One thing you quickly learn after a few Christmases in Italy is that panettone and pandoro have a habit of piling up. They’re the go-to Christmas gift, so by the end of December, most families have far more than they could ever eat.
So what do we do with all that leftover panettone? (Besides quietly passing one onto someone else?…)
We get creative in the kitchen.
If you’re in the same situation, or you’re simply looking for a more exciting way to eat it than another slice with your coffee, these four leftover panettone recipes are a great place to start. Three are sweet, one is savory, and I’ve tested every recipe in my own kitchen. I’ll walk you through each one, share a few tips to make them even better, and let you know which recipes we loved most.
A quick note: I used pandoro for all four recipes because that’s what I had on hand (and, if I’m honest, it’s my personal favorite). But don’t worry, every recipe works just as well with panettone.
Table of Contents
Pandoro/Panettone French Toast With Orange Flavored Ricotta
This was my husband’s favorite, and it was also the one I had the most fun coming up with. For the past few years I have been saying I want to try making panettone french toast, and then the season comes and I never get around it. Well, thanks to this blog post I finally did, even though it was way outside the Christmas season. I actually tested all of these recipes back in April.
I am so glad I did because I now have a great recipe to share with you, and one to come back to every season. It truly is that amazing.
Here’s my thinking process for this one…
I asked myself: what kind of french toast can I make that’s both sweet and tasty, feels gourmet Italian, incorporates a few traditional flavors, but is also on the healthy side?
Ricotta panettone french toast was the answer.
So I went a step further and thought about what goes well with ricotta that’s very Italian?
My Sicilian self thought about the ricotta and orange combination, especially when you add sugar and vanilla into the mix.
I told myself, should I wish to add it, chocolate chips would pair perfectly too.
And that’s how this recipe came to life.
Now, let me show you how to make it.
Ingredients for 2 slices french toasts:
Note: since I was testing these recipes, I only made a small quantity of each, but you can simply double or quadruple the ingredients to make as much as you desire.
- 1 orange (for some zest)
- 2 eggs
- 60 ml fresh cream, not whipped
- 1.5 tbsp white sugar (half for the batter and one for the ricotta)
- Optional pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons ricotta
- Local fresh honey (I like the multi flora kind)
- Optional milk or dark chocolate
- 2 small panettone or pandoro slices
How to make it:
- Beat the eggs into a bowl; add the fresh cream too.
- Add the sugar and the optional spices.
- Grate in some orange zest, just a little, as you want most of it for your ricotta.
- Prepare the ricotta by adding the sugar and the orange zest, as much as you want. Mix well and refrigerate.
- Cut the panettone or pandoro into thick slices, around 3 cm thick (at least 1.2 inches).
- If you use pandoro, it’s nice if you cut the slices from the top where the cake is smaller and you can clearly see the star shape.
- Soak them for a few seconds on each side, and repeat one more time. You don’t want them to lose their shape and break, but you also want them really wet.
- Heat a pan, add a knob of butter, and cook each side for at least 4 minutes.
- Top the pancakes with a generous dollop of the orange ricotta you made.
Serve with a drizzle of honey and optional grated chocolate.
Result: This turned out to be the most delicious combination ever – sweet and zesty, light and hearty, and the lightly sweetened ricotta made it feel indulgent but not sickly so. The french toast was fluffy and very brioche-like, and it was so easy to make.
Sweet & Savory Pandoro/Panettone Christmas Sandwich
This is another recipe I have kept playing with in my mind for the past 5 years. I have an Italian client that sells panettone and every year when I write his Christmas emails, I recommend a similar Christmas sandwich as a leftover panettone recipe. And every time I think to myself, that must truly be delicious.
Well, this was the perfect chance to taste test it.
So, here comes the recipe.
Ingredients for one large sandwich:
This is large and filling enough to share.
- Prosciutto crudo (aka Parma ham)
- Mozzarella fresh in water x1
- 2 Provolone cheese slices
- Rucola
- Salt and pepper
- Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 medium large panettone or pandoro slices
How to make it:
- Slice the pandoro or panettone into thick slices, same thickness as we did for the french toast – at least 3 cm thick (1.2 inches). I sliced the middle part of the pandoro, which gave me a medium large sandwich in a star shape. You can do the same with the panettone, but it won’t have the star shape.
- Grill each slice for a few minutes on each side.
- Brush the inside with a little extra virgin olive oil.
- Fill with prosciutto crudo slices, rucola, salt and pepper, and a drizzle of EVOO.
- I wanted to test two types of cheese, but you can choose one. I did half the sandwich with nearly a whole mozzarella, and two slices of provolone cheese on the other half.
- You could also drizzle some balsamic vinegar of Modena. This is my favorite.
Result: This tasted like the kind of sandwich you would expect from a fancy Italian restaurant, but it’s only fancy because it looks so. Inside, it has all the properties of the kind of sandwich an Italian would prepare for you at home.
The cheese winner is, as I expected, the mozzarella. The reason is that its freshness cuts through the saltiness of the prosciutto and the sweetness of the cake.
Pandoro/Panettone Tiramisu Cups
This next one was a given. I couldn’t not include it, especially when I have already shared a post full of Italian-inspired tiramisu recipe ideas, and my go-to healthy tiramisu recipe with yogurt.
I thought why don’t I take this chance to test whether panettone could make my beloved healthish tiramisu even better! And I did.
Did it make it better? I will tell you at the end of the recipe.
Ingredients for 1 cup:
- Half an espresso shot without sugar
- 250 gr Greek yogurt
- 1 to 2 tablespoons coconut sugar (or regular)
- 1 chocolate square for grating or you can use cocoa powder
- a pinch or a few drops vanilla essence
- 3 small pieces panettone or pandoro slices
How to make it:
- Use a round cookie cutter to cut the pandoro slices.
- Quickly dip them into the espresso and set them aside on a plate.
- Mix half the espresso in my Greek yogurt together with the sugar and the vanilla.
- Fill the bottom of the glass with the yogurt filling.
- Layer the soaked slice of panettone.
- Add more yogurt filling.
- Repeat two more layers of panettone and filling, finishing with the yogurt on top.
- Grate or dust with chocolate, and refrigerate for a few hours.
Result: This was really nice, but I still prefer my healthish tiramisu with lady fingers over then panettone version. My husband agrees. The reason is that the lady fingers have the perfect texture for tiramisu, whereas the panettone makes it fairly cakey and less light and creamy than how us Italians like tiramisu.
Mini Mascarpone Cakes With Panettone or Pandoro
I left this one for the last as it’s the one that we liked the least. I think it felt incomplete, and it didn’t have that wow factor. And honestly, it’s so simple that it’s definitely missing something.
I am going to share how I made it, and what I think I should have done differently to improve it.
Ingredients for 2 mini cakes:
- 50 ml whipping cream
- 75 ml mascarpone
- 25 gr powder sugar + a little more for dusting
- Fresh strawberries
- I would add: grated milk chocolate
- I would add: melted chocolate or a drizzle of honey
- You could also add: crumbled nuts of your choice like roasted almonds or even crumbled almond cookies
How to make it:
- Make the mascarpone cream by whipping the latter with the whipping cream and the powder sugar until fluffy.
- Use a nice cutter to cut the panettone into shapes. I used a circle shape. I cut the base and then I cut another in the same size but added a hole to it, to go on top.
- Put a dollop of cream in the middle of the slice of panettone.
- Top with the slice that has a hole.
- Add a strawberry in the middle
- Do this extra step: Add some mascarpone cream to the sides, and then sprinkle some grated chocolate, or some crumbled almonds or almond cookies, or both on the sides.
- Do this extra step: Drizzle some melted chocolate or honey.
- Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
I think this is the best recipe to use if you want to serve panettone around the holidays in an elevated way without having to bake. Tiramisu cups are another great idea.
If you prepare the mascarpone cream in the morning and refrigerate it, and you pre-cut the panettone slices and store them in a plastic bag, all you have to do is assemble when you’re ready to serve dessert. If you want to make things even simpler, you can replace the mascarpone cream with ice cream!
More Italian Christmas Inspiration
And there you have it: 4 delicious and easy leftover panettone recipes you can make throughout and after the holidays. The best part is that you don’t need to wait for the leftovers. These are so good they are worth using your fresh panettone. After all, you’re very likely to receive a new one before you know it!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please give it a heart and share it with a friend. It helps me a lot; thank you so much.
Here are more inspiring Christmas reads and recipes:
Italian Christmas Food: 11 Staples Italians Can’t Do Without
My favorite Christmas cookies: Italian Mostaccioli Cookies
How To Host An Italian Christmas (coming soon)
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Buone feste (happy holidays).
A presto,
Alessia
