Before the days of expressing one's love to another through the giving of pretty paper-cut and decorated Valentine's Day cards, before all of the flowers and chocolate, before all of the special dinners by candlelight, before the champagne and lingerie . . . was the first commemoration for Saint Valentine by Pope Gelasius in 496 A.D.! Valentine was a priest in the Catholic Church who was martyred for his Faith by the Roman emperor on February 14th around the year 270. Truthfully, St. Valentine died for love! That should cause one to think about this little holiday in a completely different way!
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So for this year's gift to my sweetie, I made this sweet Italian bread pudding and instead of using regular bread, I substituted a berry-ladened panettone bread. It is just incredible! The panettone alone could be dessert! I took a regular bread pudding recipe, doubled the ingredients for the custard, and layered in a trio of fresh raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. To top it off, I made a light Limoncello whipped cream and sprinkled on more berries.
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It's so special and so delicious, and oh did my husband love it! Happy Valentine's Day!
The Fiasconaro's Frutti di Bosco Berry Panettone
Mixed Berry Panettone Bread Pudding with Limoncello Whipped Cream
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2 lbs. mixed berry panettone bread (I used Fiasconaro' Frutti di Bosco), baking paper removed from sides and bottom of panettone, torn up into 1-1/2" pieces
6 jumbo eggs
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
3 cups heavy cream
pinch of sea salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups mixed berries: raspberries, blueberries, strawberries
Lemon Whipped cream and fresh berries for garnish.
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Limoncello Whipped Cream
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1-1/2 cup cold whipping cream, whipped
1/4 cup sugar, blend into the whipped cream
1 tsp. Limoncello liqour OR freshly squeezed lemon juice, blended in
zest of 1 lemon, blended in.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter the sides and bottom of a large 9 x 15" baking dish.
In a medium bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the eggs.
Add the sugar to the eggs and mix until pale and thick, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the vanilla extract, pinch of sea salt, and lemon zest.
Beat in the heavy cream.
Spread 1/3 of the bread cubes in the baking dish.
Scatter 1 cup of the mixed berries on top of the bread cubes.
Layer another 1/3 of the bread cubes on top of the berry layer.
Scatter the 2nd cup of the mixed berries on top of the bread cubes.
Layer the final 1/3 of the bread cubes on top of the berry layer.
Pour the egg/custard mixture over all of the bread cube and berry layers.
Press the bread cubes down into all of the custard sauce.
Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. of sugar all over the top.
Let the entire mixture sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the bread to absorb the egg custard mixture.
Bake the bread pudding in the center of the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and the custard is set.
Let cool for 30 minutes before cutting into and serving.
Serve with freshly whipped Limoncello whipped cream and fresh berries.
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Before going into the oven, the berries layer into the bread pudding
prior to pouring on the custard.
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