Italian Pandorini with Chocolate Icing

These Italian Pandorini with chocolate icing are really irresistible‌ Pandoro is a famous Italian Cake making during Christmas time. It’s not difficult to make, but you need of take your time.

Follow my recipe and enjoy your Pandorino al cioccolato all year round!

Ingredients for dough: 200 g strong flour, 50 g all-purpose flour, 80 g sugar, a pinch of salt, half vanilla bean seeds, a teaspoon of orange peel, 1 whole egg, 1 egg yolk, 50 g butter room temperature, 10 g fresh yeast, 30 g water, 150 ml of water.

For laminating: 100 g butter + extra for grease.

For chocolate icing: 400 g dark chocolate, 20 g honey, 20 g water.

Preparation: Dissolve yeast with 30 g of lukewarm water. When the yeast is completely dissolved, pour in 50 g of all-purpose flour and work until compact, then incorporate egg yolk. Put in a small container covering with cling film and leave to rise in the oven (light on/switch off) until doubling. When risen to double size, put in a food processor or in a large container the yeast mixture and work with half flour, sugar, water, vanilla and orange. Add remaining flour and sugar, beating gently.

Pour in egg whole and butter and whisk for about 10 min until you obtain a smooth and compact dough texture. Cover dough with cling film and leave to rise in the oven until doubling has occurred. Put dough in the fridge for 3 hours or a night (is better). Spread in a lightly-floured working surface the dough and put on sliced butter. Then close in to portfolio and start to laminate, folding in 3. Put in the fridge for 20 min and laminate with same method and put back in the fridge for 20 min. Again let’s do another fold in 3, laminating for the last time. Put in the fridge (10 min) the dough, giving it a ball shape, gently. Put in a small pandoro cake pan dough filling each mold to half mark. Leave to rise until doubling occurred. Preheat oven to 180°C. Bake in the oven to 180°C for 5 min and then to 160°C for about 20 min. Cool down.

Melt chocolate with water and honey to bain-marie. Put on a kitchen rack with a baking sheet underneath each pandorino and enjoy your pandorino with chocolate icing!