How to recycle leftover pandoro from Christmas: some ideas.

The pandoro is one of those Christmas desserts that absolutely must not be missing from the tables of Italians festively set. It is a product as traditional as it is contemporary, one of those characteristic sweets that never get tired.

Yet, with all the goodness that can be found on our tables during the holiday season, it can happen that it isn't fully consumed, remaining half-finished in a bag or even unopened and stored in a corner of the pantry. In these cases, the best thing to do is surely to reinvent it and bring it to the table in a new guise.

Recycling pandoro, the king of leavened goods, means for example using the leftover slices after an evening with friends or even simply filling a whole one and serving it as a dessert for a menu that bids farewell to the festivities.

Toasted or blended, pandoro also transforms into a perfect ingredient for doughs that will bring delicious treats to the table.

The art of recycling in the kitchen is essential to avoid waste, while still keeping taste and appearance high. Thus, new recipes are constantly invented to reuse pandoro, panettone, or colomba left over from the holidays.

Here we will try to give you some suggestions and recipes on how to turn leftover pandoro into a dessert that will surprise friends and relatives!

How to recycle leftover pandoro to make tiramisù

The tiramisù is a spoon dessert made from a base of ladyfingers and a mascarpone cream with eggs and sugar.

The original recipe calls for the tiramisù to be made from ladyfingers soaked in coffee and the cream is made from mascarpone mixed with egg yolks and sugar; it should have a round shape and be topped with bitter cocoa.

Here's how to make a tiramisù with leftover pandoro from the holidays!

First, here’s the list of ingredients: 10 slices of pandoro, 6 cups of coffee, 500 g of ricotta, 250 ml of whipped cream, 6 tablespoons of sugar, and unsweetened cocoa powder to taste

To prepare the tiramisù with pandoro, take a bowl and pour the cream and sugar inside, then using an electric whisk, whip until stiff peaks form.

In another bowl, pour the ricotta and work it until it becomes a smooth cream.

Add the whipped cream and sugar to the ricotta and mix well.

Take a fairly large baking dish and lay 5 slices of pandoro at the bottom, soak with coffee and spread half of the prepared cream on top, leveling it well.

Dust with cocoa and cover with the other slices of pandoro, soak again with coffee and spread the remaining cream. Level well and dust with cocoa, then refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.

Once the time has passed, you can serve your tiramisù with pandoro.

How to recycle leftover pandoro to make truffles

Another very simple dessert is pandoro truffles, also ideal as a single-portion treat to offer to friends who come to visit even just for coffee! They are not very demanding and their tempting flavor will encourage everyone to try one, two, three... better prepare a nice supply!

As usual, let’s start with the ingredients. In this case, to make 30 truffles: 500 g of pandoro, 150 ml of fresh cream, 1 glass of liquor, and unsweetened cocoa powder to taste for coating.

To prepare the pandoro truffles, crumble the pandoro in a bowl and add the liquid cream and the liquor.

Mix the ingredients until you obtain a soft, compact dough that can be shaped by hand.

Form balls the size of a walnut. Put some unsweetened cocoa on a plate, roll the balls to coat them completely, and place them in small paper cups. And there you have it, our truffles are ready to be eaten!

How to recycle leftover pandoro when it's whole

If the pandoro to be recycled is still whole, a nice and very simple way to serve it is to prepare a delicious stuffed pandoro.

Once you slice the pandoro horizontally, for the filling you can choose freely according to your taste among more or less delicate creams, Nutella, or even simply whipped cream.

You can also pair it with fruit (fresh, dried, or candied) raw or cooked, or chocolate (dark, white, milk) in chips, pieces, or shavings. You can choose to fill all the layers and then cut long individual slices, or one layer yes and one no, to create pandoro sandwiches, and freely decide whether to align the slices neatly or staggered: in any case, your stuffed pandoro will still make a great impression.

Francesco Scuderi

S&M