Darwen Deli's Just Desserts!

Strip away the fancy box and its Italian origins and it's basically a rather luxurious type of bread. But it seems panettone is giving the traditional Christmas cake a run for its money!

Long a staple on the festive table in the Italian city of Milan, where it originated, the dome-shaped dessert is fast become the pudding of choice in homes across the country while grandma's fruit cake sits in the cupboard.

Sales of the dessert have soared at Darwen based online deli www.melodiafood.co.uk, a leading UK importer, reporting customers flocking to taste a slice of Christmas Italian-style.

Like the traditional fruit-laden Christmas cake, panettone comes laced with candied fruits and raisins. But in its favour for all those who secretly loath peel, it also comes in varieties laden with chocolate chips.

Because it comes in a beautifully presented box, panettone - unlike its richer British cousin - is also a popular gift choice.

Traditionally, it is served as a dessert, accompanied by sweet wine and is also eaten toasted and spread with butter, or used in place of bread in a bread and butter pudding.

At Melodia Food, sales of panettone are up by 75 per cent on two years ago and at Deli Carlo on Darwen Market, sales of the cake - which are stocked in several sizes - have soared by 50 per cent since Christmas last year.

Carlo Ricioppo who owns Deli Carlo on Darwen Market said "Panettone is becoming increasingly popular as customers search for products that have a story to tell, especially at Christmas time.

"People are looking for genuine food with a genuine taste, and we have seen fantastic sales of panettone already this year.

"All our panettones are made in Italy, with recipes handed down through generations of the same families. The traditional method is to make the panettone with a 'mother yeast', before slow baking and leaving to cool naturally upside down for 10 hours to retain moisture and texture.

"Because of this traditional method, one way to spot an authentic panettone is to look for pin pricks on its base, where it has been hung."

As popular as panettone has become in Britain it may be a while before consumption matches the Italians, who get through an average of two and a half for each family each year. ...