Set aside your usual bread and butter pudding and make this delectable version made with panettone (rich Italian bread), seasoned with aromatic spices then laden with fruits and nuts. Delightfully sweet (but not overwhelming) it’s great on its own so any extra sauce is optional.

I and the rest of our family (save our youngest) got the dreaded corona virus disease last November. I was the last one to get it and was, unfortunately, the most sick. At least, I got the worst of it and not my family!

As a result, I wasn’t able to fully look after my family nor was I able to do the usual chores of cleaning, grocery, cooking, etc. I had the delta variant and it totally wiped me out for a couple of weeks at least.

Thankfully, our church family stepped up to the plate and kindly gave us food while I was sick and quite weak.

Everyday for more than a week, we had food sent to us. What a blessing it was and we felt so loved.

We had so much food, that we had to freeze some of the left-overs.

Not only were we provided delicious dinner some even gave us food for breakfast and snacks, too like this delicious Panettone (sweet Italian bread).

I usually get a box of panettone during the holiday season as we love this bread so I was quite delighted to see that we got one!

Instead of just eating it as is, I decided to use it to make bread pudding.

I love that the panettone is both buttery and sweet and loaded with dried fruits which makes it the perfect bread to use for the pudding.

It worked as it came out so delicious indeed!

I added a few more dried fruits like extra cranberries and golden raisins or sultanas plus some chopped nuts for extra texture and crunch!

In the spirit of the season, I also added some holiday spice (ground cinnamon and nutmeg) to the mix. So there’s that subtle hint of spice in there.

For me it was great on its own and didn’t need any extra sauce. But my daughter, who loves everything slightly sweeter, preferred it drizzled with a little maple syrup, after all we had it for breakfast!

If you do fancy drizzling it with some sauce but don’t like maple syrup, caramel sauce is a fine alternative!

So, if by any chance you still have some left-over panettone, make sure to give this a try! But if you don’t have this yummy Italian bread, you can certainly replace it with other sweet bread like brioche perhaps or even sweet rolls or your day-old bread sitting at the counter! Enjoy.

FOR FULL RECIPE & INSTRUCTIONS and to PRINT, SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW.

NOTES ON INGREDIENTS FOR PANETTONE BREAD PUDDING

• 4 cups classic panettone, cut up into small pieces (cubed)
• 1½ cup whole milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ cup raisins (brown or golden)
• ½ cup dried cranberries or cherries
• ½ cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped

HOW TO MAKE PANETTONE BREAD PUDDING

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a square baking dish (8×8). Soak the cubed panettone in milk in a bowl. Set aside as you prepare the other ingredients.
2. In another bowl, beat the eggs then add the rest of the ingredients – sugar, vanilla extract, spices, dried fruit and nuts. Pour over the soaked bread and mix until combined.
3. Pour the mixture over the prepared baking dish. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Allow to cool for at least 8-10 minutes and then slice and serve. You may drizzle some maple syrup on top, if desired or have it with some whipped cream or ice cream instead.