Nigella's Italian Christmas Pudding Cake

Way back in February, it was my friend Vanda's birthday.  To celebrate, she held a gathering of family and friends at her house.  Vanda's family is Italian, so they always put on an amazing spread.  Although we didn't have to bring anything, I decided to contribute a dessert to the spread.

Being an Italian gathering, the natural choice of dessert for me to make was Nigella's Italian Christmas Pudding Cake, recipe in Nigellisima, but also published online here. 

I had bought a panettone at Christmas time and kept it, so it came in handy as panettone is a key ingredient in Nigella's Italian Christmas Pudding Cake.  Slices of panettone are brushed with marsala, and layered with marscapone, chocolate chips, nuts and candied chestnuts (or candied ginger, in my case).  The top of the cake is decorated with more nuts, chocolate chips and pomegranate seeds:  

How pretty is that!  And it tastes devine.

To make your own Italian Christmas Pudding Cake, you will need:

625g panettone (I used the whole 900g panettone!)
6 tablespoons marsala or coffee liqueur
2 eggs
75g sugar
500g marscapone
250ml cream
125ml marsala
 74g candied chestnuts or other glace fruit of your choice
125g chocolate chips
100g chopped pistachios
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds

Line the base of a 22cm springform pan with baking paper.  

Cut the panettone into 1cm thick slices.  Line the base of the springform pan with 1/3 of the panettone slices.

Sprinkle the panettone in the base of the pan with 2 tablespoons marsala (or other liqueur of your choice). 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the eggs and sugar until creamy and thick.  Slowly whisk in the marscapone and the cream.  Add  the 125ml marsala and whisk thoroughly.  Put a cup of the marscapone mixture into the fridge.  

Add the chopped glace chestnuts or fruit to the remaining marscapone mixture.   Add 100g of chocolate chips and 75g of pistachios, and fold through until well combined.  Spread half of this mixture over the panettone lining the springform pan.

Top the marscapone in the pan with another 1/3 of the panettone slices.  Sprinkle over another 2 tablespoons marsala.

Spread the remaining half of the marscapone over the top of the panettone layer, then top with the remaining 1/3 of the panettone slices.  Sprinkle over the last 2 tablespoons of marsala.  

Cover the pan with cling film, put a weight on the top of the cake, and chill for up to 2 days.

When ready to serve the cake, unmould it from the springform pan and place on a cake plate.  Spread the top of the cake with the reserved cup of marscapone mixture, and sprinkle it with the remaining chocolate chips, cjopped pistachios and pomegranate seeds.  

Slice and serve - enjoy!