Too Much Panettone This Season? Here’s How to Use it Up

• Whether or not you’re a fan, it just doesn’t feel like the holidays without a surplus of panettone. This sweet Italian yeast bread shows up in supermarkets like clockwork at the onset of winter. Stacked in decorative cardboard box towers among the aisles or by the door, it’s a common grab-and-go hostess gift during the holiday season. If you’ve been gifted one (or a few) too many panettone loaves this month, don’t let such an underrated holiday baked good go to waste. Here are seven ways to use up this festive favorite—that don’t include regifting.
• French Toast

This may be the most obvious way to repurpose panettone—but that’s because it’s delicious, and makes for the perfect Christmas morning breakfast. Because panettone is super moist, you’ll want to lightly toast slices of the cake in your oven in order to slightly dehydrate it before dunking it in your egg custard mix. This will help it to better hold its structure in the liquid instead of becoming a dense, soggy mess.

Trifle

Use panettone the same way you’d use up any cake scraps in a classic trifle. Cubed chunks of the fruitcake and layers of fresh whipped cream, nuts, and fresh fruit make this an easy holiday treat that’s festive and beautiful enough to star as the dessert centerpiece at your holiday spread.

Stuffing

• Hear us out on this—the sweetness of panettone goes really well with traditional holiday flavors like sage, cranberry, and thyme, so it makes perfect sense to pair it with your holiday turkey. Cut panettone into cubes, toast them a bit in a low-temperature oven, and use them just as you would any bread in a classic stuffing.
• Bread pudding

Bread pudding is an easy dessert to make for a crowd, and this Panettone Bread Pudding is a guaranteed holiday party hit. Panettone is sweet and fragrant enough that it only requires a little bit of vanilla extract and orange zest for added flavor. The custard is kept simple to let the fresh citrus flavors shine through.

Ice Cream

Here’s the thing about ice cream: It’s a crowd favorite, even in the dead of winter. While seasonal ice cream flavors like eggnog and peppermint are more common this season, liven them up with panettone cake chunks throughout. Start with a simple vanilla ice cream base—it can’t get easier than this three-ingredient recipe—and crumble panettone into the mix for a dessert that’s completely transformed (and tasty).

Tiramisu

One Italian classic is transformed into another. Replace ladyfingers with a layer of panettone for a simple swap that gives tiramisu a seasonal, holiday twist. The fruity sweetness of the cake pairs well with the espresso and mascarpone layers, but if you have chocolate chip panettone on-hand, that would work especially well in this dessert.

Just Add Booze

Many of these desserts could benefit from a splash or two of bourbon or rum. If you notice your panettone going stale, Spiced Rum Balls are a great way to easily use it up in a shareable treat. Toast up chunks of panettone and give it a whirl in your blender, and go half and half with the cookie and panettone crumbs.