Pandoro tree
- Easy
- 50 min
Choosing which Christmas dessert to bring to the table is never simple. Pandoro and panettone are the undisputed kings of the festive season, but they are often set aside to make room for even more mouth watering desserts. Today we present you with the pandoro cake, which will delight traditional and refined palates alike. A melt-in-the-mouth chocolate Bavarian cream served with a wreathe of soft pandoro slices, while the red currants add an extra festive touch. You too can prepare this pandoro cake and enjoy it with your family.
If you are looking for other ways to use pandoro, have a look to the following recipes:
To prepare the pandoro cake start by preparing the custard. Place all the egg yolks in a bowl, add the sugar and stir with a spatula 1. Leave to one side for a moment and stir occasionally; in the meantime, heat the milk in a saucepan. Remove the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the milk, along with the emptied bean 2. Soak the isinglass in a little cold water 3
and finely chop the dark chocolate 4. As soon as the milk starts to boil, remove the vanilla bean 5 and add a little milk to the egg yolk mix, to temper it 6.
Stir and pour the ingredients into the saucepan 7. Now stir some more with a whisk 8, to even out the mixture, then stir continuously with a spatula to bring your custard to a temperature of 183°F (84°C) 9.
Remove from the heat and add the thoroughly wrung out isinglass 10, stir until fully dissolved and add the previously finely chopped chocolate, stirring all the while 11. As soon as it fully dissolves 12,
pour the cream in another bowl you will have placed inside another bowl containing water and ice 13. Stir with a whisk until thoroughly cooled 14. Now start whipping the cream 15, it won't need to be stiff.
As soon as it is frothy and semi-whipped, switch the whisk off 16 and gradually add the chocolate cream 17, stirring delicately from the bottom up 18.
As soon as your chocolate Bavarian cream is ready 19, leave it to one side for a moment and cut the pandoro. Cut the base slice and leave to one side 20, then turn the pandoro over and cut 3 slices 21, each around 0.6" (1.5 cm) thick.
Cut each star in half 22 and tip the sides of each slice 23. Take the base slice and use a 7" (18 cm) round cake cutter to cut a precise circle 24, which will be the base of your crown.
Now place a 9" cake circle cutter on a serving dish and arrange the pandoro slices around it 25, with the 7" (22 cm) disc on the base 26. Now pour the Bavarian cream inside 27 and place back in the refrigerator covered with a glass cake cloche for at least 3-4 hours.
Once the Bavarian cream solidifies 28, remove the cake circle cutter 29 and arrange the red currants along the edge, to decorate 30.
Use a potato peeler to cut a few shards of chocolate and arrange them in the center 31. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar 32 and serve your pandoro cake 33.