Panettone with Vanilla Mascarpone and Amarena Cherries
Much like brioche, panettone lends itself to be eaten alone, but having a tendency for the grandiose I decided I needed to give this lingering thought of mine a try. Plus meet my cats!
I wrote about what Panettone means to me a while back, and if you must know, the feeling still stands.
I popped open my first of the year this past week, and I’ve been slowly chipping away at it with afternoon cups of tea. The perfect snack to keep me going through the busiest time of the year at work, or even as an excuse to take a break from said work.
In true ceremonial fashion, I shared a tiny bit of my first slice with Olive (one of my cats) who is equally as obsessed with it as I am. She sat patiently in front of me, as I ripped the slice apart with my fingers and stared at me so intently that with every bite I could not hold off any longer and caved. The apple does not fall far from the tree, even if said apple is a kitty lol.
On a side note, I think it’s time you met my cats, Penelope and Olive. Hard to pick two pictures of each out of hundreds but can you guess who’s who?
Hint, Olive looks like she has a hidden agenda.
I don't love feeding them “human food”, you never know what can wreak havoc in their delicate little tummies, but she hasn’t asked again since then so either she didn’t love it (she’s a tough critic just like her mama) or she had just the right amount to keep her going until next year.
The idea for this “recipe” came up when I was out and about; if you must know, I was thinking about what my last meal would look like, which prompted me to start getting creative and come up with dishes that included my favourite ingredients. This is one of them.
Keeping my Italian roots in check, this dessert is a celebration of some of my favourite foods Italy has gifted us, from the panettone and the mascarpone to the Amarena cherries (a true pantry staple if you ask me).
Panettone with Vanilla Mascarpone and Amarena Cherries
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 thick and I mean THICK slices of panettone
250g mascarpone
2 tsp icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract - homemade is best for this one!
4 generous tbsp Fabbri Amarena Cherries
Method
In a small bowl, mix the mascarpone with icing sugar and vanilla extract until it’s looser in consistency. Don’t overmix, just enough until there are no pockets of icing sugar left.
Plate the panettone slices and top with spoonfuls of the sweetened vanilla mascarpone. Finally, spoon the Amarena cherries and their syrup generously over the mascarpone.
Serve immediately and enjoy (even better if it’s with a glass of champagne).
PS. The stunning coupes pictured above are from Rowen and Wren, a British homewares company that makes the most beautiful furniture and accessories for the home with sustainability always in mind.