There are two really traditional Christmas cakes here; Panettone and Pandoro.  Panettone originated in Milan, Pandoro in Verona.  A good Panettone is nothing like the boxed stale cakes we find in the States.  They are yellow from the dozen eggs used to bake them, fluffy, soft with a wonderful toasted top and dotted with tangy, sweet dried fruits.  Pandoro is somewhere between a basic yellow cake and an angle cake.  Very light and covered with powdered sugar.  This is Racca, a wholesale pastry-bakery that caters to bars, restaurants and folks off the street.  I wish I could post the perfume walking into this place.  Because it IS perfume.  So so GOOD.  We buy our annual Panettone from places like this, fresh out of the oven.   It is still wrapped and sitting on our table.  I am trying to resist ripping into it as tomorrow is MIL's "saint's day" and we'll be having a big dinner with her.  We've given ourselves until Sunday.  I shall persevere!

xxoo me