Sicilian artisan panettoni from 2019: here are the best according to us, among starred chefs and small patisseries that deserve to be discovered
In view of the Christmas the sweetest challenge to elect the protagonist of the dinner on December 25 in Sicilian homes. On the one hand the traditional desserts, headed by "His Majesty" la cassata, on the opposite side there is instead the panettone, which has become the symbol of the end of year festivities. Born in Northern Italy, the typical Milanese dessert is very popular at all latitudes of the Bel Paese, including Sicily. Also this year we have traveled far and wide for the provinces of the island, in search of the best artisan panettone. The underlying theme of this lover foodtour is the intellectual honesty of the pastry-baker.
To recognize a handmade product just check the ingredients on the label. The craftsman always uses only raw materials of the highest quality and extreme freshness: special flours, sourdough, eggs, candied fruit, essential oils, vanilla beans, excellent butter. They are banned instead margarine, flavors, mono and diglycerides of fatty acids. Two other detecting factors of a good invoice are: the expiration date, which should not exceed 30/45 days, and the cost, between € 16 and € 40 per kilo.
Here is ours top 10 (+ 1) of Sicilian artisan panettone
Pasticceria Freni
He lives in Messina, the city of the Strait Lillo Freni, a pastry chef adhering to the project "FDP – children of sourdough". Very good is his panettone obtained with the artisan refreshment method of sourdough and with the use of high quality ingredients. The most requested is the traditional in the high form, with raisins, candied fruit (orange and cedar) without sulfites and yeast. Deadline 30 days after production. Among the novelties of 2019 there is the panettone with cream of mead and cover of dark chocolate 72% (€ 30). S.S.114 Km. 4,100 Contesse – Messina
Masino Arena Bakery
THE'Ambassador of Taste Francesco Arena is the third generation of a Messina family of bakers. Always attentive to sourdough and committed to the continuous search for new production techniques, for his panettone – all prepared with yeast, butter, the best flours and without added preservatives – he prefers stone-ground ancient Sicilian grains. The most original is the panettone dedicated to Salina, with candied capers from the small Aeolian island. The novelty of Christmas 2019 is called instead Drop of Sicily, a leavened stuffed with the Marsala Targa Riserva 1840 of Florio and the cold-worked Ciomod chocolate, according to the ancient Modica tradition. Prices per kilo from € 18 to € 25. Via Consular Pompea 162 – Messina.
Votavota restaurant
After last year's success, the panettone signed by pastry chef Antonio Colombo of the restaurant Votavota of Marina Ragusa (with him in the kitchen the colleague Peppe Causarano). A single variant, the traditional one, interpreted in a Sicilian key with strictly local products. Excellent 100% natural leavening. There are glazed Avola almonds, sultanas from the Tenuta Bastonaca cellar and candied orange peels made by the chef. Great care is also taken in craftsmanship: three doughs for a total of 50 hours of leavening. The sourdough is the one that dates back to 1954 and the flours are exclusively Italian. Price per kilo: € 30. Lungomare Andrea Doria 48 – Marina di Ragusa.
Osteria Il Moro
As for western Sicily, also this year we re-confirm the traditional panettone of the brothers Nicola and Enzo Bandi of the Osteria Il Moro of Trapani. Indeed, it is even better. The improvement in leavening is clear, so much so that it becomes softer. The almond-based glaze also makes it more beautiful. The recipe is the same, all the ingredients are Born in Sicily, starting with flour. There are Sicilian black bee citrus honey, candied oranges directly in the restaurant of the restaurant, local mead, Pantelleria raisins, fresh milk, free-range eggs and salt from Trapani salt pans. Price per kilo: € 25 (by reservation only). Via Garibaldi 86 – Trapani.
Pastry Delight
Mauro Lo Faso he is one of the most talented and promising of the young Sicilian confectioners. Son of art, together with his father Giuseppe he manages the Bolognetta pastry shop, in the province of Palermo. The large leavened home of Delizia require three days of processing and a leavening of over 36 hours at controlled temperatures. Made only with sourdough, they contain no preservatives and should be consumed within 30 days. The novelty of Christmas 2019 is a panettone born from the collaboration with the starred chef Nino Graziano and stuffed with candied figs, mandarins marzuddi, chopped caramelized almonds and pistachio marzipan. Prices per kilo: from € 20 to € 27. Via Vittorio Emanuele 38 – Bolognetta (Palermo).
Pastry Hat
Salvatore Cappello is one of the best known and esteemed chocolatiers and pastry chefs in Palermo. Today to support him, with dedication and passion, there is his son Giovanni. Starting from December, 7 tastes of panettone are produced in the historic laboratory of the historic center of the Sicilian capital, to which is added the new entry of 2019, a panettone with a mixture of dark chocolate 64% and chocolate chips. Prices per kilo: from € 22 to € 25. Via Nicolò Garzilli 19 – Palermo.
Palazzolo pastry shop
«With sweetness you get everything, this is the slogan of the pastry chef Santi Palazzolo who in 2020 is preparing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the family business. In his Cinisi laboratory, on the outskirts of Palermo, 8 different artisan panettone are produced each year. Our favorite is the Sicilian, characterized by an external covering of dark chocolate, sugar grains, walnuts, pistachios, almonds and orange fillets, while inside, Avola almonds, almond paste cubes, Bronte pistachios, raisins and orange peel. Prices per kilo: from € 25 to € 28. Via Nazionale 123 – Cinisi (Palermo).
Mr. of Carbognano
Among the new realities of the scene food of the Sicilian capital, Mr. of Carbognano – family run ice cream and pastry shop Chifari – won the esteem and trust of Palermo in just a few years. Panettone, fruit of the young man's passion Pierangelo Chifari for white art, they are made with the use of live sourdough. The final result is a natural leavened, with double refreshment, fragrant, rich in taste and extremely easy to digest. The available variants are 3: classic, almond and chocolate, all in the handy 500g format (€ 16). Via Notarbartolo 2L – Palermo
Antico Forno Valenti since 1887
The Antico Forno Valenti 1887, in the heart of the historic center of Bagheria, offers a new line of artisan panettone for the Christmas holidays. In addition to preferring natural yeast and first quality flours, the master of the white arts Maurizio Valenti try to use genuine products – not industrial – also for filling. Among the seven varieties in production, we are convinced by the traditional butter-scented panettone enriched with raisins and candied orange. Without dyes and preservatives, the dough is soft and highly digestible. The hand-made glaze, irregular and different in each panettone, is thick and crunchy. Price per kilo: from € 16 to € 20. Via Francesco Aguglia 15 – Bagheria (Palermo).
New Dolceria
Moving to south-eastern Sicily, the heart of the Baroque of the island, we point out the laboratory of Franco Manuele in Ferla, in the province of Syracuse. His artisan panettone is inspired by the millenary flavors of the magnificent territory of the Iblei. The novelty of 2019 is the Carat: a leavened dough with carob and melted chocolate with candied orange, raisins and chocolate drops. The icing of the external cover is dark chocolate with cocoa beans and carob powder. Prices: from € 35 to € 40. Via delle Mimose 34 – Ferla (Siracusa).
Vincente Delicacies
We close this greedy tour in Sicily with a stop at the slopes of Etna. In Bronte, the town famous for its delicious pistachios, is the artisan pastry shop Vincente Delicacies. The panettone of the line Looks make May to the Island: the products used are all Sicilian and of the highest quality; the yeast is over 40 years old and the natural leavening – which benefits from the contact with the crisp air of the Volcano – takes 40 hours. And then there is the patient work of female hands that – except for the dough – take care of all the processing steps, from the moment the dough is placed on the baking cups to the packaging. The last born panettone is called The puppets (€ 17.50 in a gift box) and is stuffed with Bronte pistachios, Etna peaches and dark chocolate drops. Viale John Kennedy – Bronte (Catania).
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