Do you prefer panettone or pandoro? Every Christmas in Italy sees Italians divided between lovers of the traditional Christmas cake from Milan (panettone) and fans of the cake born in Verona (pandoro). Which is why every Christmas we buy both, to please all our guests. In any case, these desserts become truly special when paired with sweet creams and sauces, which we like to serve in precious bowls or poured directly over the cake, sliced horizontally, a few minutes before bringing it to the table.
Rum sauce
A highly fragrant cream for important evenings. Boil 1 3/4 cups of milk with a vanilla pod and leave to cool. Beat 4 egg yolks with 3 1/2 ounces of sugar and combine with the milk and a small glass of rum. Thicken in a bain-marie over low heat. Once the sauce begins to coat the spoon, remove from the heat and add some crumbled marron glacé.
Fior di latte cream
A very delicate ricotta-based cream. Whip 3/4 cup of fresh cream and mix a little at a time with 1 cup of ricotta cheese whipped with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar.
Mascarpone cream
This cream is very sweet, for insatiable palates. Children will love it thanks to the condensed milk. To make it, mix 3/4 cup of condensed milk with 1 cup of mascarpone and 1 cup of whipped cream.
Tiramisù cream
Eggs, sugar and mascarpone. Nothing more. This is the cream traditionally used to make tiramisù. Just beat 6 egg whites until stiff and add them slowly to 6 egg yolks beaten with 4 1/4 ounces of sugar and mixed with 2 cups of mascarpone.
Latte cream
A very light, eggless cream. To make it, heat 2 cups of whole milk and, separately, dissolve 2 3/4 ounces of corn starch in 1/4 cup of milk. Then combine the two mixtures and heat them, adding 1 3/4 ounces of sugar. Stir until it reaches the right consistency.