Panettone Bread Pudding
By: Leah Rodrigues
Published: December 15, 2012

Panettone bread pudding is an easy holiday dessert.  This traditional Italian egg bread that is usually studded with candied fruit, raisins, pine nuts and other assorted nuts.  For this recipe, cubes of leftover panettone are left to soak in a custard mixture and then baked.  The bread pudding is served with a whiskey butter sauce.  Panettone is widely available during the holiday season at most markets.
 
Panettone Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
6 cups homemade or store bought Panettone
Custard:
	6 large eggs
	1 1/2 cups milk
	1 1/2 cups heavy cream
	1 cup sugar
	2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sauce:
	4 tablespoons Whiskey
	1 cup confectionery sugar
	1 1/4 sticks butter, softened (2 tablespoons for greasing the baking dish)
Other Things Needed: 8 ” x 8 ” baking dish
Directions:
Custard: In bowl beat the eggs, milk, cream, sugar and the vanilla extract and set it aside.
Assembly: Grease the baking dish with 2 tablespoons butter. Remove any dark sections of the Panettone and discard them. Cut the Panettone into square chunks and put them into the baking dish. Pour the custard over the top and move it gently around making sure that all the chunks are covered with the mixture. Place it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight. It is very important that it has absorbed the custard otherwise the inside of the Panettone will be dry.
Place the pudding in the middle of the oven and cook for 45 minutes to an hour. After 45 minutes test it with a skewer, if it comes out dry and the top is a golden brown it is done. You might have to cook it for another 10-15 minutes.
Cool to room temperature before cutting.
Sauce: Melt the butter and the confectionary sugar in a double boiler continually stirring. Remove from the heat and add whisky. You can use Amaretto if you prefer, but if you don’t want to use alcohol, serve it warm with crème anglaise
Storage: Keep the Panettone bread pudding refrigerated.
Note: You can also add chocolate bits and/or roasted almonds to the pudding.