The Christmas sweet bread is a dessert that resembles a large loaf, very similar to the Abruzzese parrozzo, a typical Christmas dessert, although it is so good that it would be a shame to limit it to the Christmas period. Parrozzo is a very ancient recipe that dates back to 1920 when Luigi D’Amico, a pastry chef from Pescara, had the idea to create this dessert resembling a rustic bread (rough bread). He let Gabriele D’Annunzio taste it, who was so impressed that he wrote “The Song of Parrozzo”. The classic version of parrozzo involves the use of almond flour (or finely chopped almonds with a mixer), eggs, sugar, almond liqueur, and semolina, which is sometimes replaced with a mix of flour and potato starch. The dessert is then covered with melted dark chocolate. Well, my Christmas sweet bread is just like that, and even if it’s not exactly parrozzo, it’s really very good and beautiful to look at. I recommend you try it!
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 8 People
- Cooking methods: Bain-marie, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter, Christmas
Ingredients
- 1 cup cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup cup semolina
- 1/2 cup cup sugar
- 4 eggs (medium)
- 1/4 cup cup sunflower oil
- 2 tablespoons almond liqueur (like Amaretto Disaronno)
- 1 orange zest (or lemon)
- 1 pinch salt
- 6 oz oz dark chocolate (78%)
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- as needed butter
- as needed all-purpose flour
Recommended Tools
- Electric Whisks
- Hand Whisk
- Mold half-sphere
Preparation of CHRISTMAS SWEET BREAD
Separate the yolks from the whites into 2 bowls. Add a pinch of salt to the whites and beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Add the sugar to the yolks and beat with electric whisks until a light and frothy mixture is obtained.
Add the grated orange (or lemon) zest, liqueur, and oil. Mix with the whisks.
Add the semolina and almond flour, continuing to beat between additions. You will get a “hard” mixture, but don’t worry, it will soften with the addition of the egg whites.
Add the egg whites in 2-3 batches and fold them in gently from bottom to top, using a hand whisk or spatula.
Pour the mixture into a dome-shaped mold of 18 cm in diameter, buttered and floured. I placed the ring of a springform pan under the mold so the half-sphere mold stays upright during baking.
Bake in a preheated oven at 320°F fan or 355°F static (I use fan oven) for about 50 minutes. For safety, do the toothpick test.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for ten minutes, then remove it from the mold by inverting it on a wire rack and let it cool completely.
Place the chopped chocolate and 2 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan; melt in a bain-marie, stirring continuously.
Place a plate under the wire rack.
Pour the chocolate over the cake starting from the center and moving the saucepan in a circular motion to achieve an even coating.
Quickly collect the chocolate that has fallen onto the plate and pour it over the parrozzo. You can repeat this step one more time.
Wait for the chocolate to be completely cold and solidified before serving.
You can watch on YouTube the → video of CHRISTMAS SWEET BREAD
Notes
The Christmas sweet bread is included in recipe collections of:
Desserts with almond flour
Typical Christmas Desserts
Christmas and New Year Desserts
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Can I replace the seed oil with butter?
Yes, in the preparation of the Christmas sweet bread, replace the oil with 60 g of butter. For the chocolate coating, replace the 2 tablespoons of oil with 20 g of butter.
Where can I buy the mold?
The half-sphere mold, suitable for this dessert and for making zuccotti, can be purchased at well-stocked homeware stores. Alternatively, you can find it online (above, in the “recommended tools” section, I have included the link).
