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Desserts

Pandoro Slices with Chantilly Cream and Fruit

Since we eat with our eyes first, here is an elegant way to serve a classic Christmas sweet: pandoro slices topped with Chantilly cream and fruit.
Recipe Pandoro Slices with Chantilly Cream and Fruit
  • Difficulty Medium
  • Preparation 1 hour
  • Servings for 6

Pandoro is one of the quintessential Italian Christmas desserts. Making it at home is quite complex and involves several stages, but it rewards you with an extraordinarily soft sweet bread, golden in color and with a beautiful star shape, perfect for festive holiday tables. If you’re not content with simply serving it dusted with powdered sugar, try our recipe for Pandoro Slices with Chantilly Cream and Fruit.

Chantilly cream is one of the basics of pastry-making: a very light preparation made of whipped heavy cream with powdered sugar, flavored with fragrant vanilla seeds. Pair it with a classic match such as lightly caramelized berries (very Christmassy in color). Their slight tartness goes perfectly with the smooth, soft Chantilly cream.

There are many creams you can use to turn soft slices of pandoro into a lavish dessert. Try a fluffy Diplomat Cream with cinnamon caramelized pears, or a rich Mascarpone Cream with chocolate shavings. Another traditional match for pandoro is Zabaione, a velvety Marsala custard that is wonderful served warm.

Ingredients for 6

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Method

  1. Start with the pandoro slices. Cut the top and bottom off the mini pandoros, then cut slices about 5 cm (2 in) thick from the middle of each one. Set the slices aside, covered, so they don’t dry out.
  2. Now prepare the fruit for the filling. Gently wash the blueberries, raspberries and currants. Wash the strawberries too, hull them and cut them into even pieces.  
  3. Put all the fruit in a saucepan, sprinkle it with a couple of tablespoons of sugar and stir gently with a spoon without crushing it. Cook over high heat for 2-3 minutes, just until the fruit softens slightly.
  4. Now it’s time for the Chantilly cream. Chill a large enough bowl in the fridge for about twenty minutes and make sure the cream is very cold too. If it isn’t, put the cream in the freezer for a few minutes.
  5. Add the vanilla seeds to the cream and start whipping it with perfectly clean electric beaters on medium-high speed until it reaches soft peaks. Then slowly add the sifted powdered sugar and whip until the cream is fully whipped. Keep the cream covered in the fridge until you are ready to top your pandoro slices.
  6. Plate the pandoro slices with Chantilly cream and fruit just before serving, so the cream doesn’t deflate. Place a slice of pandoro in the center of each plate and top it with a generous spoonful of Chantilly cream and one of the caramelized red fruit. Garnish with small fresh mint leaves. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!

Variations and Alternatives

Dairy cream tends to deflate fairly quickly, so if you want a cream that holds longer, you can replace part of the dairy cream with non-dairy whipping cream. This also avoids the risk of the mixture breaking while you whip it. Of course, the flavor and texture of the cream will change slightly.

Tips

To garnish these pandoro slices with Chantilly cream and fruit, you can also use crunchy chopped torrone (Italian nougat), even the chocolate-covered kind, for a truly special dessert.

Storage

This dessert should be assembled and eaten right away… we’re sure that won’t be hard.

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