Pandoro Cake, made with a layer of leftover Italian Christmas Pandoro, then filled with a creamy Italian Pastry Cream, and a little Hazelnut Cream Spread. Topped with a layer of Pandoro crumbs, then baked.

pandoro cake in a white pan on a red towel

As I sat and stared at the Pandoro boxes in the cupboard, I knew I would probably be making a decadent Chocolate and Whipped Cream Dessert with one of them.

But I really wanted to make something a little different this year.

Recipe Ingredients

Leftover pandoro
Coffee
Nutella
Milk
Cream
Egg yolks
Sugar
Vanilla
Flour

How to make it

Make the cream first, in a medium pot, over medium / low, heat the milk and cream, do not boil. Remove from heat and let cool to warm.

In a another medium pot add the yolks and sugar, whisk together until combined, then add the flour and vanilla, whisk until smooth.

Place the pot over low / medium heat, add the warm milk/cream, whisking continuously until thickened. Remove to a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap (make sure wrap touches the cream mixture) and chill. Give the cream a good stirring before spreading on the cake slices.

pandoro cake how to make, sliced pandoro, cream filling, and topping

Line the cake pan with about 3-4 of the Pandoro slices (make a small border of approximately 1/2 – 1 inch (2cm) ), do not overlap the slices cut them to fit if needed. The remaining slices cut into small cubes (crumbs) and set aside.

Spoon the coffee over the slices of Pandoro. Spread the Italian Cream evenly over the sliced Pandoro. Spoon the spreadable Nutella over the cream filling** and top with the crumbs, press down gently and bake. Remove from the oven and let cool then refrigerate for 2-3 hours or even overnight. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

How to Make an Italian Pastry Cream

In a medium pot, heat the milk and cream over medium / low heat, do not boil.
Remove from heat and let cool to warm.
In another medium pot add the egg yolks and sugar, whisk together until combined, then add flour and vanilla and whisk until smooth,
place the pot over medium / low heat, then add the warm milk/cream, whisking continuously (do not stop stirring) until thickened.
Remove the cream to a glass bowl, cover it with plastic wrap (make sure wrap touches the cream mixture) and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

pandoro cake making the pastry cream — Making the Pastry Cream.

So as some people will make Mashed Potato Croquettes with leftover Mashed Potatoes or even A Turkey Pasta with leftover turkey …

Italians just might be making a dessert with leftover Pandoro. I discovered this dessert on a blog called Ho Voglia di Dolce and in Italian the dessert is called Sbriciolata di Pandoro / Pandoro Crumb Cake.

It caught my attention because we love the combination of Italian Pastry Cream and Nutella and the addition of a few slices of Pandoro it couldn’t get any better.

baked pandoro cake in a white pan and a piece on a black plate

What is Pandoro?

It is a traditional Veronese sweet cake, Pandoro meaning Golden Bread (referring to the colour of the bread), that is served between Christmas and Epiphany.

It is a soft and light cake (I find it more cake than bread). It is made with flour, sugar, butter, eggs and yeast. It has a cone shape that resembles an eight pointed star, and it is served sprinkled with vanilla sugar.

I gave a piece of this Pandoro Crumb Cake to my sister in law and she said it reminded her of a trifle. I suppose it is along the same lines although this is baked for a bit.

I don’t know if you would be able to make this cake or not, but I did find it interesting and worth sharing. Enjoy!

More Italian Cake Recipes