Panettone French Toast

Italy’s Christmas tradition wouldn’t be complete without panettone. The large, Italian sweetbread is an absolute must in the Italian Christmas lunch, being the favoured dessert during festive times. There are essentially two types of panettone - the boxed panettone that you get in the supermarket, and the rich, wholesome panettone that you buy at an Italian pastry shop. The latter is the real deal - real panettone should not be like a dry cake, but a soft, humble sweetbread of large proportions traditionally made with sultanas and other candied fruit.

If you're not a breakfast person, try using panettone in bread pudding.
3/4 cup half & half or milk (I used a combination of the two)
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
8 slices of 3/4 inch thick panettone (or brioche, or challah)
a bit of butter for greasing the pan or griddle

Whisk the half & half/milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt together and pour into a shallow pan.  Lay the bread into the mixture and soak them for a few minutes until just saturated.

Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium-high heat.  Rub some butter and place the slices of french toast onto the surface.  Cook for about 3 mins on the first side (until bottom is browned) and about 90 seconds on the second side.