Mini Panettone

Mini Pandoro by La Perla di Torino, golden and buttery

The Mini Pandoro by La Perla di Torino emerges from the oven as an eight-pointed star weighing 80 grams—an Italian Christmas cake in a single-serving format. Butter is second only to flour in the recipe, and fresh egg yolk gives the crumb its deep yellow color.

Mini Pandoro is the Christmas pastry from La Perla di Torino in Turin, small enough for one person and baked in a star shape. Pandoro means "golden bread," referring to the color of the crumb. The flavor here is carried by butter, egg yolk, and milk.

Delicate, golden, and full of butter

Open the package and the scent of butter and warm yeast dough rises right out.

The crumb is so fine that it almost floats when pulled apart and instantly softens in the mouth. Where panettone thrives on its fruit, pandoro thrives on its dough—and that is the more difficult task.

What remains is a very calm flavor: milk, egg, browned crust, and the sweetness brought out of the sugar by the oven. This is precisely why this pastry is a favorite for guests who would otherwise push the raisins aside on their Christmas cake plates.

The eight-pointed star from Verona

The star shape comes from Verona, the home of the pandoro, and remains its signature feature to this day.

While baking, the dough flows into the points of the mold, creating more crust there, while remaining tall and soft in the center. Even in La Perla di Torino's small format, the shape is perfectly preserved, meaning every cross-cut slice forms a star.

The deep mold also provides the soft dough with the support it needs during its final rise. This makes serving easy, as the slices lie on the plate as if punched out and require no decoration.

Why so much butter belongs in the dough

Butter is the second ingredient in this recipe, and you can taste it in the very first bite.

A dough made from so few ingredients is unforgiving, which is why time is the deciding factor in the final result. Such a high fat content makes the dough heavy, so the natural mother yeast needs a long time to lift it. Anyone who rushes this step ends up with a pound cake, which is evident from the first piece.

This yeast lives on in the bakery and is refreshed repeatedly before it begins its work in the dough. Fresh eggs and pasteurized whole milk add further fat and moisture. La Perla di Torino only bakes the Mini Pandoro during the season, when the molds are already prepped for panettone and colomba.

A Christmas cake in star slices

Slice it crosswise, and everyone at the table gets a star on their plate.

In Verona, it is served with a spoonful of mascarpone cream, and on a long evening, a glass of Moscato. For afternoon coffee during Advent, this small pastry is just the right size, and it is meant to be shared anyway. Stored in a cool, dry place and kept sealed, it will last well into the new year.

Leftovers from the day before can be cut into cubes and used in tiramisu in place of ladyfingers.

Its fruity sibling is available as Mini Panettone, more seasonal items can be found in our Christmas selection, and the rest of what La Perla di Torino bakes can be found in the manufacturer's assortment.