Mini panettone

Christmas pudding really ain’t all that, in my opinion. I prefer to be slightly pretentious and eat Italian Christmas cake for my festive feast, and jolly nice it is too.

This recipe for panettone is easy-peasy, and the cakes look super-delightful if you bake them in individual tins. I used old baked bean tins lined with greaseproof paper.

Recipe (makes four tall panettone in baked bean tins)

1/2 teaspoon dried active yeast
300g strong white bread flour
3tbsp sugar
15g butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
1 egg
1 yolk
140ml milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
grated rind of one lemon or an orange
50g mixed peel
100g raisins

At this stage, I’ll confess that I cheat and throw everything in my bread machine on the dough setting. But if you’re the sort of person who likes punching and stirring and all those other rituals of breadmaking, here’s the recipe:

1. Beat the eggs together and then add the sugar gradually, followed by the citrus peel and vanilla essence.

2. Warm the milk in a pan, then pour in 1 teaspoon of sugar and the yeast. Leave for five or ten minutes until the mixture has become frothy.

3. Mix the flour, salt and cardamon together in a large bowl, then add the frothy yeast by making a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, pouring in and then mixing. Then add the sugar and egg mixture and stir well until a strong dough has formed.

4. Spread flour on a dry surface, and knead the dough for 10 minutes. Roll into a ball and then leave in a bowl in a warm place for an hour and a half until doubled in size.

5. Once the dough has risen, mix in the raisins and mixed peel and knead for another five minutes. Then transfer to the baked bean tins (make sure these are lined with greaseproof paper, otherwise you’ll never get the panettone out of the the tin) and leave to prove for two hours until tripled in size.

6. Bake in the oven at 150 degrees for half an hour