Finding myself with half a loaf of panettone (store-bought) that I would probably get tired of before finishing, I decided to make a bread pudding. Since brioche and croissants make good - if rich - bread puddings, why not panettone? I used a few of the proportions from a Food & Wine magazine recipe for milk chocolate croissant bread pudding.
Mine turned out pretty well, with the raisins and candied orange peel adding some nice flavor notes and textural contrast. That said, I didn't account for the slight sourness of the panettone and the lack of sweetness in the dark chocolate I used, so the product was not very sweet (and thus can serve as a non-cloying breakfast, hooray!). If I were making this again as a dedicated dessert, though, I would add a little bit more sugar. Here is my recipe, with the sugar adjustment:
Chocolate panettone bread pudding
Panettone, cut into small pieces, enough to fill a 9-in round cake pan
1.5 cups milk
1 bar chocolate, i.e. 3.5-4 oz (I used Ghiradelli's Twilight Dark bar)
1 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs
Pinch of salt
1/3-1/2 cup sugar, depending on darkness of chocolate and the sweetness level desired
Preheat oven to 350 deg. Break chocolate into small pieces. Heat milk and, once hot, add vanilla, salt, and chocolate; stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and let cool for about 15 min. Whisk in eggs and sugar, until smooth. Place panettone pieces in cake pan and cover with custard; poke the pieces so they are drenched. Bake for 30 min, or until top is crusty and springy and center is no longer wet (by the toothpick test).
I think good pairings would be vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or an orange sorbet (to pick up on the citrus in the panettone).
