I've created this Almond and Chocolate Panettone Recipe, an iconic Italian Christmas cake, at home without the use of a panettone mold. Let me show you, step by step, how to make panettone at home with an ordinary pot!
I set out to create a panettone my family and I would enjoy and this almond and chocolate panettone recipe is it! I'll admit that I'm not crazy about candied fruit or raisins in traditional panettone. So I settled on two ingredients that I knew my family and I would enjoy: chocolate and almonds.
I took some time to research recipes: some took a couple of hours to prepare while others took two or even three days. After lots of experimenting, testing different techniques and using a variety of flavorings, I finally settled on this recipe.
Is this the same as the panettone you'll buy at the grocery store? No. Was I trying to mimic those? Maybe a little.
So, you may ask why would I spend so much time and effort on something I could buy for 12$ at the grocery store? Cause I simply love a challenge!
I wanted to see if I could create a panettone with sufficient height, fluffy texture and amazing flavor. And more importantly, I wanted to make a panettone without using a panettone mold which we may not all have access to.
Can you make panettone without a paper mold?
This is what I set out to find out, and the answer is yes! Searching through my cupboards my eye caught a simple little pot that I have had for years. It has a width of seven inches, which is a common sized panettone, and five inches high. You'll find a photo of it further below.
I greased the bottom of the pot with butter and lined the sides with a sheet of parchment paper that surpassed the height by a few inches. And I can tell you that it definitely works!
A traditional panettone is baked inside a paper mold and is inverted after baking with the help of skewers pushed through the base. This step is not possible with this method of baking. However I found the result quite satisfactory nonetheless.
How to make this Almond and Chocolate Panettone Recipe:
Place the yeast and sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Warm water until lukewarm, pour over the yeast and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
Add ¾ cup of flour. Mix on low (speed 2) until a small dough is formed, about 1 minute. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula if necessary to incorporate all of the flour. Cover and let rest ½ an hour, until doubled in bulk. Meanwhile remove the milk from the fridge.
After the dough has doubled, add the milk and ¾ cup flour. Mix on low speed (speed 2) for 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for 1 hour.
Meanwhile melt the butter and let it cool. In a small bowl combine the eggs, sugar, salt and orange zest. Add to the dough as well as 2 cups flour. Mix on slow speed (speed 2) for 10 minutes.
Add rum and vanilla to the melted butter. In last 2 minutes of mixing, add the butter mixture to the dough. The dough will be sticky and you will probably have to detach it from the dough hook. Cover and let sit for ½ hour.
After the resting period, on slow speed, add the chocolate chips to the dough. 
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface using a spatula. It will be quite sticky! Knead in the almonds by hand. Shape dough into a round ball.
Prepare the pot: Prepare for baking by greasing the bottom with butter. Tear a piece of parchment paper that will fit around the circumference of the pot and that will surpass the rim by 2-3 inches. Butter the parchment paper to seal the edge and place inside the pot. As you can see, my parchment surpassed the pot by a lot more than 3 inches. I was a bit too ambitious about how high my panettone would rise!
Gently place the dough in the prepared pot, cover and let rise for 4 hours. The dough will reach approximately 1 inch below the rim of the pot.
Place rack close to the bottom of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Brush the top of the panettone with milk. Bake for 55-60 minutes until the top is browned and it sounds hollow when tapped. After 40 minutes, if the top is sufficiently browned, tent with a sheet of foil for the remaining baking time.
Transfer to a wire rack to rest for 10 minutes before unmolding. Remove from the pot and place on the wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. 
Tips and suggestions for making Almond and Chocolate Panettone Recipe:
- I place my panettone dough to rise in a cold oven with the light on and loosely covered with a clean dish cloth.
- I have tried using Amaretto liquor instead of rum and the results were also excellent!
- If you are not a fan of dark chocolate, replace with milk chocolate chips.
- This recipe calls for blanched sliced almonds, but whole almonds coarsely chopped work as well.
- It is best to knead in the almonds by hand as they will break down into tiny pieces in the stand mixer.
- If you decide to attempt this recipe you'll have to make sure you have at least 7 hours on hand, but don't worry as most of that is inactive rising time.
- Keep panettone stored at room temperature well covered in plastic wrap in order to prevent it from drying for up to 1 week.
- You can also use leftovers to make French toast for breakfast!
Can the dough be prepared a day ahead?
The dough can be prepared in advance and refrigerated overnight. At step #7, shape into a ball, then place in a bowl and refrigerate overnight. The following day, let the dough come to room temperature before placing in the prepared pot to rise before baking.
For my kids, the best part of experimenting with this recipe was the never ending supply of panettone to turn into french toast for breakfast. So, make sure you have enough leftover for Christmas morning. If you try out this recipe, please let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below. Buon Natale from my family to yours!
Here are a few classic sweet and savory Sicilian holiday recipes for you to try out!
Ingredients
- 1 envelope instant yeast (8 grams)
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour divided
- ⅓ cup milk
- ⅓ cup butter
- 1 whole egg
- 3 egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- grated zest of 1 orange
- 3 tbsp. rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- butter for greasing the pot
- milk for brushing before baking
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
Prepare the dough
- Place the yeast and sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Warm water until lukewarm, pour over the yeast and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
- Add ¾ cup of flour. Mix on low (speed 2) until a small dough is formed, about 1 minute. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula if necessary to incorporate all of the flour. Cover and let rest ½ an hour, until doubled in bulk. Meanwhile remove the milk from the fridge.
- After the dough has doubled, add the milk and ¾ cup flour. Mix on low speed (speed 2) for 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile melt the butter and let cool. In a small bowl combine the eggs, sugar, salt and orange zest. Add to the dough as well as 2 cups flour. Mix on slow speed (speed 2) for 10 minutes.
- Add rum and vanilla to the melted butter. In last 2 minutes of mixing, add the butter mixture to the dough. The dough will be sticky and you will probably have to detach it from the dough hook. Cover and let sit for ½ hour.
- Prepare the pot for baking: grease the bottom with butter. Tear a piece of parchment paper that will fit around the circumference of the pot and that will surpass the rim by 2-3 inches. Butter the parchment paper to seal the edge and place inside the pot.
- On slow speed, add the chocolate chips to the dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in the almonds by hand. Shape dough into a round ball.
- Gently place the dough in the prepared pot, cover and let rise for 4 hours. The dough will reach approximately 1 inch below the rim of the pot.
To bake
- Place rack close to the bottom of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Brush the top of the panettone with milk and bake for 55-60 minutes until the top is browned and it sounds hollow when tapped. After 40 minutes, if the top is sufficiently browned, tent with a sheet of foil for the remaining baking time.
- Place on a wire rack to rest for 10 minutes before unmolding. Remove from the pot and place on the wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
- I place my panettone dough to rise in a cold oven with the light on and loosely covered with a clean dish cloth.
- I have tried using Amaretto liquor instead of rum and the results were also excellent!
- If you are not a fan of dark chocolate, replace with milk chocolate chips.
- This recipe calls for blanched sliced almonds, but whole almonds coarsely chopped work as well.
- It is best to knead in the almonds by hand as they will break down into tiny pieces in the stand mixer.
- If you decide to attempt this recipe you'll have to make sure you have at least 7 hours on hand, but don't worry as most of that is inactive rising time.
- Keep panettone stored at room temperature well covered in plastic wrap in order to prevent it from drying for up to 1 week.
- You can also use leftovers to make French toast for breakfast!
Mary
Hi Nadia -
I absolutely love your recipes! I make the coquilles st Jacques every Christmas Eve
Can this panettone be baked in a cheesecake Mold?
Thank you!
Mary
Nadia
Hello Mary, thank you very much for your kind words. When you refer to a cheesecake mold do you mean spring form pan? If so, I happen to have a friend that used this type of pan and it turned out fine, however since it was wider than the pot I used it was not as high. But otherwise it should work out fine!
Kim
Looks delish! Gonna have to try it. Question, can I leave it to rise in my oven overnight and then bake in the morning or is that too long to leave it to rise?
Nadia
Hello Kim, that is a very good question and it is my intention to test this out very soon. Although I have not yet tried to do so, I do believe it should work out ok. If you do try it out, let me know how it turns out!
Nadia
Hello Kim, update for you! I prepared the dough, then placed in a bowl and refrigerated it overnight. The following day I brought it to room temperature (about 2 hours) before shaping into a ball and placing in the pot to rise before baking. It turned out really well!
Kim
Amazing! Thank you for letting me know.
Nadia
You are very welcome Kim!
Sue
I made two today and they came out perfect! I used cake yeast instead of dry.
Nadia
Hi Sue, so glad you enjoyed them. Thanks!
Marisa💜 Pellegrini
Hello Angela do you have a recipe for pandoro?
Thank you
Marisa
Nadia
Hello Marisa, actually it's Nadia! I don't currently have a recipe for pandoro on my site however I have developed a recipe for panettone with almonds and chocolate in case you are interested! Here it is:https://www.mangiabedda.com/dark-chocolate-almond-panettone/. Thanks for your question!
annie@ciaochowbambina
We always have panettone for Christmas breakfast...whether it's toasted with butter, or fried for French toast, it's always a favorite. But(!) I've never made it myself. I love your recipe! Beautiful! Beautiful!
mangiabedda@gmail.com
We also have the leftover as French toast on Christmas morning. I especially love it with pandoro! I’ve been wanting to attempt this for years and I’m so glad to finally get it right. Thanks Annie!
Angela
Is it possible to leave eggs out. I want to make it vegan
mangiabedda@gmail.com
Hi Angela, I have not tried to make a vegan version of this recipe. However, I found this website: https://www.thekitchn.com/5-vegan-substitutes-for-eggs-in-baking-tips-from-the-kitchn-136591 which gives some very helpful tips on how to replace eggs in recipes. Of course, I can not guarantee the results as I haven't tried myself. If you do give it a try, please let me know how it turns out. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Angela
Thankyou for taking the time to reply. I will check out that website. I have tried egg replacement but I do not think it does the cakes justice. Thanks again. Merry Christmas to you and your family xx
mangiabedda@gmail.com
It’s my pleasure Angela, unfortunately I have not tried using any egg replacements myself. I hope one of the many options listed in the link I sent you could work. Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!
Rosa
Thank you so much for sharing as usual your recipe is well explained and easy to follow! Also all ingredients are available and easy to find and on top of everything your presentation is so beautiful and I’m sure your panettone ate delicious ???? thank you so much for sharing ????
mangiabedda@gmail.com
Yes, I wanted to make it as easy as possible with ingredients that are accessible. If you give it a try, please do post a photo of it. Thanks for your comment Rosa!
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices
It looks great, Nadia, that shape is perfect! Love that you used a pot you already had and it seemed to have worked perfectly. I do like candied fruits and raisins, but I also like the chocolate chip ones. So I am sure I would love this one, especially with the slivered almonds on top. Thank you for doing the hard job for us, trying different recipes and adapting them to "the one". Now we have yours to follow!
mangiabedda@gmail.com
Thank you, it was fun experimenting and my kids certainly had fun tasting all the results! I do love a challenge. Buon Natale to you both!
MICHAEL
I recently had a chocolate panettone with chocolate chips and it was delicious! Any tips on making my panettone chocolate and then adding chocolate chips?
Nadia
Hello Michael, sounds delicious however I have not yet tried making a chocolate panettone myself. I imagine you could add some cocoa powder to the dough to give it more of a chocolate flavor and color. Let me know if you give it a try!
maria
Nothing says Christmas like a homemade panettone shared with family and friends. I love this recipe as I also do not like candied fruits in my panettone. This looks like a great recipe Nadia, thanks for sharing ♥♥♥
mangiabedda@gmail.com
Thanks Maria! It’s not Christmas in an Italian household without panettone, so I figured I may as well create one that I like!
Sherry Svesnik
I would love to buy this from you readymade. I am no baker, but I love Pannetone!!! Any chance??? Regards, Sherry
mangiabedda@gmail.com
Hi Sherry, thank you for your question but unfortunately I do not make these to sell. Give it a try, it's not that difficult. In fact most of the time is rising time.