Panettone French Toast is the best way to enjoy that sweet Italian panettone bread you have left over from Christmas, or to get in the holiday spirit as soon as panettone hit stores in November. This scrumptious international fusion breakfast highlights the sweet flavor of panettone with soft rich custard and crisp edges.
Panettone is a sweet Italian yeast bread filled with candied orange peel and raisins and traditionally baked for Christmas and New Year’s. Modern versions are sometimes made with chocolate, pistachios, limoncello, or other flavor variations. Smithsonian Magazine has an interesting history of this pastry here. This soft fluffy bread is delicious on its own for breakfast or an anytime snack, but it’s also the perfect texture and flavor for French toast.
When I saw panettone show up at Trader Joe’s a couple weeks ago, I put one in my cart immediately. I knew right away it was destined for French toast. While it may be a relatively simple recipe, I had to share this one on the blog. Panettone French toast is too good not to share. It’s the perfect weekend brunch or breakfast anytime between Thanksgiving and New Year’s–just make this one before you start the diet in January!
Ingredients for Panettone French Toast
Here are the main ingredients. That’s one large panettone, weighing about 1 pound, 10 ounces, whole eggs, 2% milk, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon. If you are using a smaller or half panettone, just scale down the other ingredients accordingly. The only ingredient not shown is salted butter that I used to fry the French toast slices.
I only used two tablespoons of sugar in this recipe, which is significantly less than I’ve seen in most French toast recipes. The panettone is so sweet by itself that I don’t think it requires much more sweetening in the custard. I would even say the two tablespoons of sugar are optional, especially if you are planning to top your French toast with maple syrup.
I haven’t made panettone from scratch before. If you wanted to try, check out this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker or this recipe from Caroline’s Cooking.
How to Make Panettone French Toast
First, cut your panettone into 10 slices. With two slices per person, this will serve five. In this photo you can see how I cut off the end from each side, then cut it down the middle and cut four slices from each half.
Next, whisk together the custard ingredients.
Dip the panettone slices in the custard, then cook in butter for a few minutes on each side. I was able to fit four slices into my skillet, so I cooked all the panettone in three batches.
Unless you are just cooking a few slices, I recommend transferring the cooked French toast to the oven to keep warm until ready to serve.
Toppings for Panettone French Toast
I’m a maple syrup girl all the way. So even though this panettone French toast is very sweet as-is, I can’t help but drizzle some maple syrup over the top. I found barely-sweetened whipped cream was also a great topping to cut the sweetness somewhat. Traditional French toast toppings like butter and powdered sugar are also good on this.
For fresh fruit, I like to serve with orange slices or red grapes to highlight the candied orange peel and raisins in the bread. (I should probably tell you I don’t like raisins. But the panettone is so good, I don’t even feel the need to pick them out.) To add some color to your plate, you can also never go wrong with strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries.
Is Panettone French Toast Good Leftover?
Yes. Reheat leftover panettone French toast in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Keep leftover panettone French toast in the fridge for up to a week. I found no difference eating this reheated in the oven four days later than from when I first made this batch fresh. The edges get slightly crisped up in the oven, while the center keeps its soft custard-like texture.
Looking for more breakfast recipes? I mainly feature dinner recipes on my blog, so when I share a breakfast recipe, you know it has to be extra good. Check out these Liege Waffles for another luxurious breakfast recipe to make for the holidays.
If you make this recipe, please give the recipe a rating and/or leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!
Panettone French Toast
Panettone French Toast is the best way to enjoy that sweet Italian panettone bread you have left over from Christmas, or to get in the holiday spirit as soon as panettone hit stores in November. This scrumptious international fusion breakfast highlights the sweet flavor of panettone with soft rich custard and crisp edges.
Ingredients
- 1 large panettone (about 1 pound, 10 ounces)
- 7 large eggs
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3-4 tablespoons salted butter, divided (1 Tablespoon for each batch frying)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Carefully remove paper from the panettone. Slice off the end of each side of the panettone to make a rectangle-ish shape. Cut the panettone in half on the short side. Slice each half into four thick slices (about 1 inch thick). This will leave you with 10 slices total. See photo for illustration.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter. Dip slices of panettone in egg mixture, pressing down on both sides to help the bread absorb more liquid. (Dip as you go, so only dip as many pieces as will fit in your skillet in your first batch.) Place dipped panettone in the skillet in a single layer and cook 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown. Place on a sheet pan and transfer to oven to keep warm until ready to serve.
Scrape out any egg or pieces of bread that got stuck in the skillet. Melt additional 1 tablespoon butter and dip and cook second batch. Repeat until all panettone is cooked. (I was able to fit 4 slices into my pan so cooked in 3 batches.) Discard any excess egg mixture.
Recipe Notes
Some topping ideas: butter, maple syrup, whipped cream, powdered sugar, fresh fruit. Since the panettone has candied orange peel and raisins in the bread, I like to garnish with orange slices or grapes. Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries are good too.
Calories are based on Trader Joe’s brand Panettone and don’t include toppings (sorry!)
Bon Appétit!
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