There’s nothing I love more than a good recipe based on repurposing. If I inherited any trait from my grandparents, it is that absolutely hate wasting anything, especially in the kitchen. When I manage to revive something, it gives me the craziest amount of joy. So, I give you: panettone bread pudding.
Panettone is a delicious Italian sweet Christmas bread that does have a decent shelf life. When you start cutting into it (or, just don’t get a chance to eat in time – although that is a very rare occurrence,) this festive treat can become pretty dry. But, the flavor is still all there. You can’t let that go to waste!
So, how do you revive it? You only need two ingredients: eggs and milk. That’s it! You can also add in a sweetener (sugar, honey, molasses, etc…) if you like. Most panettone carries enough sweetness and flavor that you do not need this. It is all up to you.
In my case, I used 3 tablespoons of honey for my panettone bread pudding made with a panettone classico, since I wanted it to be a little sweeter. But, for my nutella-chocolate panettone bread pudding, I didn’t add any sweetener whatsoever. There was no need with all the chocolate-y goodness already there! I’d do the same if it were any flavored panettone – pistachio, mandorle, etc… They all usually have more sugar.
Panettone Bread Pudding Recipe
What you’ll need (for one classic Panettone:)
- One regular-sized panettone or 3-4 mini panettone (I used Settepani’s Panettone!)
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup of milk
- Optional: 1/4 cup of sweetener (I prefer honey)
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Tear your panettone into medium-sized pieces into a bowl. You don’t want them to be too small.
- Whisk your eggs in a separate bowl. Slowly add milk to the mixture, whisking until everything is even. If adding a sweetener, whisk it in with your milk.
- Arrange your shredded panettone evenly into a 9×5 loaf pan or an 8×8 pan. Either will work – it just depends on how dense you like your pudding!
- Pour over your egg-milk mixture, evenly covering all of your shredded panettone. If it seems too dry, just add a little more milk!
- Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the moisture has evaporated and your panettone bread pudding is all crispy delicious on top!
Tips to know!
- You can easily modify this recipe as you adapt it to whatever leftover panettone you have! The goal is for all of the panettone to be very moist, sort of like how you make stuffing. This moisture will rehydrate the panettone and evaporate in the oven.
- Depending on your oven (and the size of your pudding,) your panettone pudding may take a little longer to cook. My oven runs pretty hotter than most so I only needed a little over 25 minutes. However, using a different oven, I needed 35 minutes for my chocolate panettone pudding.
And, you can discover my complete REEL of this delicious dessert here!