Panettone with Dark Chocolate, Figs and Almonds

Traditionally prepared over Christmas and New Years, Panettone is a great dessert to experiment with this holiday season. Our Panettone with Dark Chocolate, Figs, and Almonds is sure to impress your guests and also makes for the perfect sweet treat to bring over to the in-laws. 

The Round Dutch Oven is all you’ll need for this recipe, creating the ideal environment for the dough to rise. This versatile piece of cookware comes equipped with a tight-fitting lid and thick, enamelled cast iron walls, locking in heat and moisture to deliver superior heat retention. 

Our Panettone with Dark Chocolate, Figs, and Almonds is the ultimate show-stopping dessert and can quickly emerge as a holiday staple in your household. The addition of the dark chocolate, figs, and almonds refines this traditional Milanese recipe, but is sure to leave your guests asking for the recipe. Our take on Panettone can be prepared in just over two hours, excluding the time it takes for the ingredients to rest, serving up to 12 slices at a time. Here are all the ingredients you’ll need along with the steps to follow before you can begin preparing your very own Panettone.

Starter

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the starter ingredients. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let sit out at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.

Dough 

In another bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, vanilla seeds and citrus zest (if using vanilla extract, add along with the wet ingredients in the next step). Mix with the tips of your fingers to evenly distribute the vanilla seeds and zest.

Add to the bowl of starter and mix with the dough hook for 1 minute to combine. Add the honey, egg yolks and 3 whole eggs. Mix until the dry ingredients are moistened, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. With the machine running on medium speed, gradually add the butter. Knead with the dough hook for 10 minutes. The dough will still be quite sticky.

Lightly flour the bottom of a Round Dutch Oven. With lightly floured hands, transfer the dough to the French Oven. Cover with the lid and let the dough rise in a warm spot until almost doubled in size, about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the remaining egg. Cover and refrigerate.

Remove the dough from the pot and place on a lightly floured surface. Gently knead the chocolate, figs and almonds into the dough until evenly distributed throughout. Shape the dough into a ball. 

Clean out the Round Dutch Oven. Line the bottom and sides with parchment paper (you can use a very small amount of butter to help the parchment paper stick to the pot). Place the dough, seam-side down, at the centre of the pot. Cover with the lid and let rise in a warm spot until about 1 inch (2.5 cm) below the top of the pot, about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). 

Brush the top of the panettone with the beaten egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar. 

Place the Round Dutch Oven on a baking sheet. Transfer to the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325°F (165°C) and continue to bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. If the top of the panettone is getting too dark, tent with foil.

Place on a wire rack. Let cool for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the panettone from the pot and place directly on the wire rack to cool completely. Slice into wedges and serve. Tightly cover any leftovers in plastic wrap.