This Christmas, surprise your family by making an Italian Christmas cake for them. But do you know how to make it? If you do then well and good and if you don’t, then no worries – we will help you out. Below we have given the recipe for Italian panettone Christmas cake. Read it carefully as any negligence can spoil your whole hard work. 

But before moving on to the recipe, first, understand some basic information about the panettone cake.

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What Is A Panettone?

It’s an Italian bread loaf, which tastes sweet. Panettone originated from Milan, a beautiful city in Italy. This sweet loaf is prepared and enjoyed for New year and Christmas. It’s a popular sweet in the US around the holidays.

Before-Cooking Tips For Making Italian Panettone Christmas Cake:

Here are some before-cooking tips that you should definitely follow in order to bake a delicious panettone:

• Make sure you have already prepared the dough properly.
• Use only dry and fresh yeast and also check it’s freshness before using it. 
• Check if you have all the ingredients used for baking this cake.
• Avoid using those cheap plastic moulds, instead, go for steel or aluminium ones.
• Store your panettone in a tightly wrapped paper foil or plastic wrap at the room temperature for about a week.

Ingredients Required

• Eggs
• Sugar
• Yeast
• Milk
• Oranges
• Butter
• Lemons
• Lemon juice
• Salt
• Vanilla extract
• Flour
• Orange peel
• Raisins
• Orange liqueur

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How To Make It

1. Take a small bowl and pour some milk in it.
2. Sprinkle yeast over the milk. Stir properly and then cover it nicely. Let the milk sit for about seven to eight minutes.
3. Take another bowl and add two to three spoons of raisins in it. Then add hot water over those raisins. Wait for 15 minutes and check whether the raisins have soaked the water or not? Drain
4. Now keep your mixer ready, because it’s mixing time.
5. Take a medium-sized mixer jar.
6. Then add three eggs, vanilla extract, sugar, lemon juice, orange zest, lemon zest and orange liqueur.
7. Close the lid of the jar and attach it to the mixer.
8. Start mixing at medium speed for at least 30 seconds. The aim is to mix everything properly, so keep on checking that, every time you stop mixing.
9. Take a medium-sized bowl and pour all the mixture in it.
10. After that, add some salt and flour in the mixture.
11. Mix them all properly for at least four to five minutes. 
12. Then add melted butter in it. Mix again until the butter is combined correctly. 
13. Make a dough of that mixture.
14. Add the candied orange peel and raisins in it and start mixing.
15. Now take a large bowl and spray the cooking spray inside it. Make sure the bowl is fully covered from inside. 
16. Set it aside.
17. Transfer the dough to a floured surface.
18. Shape the dough into a ball.
19. Place it in the bowl.
20. After that, cover the bowl using a plastic wrap. Make sure it’s airtight. Use the transfer one so that you can clearly view the changes inside.
21. Now put it somewhere warm for about 1 – 1 1/2 hours until its size gets doubled.
22. Take a seven to eight-inch panettone mould and spray some cooking oil inside it.
23. When your dough is ready, place it on a surface floured properly.
24. Shape it into a ball.
25. Then put that ball inside the mould. 
26. Cut or mark a big cross on the top of the dough.
27. Using a brush, evenly spread the melted butter over the dough. Or you can use cooking spray instead of butter if you want.
28. Cover the bold with a plastic wrap.
29. Let it rise for about one more hour until its size gets doubled or tripled.
30. Preheat the oven to 350F.
31. Take off the wrap and place the mould on the baking sheet or trap.
32. Put it inside the oven and bake it for at least 40-46 minutes. You can set a timer to make your job easier.
33. Bake till you see it becomes golden brown. Make sure it does not get brown quickly. If it does, cover with foil paper in order to prevent burning.
34. After it’s completely cooked, transfer out to a rack and let it cool.
35. Now your Christmas cake is ready. Store it in the fridge and surprise your family at the right time.

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Final Words

So this is how to bake an Italian Christmas cake. We hope this Christmas brings you all the love and good health that you deserve. Start the new year, with a new you. The one who always stays positive and who’s not afraid of failures. Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year.