cranberry, pomegranate & thyme panettone with meringue

MAKES 2 medium panettone

1 x panettone dough recipe (see left)

½ cup (75g) dried cranberries, chopped and soaked

in boiling water for 30 minutes

2 tablespoons plain flour

¼ cup (35g) pistachios, chopped

Dried pomegranate seeds and thyme sprigs, for decorating Icing sugar, for dusting

ITALIAN MERINGUE

2 tablespoons water 1¼ cups (275g) caster sugar ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar 2 egg whites

1 Make panettone following the panettone dough recipe.

2 Drain the cranberries, squeezing out any excess liquid. Place in a bowl and toss with flour. Add the cranberry mixture and pistachios to the dough and beat for 1 minute or until well combined. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and set aside for 2 hours or until doubled in size.

3 Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Divide into two portions, shape into smooth balls and place into two lightly greased 13cm panettone tins (see Tip). Cover with a damp tea towel and set aside to prove for about 30 minutes, or until the dough comes two-thirds of the way up the tin.

4 Place on baking tray and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 200°C (180°C fan) and bake for 30 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

5 For the Italian meringue, place the water, ¼ cup sugar and cream of tartar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat. Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the clean bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk on high speed to soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining sugar and whisk until sugar is dissolved. With the mixer whisking, gradually pour the hot syrup into meringue. Whisk until meringue is cool. Spoon on top of panettone and decorate with pomegranate seeds and thyme. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Tip Panettone tins are available from most kitchen supply stores.

If you don’t have 13cm panettone tins, you could use two large, cleaned instant-coffee tins. Simply remove the lids and line the bases and sides of the tins with baking paper.