don’t have a scale use the “spoon and level” method; lightly spoon flour into your dry measuring cup and then level it off with a knife. I know this can seem a little persnickety, but baking is a science, and if you’ve ever had baking fails, it’s likely a little too much or too little flour was the culprit.
Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition:
Really mix the fruit in evenly so that every bite will have a little bit of something and there’s no big clumps of fruit stuck together.
This is a big cake that will fill the pan almost all the way to the top. Make sure you are using a large bundt cake mold (mine is 12 cups). Poundcake batters are very thick and there isn’t as much rise as a thin layer cake. Just make sure you have a little space from the edge of the pan. If you don’t have a large bundt cake pan, you can also use 2 loaf pans, or even halve the recipe.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before flipping it out and then let it cool completely.
This Panettone Pound cake is perfect on its own to end your holiday meal, and of course no one would be mad if you served her with some whipped cream.
I can’t wait for you to try this cake so we can all get our panettone fix this holiday season. Let me know what you think, and don’t forget to tag us in your pics @funkyasiankitchen, we love hearing from you!
Panettone Pound Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 70 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 12 1x
- Category: sweets
Ingredients
- 13 ½ ounces all purpose flour (3 cups)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¼ teaspoon orange oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dried Fruit:
- 2 cups apple juice
- 1 cup cooked and peeled chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 cup raisins
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup minced candied oranges slices
Instructions
Prepare Fruit:
- Put all of the dried fruit into a large bowl, except chestnuts.
- Combine the chestnuts with the apple juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over high heat.
- Lower heat to medium and cover with a lid. Simmer for 10 minutes. The chestnuts should be moist and soft.
- Pour the chestnuts and the hot apple juice over the dried fruit and let sit for 30 minutes. Drain the apple juice from the fruit using a colander and use the juice for another purpose or discard. Set the fruit aside to cool to room temperature.
Prepare the Cake:
- Heat the oven to 325°F and move the oven shelf to the middle of the oven.
- Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with baker’s cooking spray, making sure you get all of the nooks and crannies.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until well blended.
- With an electric mixer (I use the paddle attachment on my stand mixer), beat the butter until it’s very pale and little tails have formed, about 1 minute on medium high speed.
- Add in the sugar and beat well until slightly fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until completely blended before adding the next.
- With the mixer on the lowest setting, add one-third of the flour and mix until almost combined; then add half the buttermilk and mix until just combined. Repeat with another third of flour, and then the last half of the buttermilk plus the vanilla extract and the orange oil. Add the last third of the flour and mix until almost combined. It’s fine to still have small streaks of unmixed flour.
- Using a stiff rubber spatula, add all of the fruit and slowly stir to blend it into the flour mixture, taking care to scrape the bowl’s bottom and sides.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it when inserted in the center, 65-70 minutes.
- Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes; flip it out gently onto a cooling rack and cool completely before serving.
Notes
* You can use any combination of dried fruit for a total of 3 cups
*Trader Joe sells candied orange slices in the dried fruit aisle.
*Cooked and peeled chestnuts are sold at asian grocery stores, costco, and trader joes
Keywords: panettone, cake, holiday, dessert, pound cake, chestnuts
