by Sandra Antonelli

Christmas: When It’s Perfectly Acceptable to Have Cake For Breakfast.

As an advocate for eating a good breakfast there is nothing that gives me more joy than Christmas because Christmas means cake for breakfast!

If you know me you’ll know I’m not usually a cake-eater. I’m more of a cookie inhaler, but this cake is different. This cake is Italian and who does love Italian food? This cake is light, a wee bit spongy and full of raisins and zest. I’m talking orange and lemon zest. I’m talking Panettone.

You’ve probably seen panettone before. It comes in a box. Sometimes it comes in a pretty decorative tin that you pay up to $50 for, but trust me, the basic panettone in a box is always, and I mean always better. Yes, a cake in a box—and it’s already made. No mixing! No baking! No cracking of eggs required! That is, no cracking of eggs until it comes to eating this cake for breakfast, because this festive cake is actually a kind of bread, and bread as you know IS the staff of life.

Panettone is a Christmas staple at my house. There are, at present, four boxes of beautiful Italian panettone sitting on my dining room table, and they are all destined to be…French Toast.

Honest. This cake, this bread, this Italian Christmas delight makes the most amazeballs French Toast you will ever have. The best thing is, there are only three steps.

Step 1: Slice panettone as you would bread for a sandwich

Step 2: Dip in beaten egg

Step 3: Fry until golden, in a pan with a bit of melted butter, turning once.

Plate up and serve as you would the usual day old bread French Toast, with a ton of butter (well I slather on a ton of butter because butter) and maple syrup.

Then prepare to have your tastebuds blown.

Have a Holly Jolly One, Kids!

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