"Pandolce" in 5 steps

The perfect dessert for the Christmas period!

The origins of this Christmas special dessert are controversial.

“U pandùce” would be the evolution of an ancient Genoese dessert: the bread with the zibibbo.

In 1500 the Doge of Genoa, Andrea Doria, asked some pastry chefs to make a cake that would become a symbol of the city.

It soon became the favorite dessert of sailors that had to face the long days of offshore travelling.

There are also theories that trace its origins back to the times of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. Based on evidence of sweets prepared with cereals, honey and spices that were offered to the gods.

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Ingredients:

300 g flour Manitoba

150 g flour 00 (if you can’t find Manitoba you can use 450 of 00 flour)

200g butter

150g white sugar

25g honey

2 eggs

1 spoon of orange blossom water

1 powder yeast small sachet

250g sultana

50g candied fruit (cedro and orange )

50g pine nuts

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Preparation

Pandolce can last a long time and it’s perfect to accompany your tea and coffee, it’s also a morning booster and a perfect after dinner.

1. Mix the Manitoba flour and the 00 flour together with the sugar and the baking powder. Add: honey, blossom orange water, eggs, butter (at room temperature) and mix for 10 minutes.

2. When the mixture is homogeneous add: raisins, pine nuts and candied fruit and knead until perfectly distributed.

3. Form a ball of dough, place it on an oven tray with oven paper on it and flatten it lightly.

4. Make a triangular cut on the surface of the Pandolce, it will serve to maintain uniform cooking.

5. Bake at 160° and cook for about 35 minutes. When it gets golden it's ready!