The pandoro roll with pastry cream and berries is a decadent recipe for serving this classic Christmas dessert.
It’s simple to prepare, and making it the day before serving has the double advantage of saving time for a special meal and allowing the dessert to settle so the filling and cake bind together better.
On the day you serve it, just decorate with powdered sugar, drizzle white chocolate, and add fresh blackberries.
In my recipe I’ve used a whole pandoro — the perfect amount if you have guests for Christmas lunch — but you can also make it with leftover slices using half the amount of pastry cream.
This is a versatile, upcycling recipe to use all the pandori you received as gifts and to enjoy it in delicious variations; for ideas, see the recipes linked below.
- Portions: 12 People
- Cooking methods: No-cook
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas, Winter
Ingredients
- 1 pandoro (750 g — about 26 oz / 1.65 lb)
- 1 2/3 cups milk
- 3 eggs
- 4.2 oz granulated sugar
- 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- lemon extract
- 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream (to be whipped)
- 3.5 oz white chocolate
- 2 1/8 cups frozen mixed berries
- as needed powdered sugar
- as needed fresh blackberries for decoration
Steps
Let’s start with the berries.
Place a pan over the heat with the sugar, then add the frozen berries.
Caramelize for a few minutes until they start forming a sauce.
A small but important recommendation: never use frozen berries raw, as they can carry viruses and bacteria that are eliminated by boiling.
Move on to the next step: preparing the pastry cream.
In a small saucepan, work the egg yolks with the sugar until they become pale and frothy.
Add the flour and whisk vigorously.
Pour in the milk, add a few drops of lemon extract, turn on the heat and slowly bring to a boil.
When the cream has thickened, turn off the heat and let it cool by transferring the cream to a bowl.
Whip the cream and fold it into the cooled pastry cream.
After preparing the filling, you can assemble the roll.
Remove the top and bottom of the pandoro.
Slice into not-too-thick slices and trim the sharp edges of the first and last slices.
Prepare a sheet of plastic wrap where you’ll assemble the roll.
Arrange the slices to form a rectangle.
Flatten the slices lightly with a rolling pin.
Spread the pastry cream over the slices, then add the berry sauce.
Roll up tightly, helping yourself with the plastic wrap.
Seal the roll well with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours, or better yet, let it rest overnight.
For the decoration, place a small saucepan with water on the stove, set a metal bowl on top (double boiler) and add the broken white chocolate with a small cup of milk.
Let it melt.
Place the roll on a serving plate and dust with powdered sugar.
Use a teaspoon to drizzle the white chocolate over it and decorate with fresh blackberries.
