The Best Artisanal Panettone in Montreal
Holiday celebrations are just around the corner! Which means we all deserve to celebrate with our favourite treats from morning to night.
Panettone is to Italians what the Yule log is to Quebecers: a holiday staple! Whether enjoyed as a dessert or at breakfast, we love its brioche-like texture, just the right amount of sweetness, and light dough. It’s a definite essential of Italian holiday cuisine.
A decadent hybrid between a bread and a cake, it is a treat that people like to enjoy during the holiday season. While commercial versions are generally easy to find, artisanal panettone is the result of a long process that requires patience, passion and expertise. That’s why we have compiled a little list of excellent places to find the best artisanal panettone in Montreal!
Originally from the city of Milan, this artisanal confection has its origins in the Middle Ages. A tradition specific to this region, it was not until the 20th century that panettone gained popularity outside of Northern Italy and was quickly manufactured and marketed.
Its contemporary artisanal version is the result of the exceptional work of pastry chefs and bakers. Traditionally, panettone is made of flour, eggs, a lot of butter, sugar, candied fruits and raisins. Its manufacturing process — which includes a long fermentation period — requires a great deal of know-how. However, the hard work is evident in its soft texture, light crust and buttery taste.
Special mention to Viva Panettone, which is almost unanimous on the Montreal market. You can choose from Le Bec Sucré (with maple), Le Gianduja (with chocolate and hazelnuts), Le Framboisissimo (with dark chocolate and chocolate-raspberry), Le Cappuccino (with Arabica coffee and Dulcey blond chocolates) and Le Signature (traditional panettone with candied citrus and sultanas). In fact, Le Signature is selected for the Panettone World Cup! A must-try!
Here are our suggestions for places to try excellent artisanal panettone in Montreal. Enjoy and happy holidays!
Arte & Farina
This little Italian bakery makes exceptional pastries. Chef Sandro Carpené — originally from Bassano del Grappa, Italy — prepares a wide variety of sublime Italian sweets. All of his products are made with respect to tradition and from the best ingredients possible. They offer delicious artisanal panettone that are beautifully packaged for the holiday season. We’re talking about panettone made by Sandro that took over 72 hours to make! You can choose from the classic orange, lemon and candied raisin panettone, the domori chocolate and candied apricot panettone, and the maple, apple, blueberry and almond panettone. We love this place. We also go to Arte&Farina to enjoy the best bomba di roma, fritella and cornetta in Montreal.
Montréal
Hof Kelsten
It’s no secret that we love Hof Kelsten bakery. Owner Jeffrey Finkelstein began baking his bread in his mother’s basement years ago, but nowadays, he is supplying some of the city’s most renowned restaurants (Leméac, Nora Gray, Joe Beef, Maison Publique, etc.). On each visit to this charming bakery, you’ll be tempted by the best gourmet breads in town, as well as some of the best pastries, and excellent panettone, of course. We recommend reserving your panettone quickly, as they go like hotcakes!
Montréal
Fous Desserts
This lovely pastry and chocolate shop on Laurier Avenue East has been in business for 20 years. Here, you can find delicious cakes, pastries, pies, cakes, cookies and chocolates. Every year, Fous Desserts offers homemade panettone for the holidays in three sizes (small, medium and large). Two flavours are also available: the traditional panettone (lemon, orange and raisins) and the Christmas panettone (orange, raisins, gingerbread, pepper and candied ginger). Fous desserts is also in our list of the best desserts in Montreal.
Montréal
Café Dei Campi
Café Dei Campi offers handmade, Italian-inspired vegan pastries. Barista Nicola Vardarro and pastry chef Isabelle Deschamps own the charming address located across from Père-Marquette Park. Once again this year, they are offering their soft, slightly sweet, artisanal panettone. It is sprinkled with pears infused with Borsci Elisir S.Marzano, hazelnuts and chocolate. It is available to order only from December 16 to 18 and from December 22 to 24! Hurry and order now!
Montréal
Elena
Elena is one of the best Italian restaurants in town. The charming restaurant with its café-pizza-wine concept is open 7 days a week, much to everyone’s delight. This year, the team is offering a naturally leavened panettone with chocolate and cranberry for the holiday season as well as a classic panettone for more traditional tastes. Here we also find great natural wines, delicious pizzas and fresh pasta to go.
Montréal
Le pain dans les voiles
The Pain dans les Voiles bakery, located a few steps from the Jean-Talon Market, is a heavenly address for bread and pastry lovers. One of their special holiday treats is their homemade panettone. Made with local ingredients, the panettone requires 3 days of work! It was ranked among the 24 best panettones in the world. To try and enjoy!
Montréal
Automne Boulangerie
The superb bakery Automne is always making treats that we love to enjoy. This time they made a homemade panettone to celebrate the holiday season. The pan-automne, as they call it, is a delicious artisanal panettone. Quantities are limited, so be quick!
Montreal
Café Olimpico
This year, the Montreal Italian institution is offering a decadent panettone with pistachios! And for those of us with a sweet tooth, it comes with a jar of pistachio cream to make it richer and fluffier. Hurry, because quantities are limited!
Montréal
