Panettone challenge: the best cakes tasted and rated

Welcome to the year of the panettone. Yes, this moist, golden, fruit-studded domed dough is a time-honoured Christmas favourite, but this year supermarkets have upped the ante, adding caramel, booze and even parmesan to the mix. But should you ever muck about with a classic panettone? The Guardian’s resident cake expert Benjamina Ebuehi and fellow baker Edd Kimber ate their way through a mountain of supermarket buys to rate the best.

“I’m looking for a panettone that’s as light as possible, and it needs to be generous with fruit otherwise it’s just bread,” says Kimber. Ebuehi agrees: “I want butteriness, I want lightness. I want a nice, fruity, citrussy flavour, but not too sickly sweet.”

Kimber spots the numerous chocolate versions: “I’m not a huge chocolate panettone fan; you can mess about with a panettone, but it needs to have some link to the classic.” Ebuehi is also a purist but is “open to a twist – as long as it doesn’t cross a line. Less is more when it comes to panettone”.

Here are their verdicts on the best and worst, from hazelnut toppings to “gummy” chocolate cream, and a champagne version that tastes of fish.

Lidl Deluxe Champagne Panettone, £7.99 (750g)
EK: “This has a nice, pleasing shape to it and quite a good texture, but I’m not loving the smell. Hold on, it tastes of fish. This is gross, and I had high hopes on cutting into it because the dough is nice and open. This is disappointing.” Score 0/10

BE: “This has good height, it looks nice, and there’s a decent amount of fruit in there. It smells strange… no, that’s horrible. It does taste of fish. This is the worst.” Score 0/10

M&S Spiced Caramel, £10 (750g)
BE: “This isn’t panettone; we’ve gone too far over the line. There’s none of that classic panettone flavour (apart from the peel) to redeem it, and it’s all sugar. It does look playful and fun, though, so it could be good for kids.” Score 3.5/10

EK: “It looks like a Ferrero Rocher. The chocolate is quite thin, which I’m happy about; the caramel is so cinnamon-y and there’s so much of it; the bread is bland on its own. It’s crazy how sweet this is, it’s headache-inducing.” Score 3/10

Aldi Specially Selected Chocolate Panettone, £3.99 (750g)
EK: “That chocolate cream is disgusting, it’s so sweet. It’s missing the citrus, so it doesn’t taste like panettone, but the taste and texture of the filling is the main takeaway – and that’s bad. You wouldn’t want a big chunk of this.” Score 4/10

BE: “There’s good height on this one, it feels nice and squidgy, and it smells nice… but sweet. This is just sugar, sugar, sugar, and the cream is very gummy. Aldi, come on, this is like brioche.” Score 4/10

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Orange & “Prosecco Doc” Panettone, £10 (800g)
BE: “This looks pleasing; the wrapper is decorative, you can see all the fruit coming through, and it’s got good height. The sweetness level is good, but I’m not getting any prosecco. I like the texture, and I could eat more than one slice of this – but you have to lose marks because I’m not tasting booze.” Score 7/10

EK: “This has one of the nicest shapes, but I’m ambivalent; there’s nothing wrong with it but it’s not special, and there’s only a very small aftertaste of alcohol. This is a very happy breakfast panettone.” Score 6.5/10

Lidl Deluxe Panettone Classico, £3.69 (700g)
EK: “This is nice and tall, which is what you want, but it looks a bit sad. Do you know what this tastes like? Fruit bread. It’s got the texture of panettone but it’s really missing the classic panettone citrus oil – you can smell it, but you can’t taste it. There are loads of raisins in it, so it’s good for breakfast.” Score 6/10

BE: “This is giving homey, everyday vibes – it’s not what I would gift. There’s a lot of fruit packed in there and it smells nice, but it’s a bit dry and it looks a bit dull. It gets the job done, but it’s not special.” Score 6/10

Tesco Finest Tiramisu Style Panettone, £10 (790g)
BE: “Appearance-wise it’s not giving a lot. Oh gosh, what’s this? Coffee cream! The cream is odd; it tastes like fake, diluted coffee and the texture coats your tongue. No, don’t buy this. I’m not even getting tiramisu – you’d be better off buying a tiramisu, buying a panettone, and enjoying them separately.” Score 1/10

EK: “It’s misshapen and smells artificial, like fake coffee and cheap alcohol. The chocolate doesn’t taste of anything, either. This is bad; I’d be so disappointed if I’d spent £10 on this. I really wanted to like it because I love tiramisu, but this doesn’t have any redeeming features.” Score 1/10

WINNER
M&S Nocciolato Panettone, £15 (1kg)
EK: “It looks nice, and there’s the classic mix of candied peel and raisins. It’s not the most flavourful dough, but the texture is good. I like the hazelnut crust on top and there isn’t too much of it – but I think it’s not strong enough in flavour to call it hazelnut.” Score 8/10

BE: “I like the mix of fruits in this one and the dough has a bit more flavour than some of the others. The crust isn’t as thick as it looks: it’s light, buttery, but I’m not getting much hazelnut.” Score 8/10

Morrisons Best Chocolate & Orange Panettone, £8 (750g)
EK: “This looks like a giant doughnut; I’m worried about the crust and texture of that cream inside, which stinks. Oh, I don’t like the filling, and the bread tastes artificial. If it didn’t have that weird cream and had some peel, it would be miles better.” Score 4/10

BE: “This looks better than the picture on the box, which is rare. It feels dense, and the texture of the cream inside is just odd and way too sweet. The bread doesn’t have enough orange in it for a chocolate-orange panettone, either.” Score 4/10

Heston from Waitrose Black Forest Panettone, £15 (750g)
BE: “It’s very small for such a big box. I feel a bit underwhelmed. The cherries on top look nice, but I really don’t want the chocolate – I want to see the top. It’s well filled, there’s a good distribution of cherries and chocolate chunks in there, and I like that there’s a bit of alcohol to cut through the sweetness. Do I want a big slice? No.” Score 5.5/10

EK: “It’s quite squat and looks like a chocolate cake. I like the boozy hint of kirsch, but I don’t think it’s saying black forest, which is strange because it has lots of the component parts. I don’t love it; if you want a chocolate panettone, then this is a good one because it’s not too sweet and the chocolate is real rather than a weird artificial mixture. However, we’ve gone way past panettone.” Score 6/10

BEST BUDGET BUY
Asda Extra Special Classic Panettone, £7.50 (750g)
EK: “This is a pretty good, very classic panettone. It’s fruit heavy but it needs more citrus; there’s enough peel, but it’s missing the citrus oil. It’s very similar to the Tesco panettone, but it’s better and cheaper.” Score 7.5/10

BE: “I agree, this is very similar – and better – than the Tesco panettone. There’s more peel, and it’s not as sweet, which I appreciate.” Score 7/10

BEST PRESENT
M&S Cherry & Blood Orange, £20 (750g)
EK: “It looks incredibly generous because it’s covered in dried fruit and chocolate. Even though I don’t want chocolate on my panettone, this is successful; the sour tang from the cherries means there’s balance. I wouldn’t buy it, but I’d happily recommend people do. The packaging is amazing.” Score 7.5/10

BE: “The tin is very giftable, and I love the tangy cherries; they are perfectly sour and really make this panettone. The topping has a good amount of orange, but I wish there wasn’t any chocolate on top.” Score 7/10

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Cherry & Almond, £10 (750g)
EK: “I like the mix of sugar and almonds in the crust, but this panettone is bland – there’s no almond flavour in there. If you’re going to sell it as cherry and almond, then people are going to expect that bitter almond taste. Nice texture, though.” Score 6/10

BE: “I don’t smell a whole lot, but it’s pretty and the packaging is lovely – it’s very giftable. However, this is crying out for some citrus and almond essence in there. It’s just a bit boring.” Score 6/10

Tesco Finest Authentic Italian Panettone, £9 (750g)
BE: “It looks like a giant hot cross bun – they’ve put the wrong thing inside! There’s lots of plump, juicy fruit and peel in here; it’s not bad at all. This feels more like an everyday panettone. If you love hot cross buns, this is for you.” Score 6/10

EK: “The dried fruit is incredibly plump but it’s so raisin-y, I wish it had more citrus flavour. The texture is good; this one isn’t bad.” Score 6.5/10

Lidl Favorina Panettone with Chocolate filling, £5.99 (800g)
BE: “I want a tall panettone, which this is, but it’s just too sweet and it needs something else going on in this bread. I think chocolate panettone is for people who don’t like panettone.” Score 4.5/10

EK: “It’s quite dry and the least rich dough we’ve tried. The filling is better than Aldi’s but it’s still too sweet – all you’re left with at the end is an artificial taste. It needs some citrus peel to balance things out.” Score 5/10

Waitrose No1 Sicilian Orange Nocciolato Panettone, £15 (750g)
EK: “To me, this is a classic: it looks sophisticated, the texture has a nice lightness to it and there are some good, big chunks of fruit. However, the dough itself is a bit bland and I would like more flavour. Overall, it’s pretty good. Score 7/10

BE: “Really nice packaging, it smells like Christmas, but the bread hasn’t got as much flavour as I want. I wouldn’t say there’s a tonne of fruit, either. I want a bit more oomph from my panettone.” Score 7/10

BEST HYBRID
Waitrose Parmigiano Reggiano & Black Pepper Panettone, £9 (500g)
BE: “This is so not a panettone. I do like it: really buttery, nice texture, but it’s too peppery for me. I couldn’t eat a whole slice of this, but it could be good to do things with – a sandwich or toastie.” Score 6/10

EK: “It’s delicious; it’s got the texture you expect because it’s got that stretch, but it’s cheese bread. I think it’s great and I would buy this, which I didn’t expect to say, but I don’t understand its purpose. Although I can imagine watching crappy TV and nibbling on it.” Score 8/10 (although it’s not panettone)