It goes with out saying that Rome takes Christmas severely — Vatican Metropolis is dwelling to the pope, in any case. Yearly, beginning in November, the Everlasting Metropolis begins gearing up for the vacation season, with twinkling lights illuminating the cobblestone streets, Christmas markets promoting ornaments and items, and panettone — the massive domed Christmas cake — showing on cabinets in supermarkets, bakeries, and connoisseur meals shops.

Based on legend, panettone was invented on Christmas Eve in 1495 on the royal court docket of Ludovico il Moro in Milan when the dessert burned and the top chef was left scrambling. His younger assistant Toni rapidly made some dough sweetened with eggs and sultanas and enriched with butter and egg yolks. Afterwards, phrase of the scrumptious dessert unfold and other people began calling it pan de Toni (Toni’s bread).

Maybe extra believable is the speculation that the phrase panettone derives from affixing the suffix -one (denoting one thing massive) to the phrase pane (bread), primarily that means “massive bread.” The everyday panettone weighs round a kilo (2.2 kilos), has a mushy brioche-like texture, and is studded with raisins and candied orange peel. The problem comes from the lengthy, double leavening course of, kickstarted by a stiff sourdough starter known as “lievito madre.” After proofing and baking, the panettone will get hung the other way up for eight to 12 hours to forestall it from collapsing below its personal weight.

And although the Milanese may contend that their panettone is the very best, bakers throughout Italy have taken up the problem — for it’s a notoriously tough product to make — and even compete for the title of finest panettone at occasions just like the Coppa del Mondo del Panettone and the expo Panettone Maximo, which takes place in Rome yearly. Since shifting to the Everlasting Metropolis in 2019, I’ve made it my mission to attempt as lots of them as doable. These are my favorites.