22-12-2012
A few tips for buying a good panettone, with two suggestions by pastry chef Luca De Santi for a cream to complement this cake (opening photo by Lucca Cantarin)
After a journey focused on pandoro, it’s now the turn of panettone: everyone knows it is originally from Lombardy, in particular from Milan, but it is now produced brilliantly all over the country. This is because the lure of the “challenge” of a perfect leavening is increasingly stronger and more motivating for pastry chefs. In the words of Lucca Cantarin, young talent of Pasticceria Marisa in Arsego di San Giorgio delle Pertiche (Padua) and winner of the prize for the “Best Venetian Panettone” in 2011, “panettone is like a woman: you need to woo it when it is leavening; then you cuddle it like a child during the baby bath, until it bursts in the oven in all its abundance of scents and flavours”. We can understand why the challenge is more and more thrilling.
Andrea Besuschio, his pastryshop is in Abbiategrasso (Milan)
In Bagnolo Mella (Brescia) a visit to Sirani is a must, and not only for panettone. Moving towards the capital, you can stop at Iside De Cesare's La Parolina in Acquapendente (Viterbo), where she produces one hundred or so “Parlottoni” (this is the name) with raisins from Corinth, available for the clients of the restaurant wishing to buy it; in Rome you should stop at Cristalli di Zucchero while in Caserta the panettoni are those made by Rosanna Marziale, from the classic version to that with beer. And then there’s Niko Romito who, in his new establishment in Castel di Sangro in the province of L’Aquila, bakes limited edition panettoni and then mails them to your house (for info and bookings info@casadonna.it). Finally, moving further South, we arrive in Taurisano (Lecce) and find the panettone made at Caffè Italia, rthe kingdom of the Protopapa family.
These are the two recipes by pastry chef Luca De Santi for two creams to complement a slice of panettone:
Luca De Santi, pastry chef and consultant Whipped cream with mascarpone and ginger
Luca De Santi, pastry chef and consultant
Ingredients for 4 people 150 g of cream 20 g of icing sugar 170 g of mascarpone 10 g of candied ginger (suggested quantity, increase or diminish to taste) Mix the cream with the sugar and mascarpone and whip with an electric whisk until you obtain a creamy texture (don’t whip too much or you’ll get a granitic effect). Afterwards, add the ginger cut into pieces, mix and serve. Chocolate cremoso sauce Ingredients for 4 people 40 g of egg yolks 20 g of sugar 50 g of milk 150 g of cream 85 g of milk chocolate or 75 g of dark chocolate
With a whisk, finely mix the egg yolks and sugar. Bring the milk and cream to the boil and gradually pour them on the egg yolks, diluting them. Bring the mixture to 82°C, then remove from the heat, add the chocolate and quickly cool down.
Previews, personalities and establishments in the sweet side of the food planet
by
Classe 1985, laurea in Scienze Gastronomiche, passione e lavoro nel mondo gastronomico: cura gli eventi di Identità Golose, la relativa Guida e il sito web