The Panbriacone
You cut it and from the very first slice you know stopping will be difficult. Panbriacone is soft, generous, and hides inside that boozy soul that lingers in your mouth without ever covering the rest. Thirty-six hours of natural leavening, selected ingredients, zero preservatives: everything it takes to get to a bite like this one. Silvio and Sergio Bonci invented it in 1995, and ever since it has been the cake that made us known across Italy and well beyond.
It is called Panbriacone because we are in Tuscany, and here things are called by their name, with that taste for a joke that spares nothing, not even cakes. It has a character all of its own, and it wins over anyone looking for the real thing. In winter it is a certainty, in summer it knows how to surprise you: a slice with ice cream, custard or yoghurt, and the evening is sorted. And if the classic is not enough for you, there are 11 flavours: eleven more excuses not to wait for Christmas.
How do you make something this good?
Flour, eggs, sugar, butter, Corinth raisins and sultanas, plus our mother yeast, which we have been pampering for over seventy years. All strictly by hand, all natural. Then comes the best part: once baked and cooled, the dough is soaked in a blend of Tuscan passito wines. That is the moment when Panbriacone takes on the soul that makes it unforgettable. Add thirty-six hours of natural leavening and a few secrets we are not telling you, and there it is, ready. With no artificial preservatives, by the way, it keeps beautifully: it will wait in your cupboard until you give in to the craving.
Behind all this indulgence there is a family that has been baking good things since 1953, this cake included, born out of an experiment. Sergio Bonci, who grew up in the workshop his father Beppe opened in the early 1950s, took part in many international pastry competitions, learning secrets, techniques and potions from the great masters of the time.
And it is out of all this that an idea takes shape: what if we soaked a leavened cake in passito wines? No sooner said than done. Sweet wines, Corinth raisins and sultanas, holding all the sweetest flavours of the Mediterranean.
A one-of-a-kind story for an equally special cake.
One Panbriacone leads to another
Panbriacone wins you over straight away, and then it keeps on pleasing. With that sweet, boozy soul of its own it is like no other leavened cake, least of all panettone, and in no time it has taken a place at tables well beyond Italy.
A success nobody saw coming, and one that raised a question: why wait for Christmas? From there came the formats for every appetite and the flavours for every season, including the cheekiest combinations. Here the ovens are always hot and our hands always in the dough, with an urge to try something new that never goes away.
We change everything except the thing that counts: the care we put into making it.
A flavour for every craving
Rum. The first of the variants, the one that started it all. The crumb opens up glossy with rum syrup and the dark
chocolate chips melt a second later on your tongue.
Pear. You catch the Williams pear spirit immediately, right from the first bite. Then comes the soft pear, wrapped in
the intense taste of dark chocolate. And straight away you want another bite, just to savour it properly.
Wild Berries. Wild berries in pieces and in liqueur, wrapped in a soft dough. Sweet, fragrant, the kind that has you
licking your fingers before moving on to the next slice..
Mokanero. If coffee is a religion for you, there is no other choice but to give in to the mix of espresso liqueur syrup
and dark chocolate chips.
White. Vanilla in the syrup and white chocolate chips. Sweet, soft, shameless: the sin you forgive yourself for while
you are still committing it.
Limoncello. An infusion of PGI Sorrento lemons and candied peel turning up in every bite. Fresh, citrusy, with that
alcoholic edge that cleans the palate and makes you start all over again.
Orange Blossom. Orange liqueur in the soaking syrup, soft cubes of candied peel and zagara, the blossom of the orange
and lemon tree, to catch the scent of spring in the sweetest moment of the meal.
Peach & Wine. Red wine in the syrup and candied peaches, prepared one by one in our workshops. You sink the knife in,
cut the slice, and the plate keeps the mark of its juice, intense and fragrant.
Mandanero. Born in 2023 for the company’s 70th anniversary. Cocoa dough like Mokanero, dark chocolate chips and candied
mandarin peel, all soaked in mandarin liqueur. Dark, intense, enveloping.
Apple & Calvados. The gift for Panbriacone’s thirtieth birthday. Semi-candied apple, cinnamon and French Calvados. It
smells of a tart straight out of the oven and it is gone in seconds.
Strawberries & Gin. The latest arrival in the family. Sweet, juicy strawberries, and underneath the gin with its
juniper, cleaning the palate and calling you straight back for another bite.
All these tempting flavours can also be bought in the Bria Tronchetto format, which is Panbriacone in a 500-gram
version, with a new shape and packaging you can spot from a mile away.
From here the choice is all yours. We only know how it ends: you start with one slice and you finish picking the crumbs
off the plate.
What is Panbriacone?
What is Panbriacone?
Panbriacone is a leavened dough which after being cooked and cooled is soaked in a mix of sweet wines.
Is Panbriacone naturally leavened?
Yes. Bonci exclusively uses a mother yeast which is almost 70 years old.
Does Panbriacone contain raisins?
Yes, Panbriacone's dough has two different types of raisins: sultanas which are sweet and fleshy and Corinthian raisins which are tiny, dark, and extremely perfumed.
Does a gluten-free Panbriacone exist?
No, unfortunately, there is currently no gluten-free version of our leavened cake. However, we are considering introducing a gluten-free line in the near future.
Does Panbriacone contain milk?
No, but it contains milk derivatives such as butter.
Is Panbriacone alcoholic?
Yes, the imbibition syrup, which constitute 30% of the entire product, has an alcoholic content of 14° vol. Does a non-alcoholic Panbriacone exist? No, Panbriacone is a product which was born with this characteristic alcoholic imbibition.
How to store Panbriacone
Do I have to store Panbriacone in the fridge?
No. Panbriacone perfectly store itself at room temperature.
If I have a few slices left, will I have to put them in the fridge?
No. You just need to close the packaging so that the dough won't dry.
What's Panbriacone's expiry date?
Panbriacone has a ten-month shelf life.
How to serve Panbriacone
Is it true that before cutting Panbriacone, it should be turned upside down?
No, it isn't true. By turning upside down the product, dough risks to be smashed and consumer may not taste its softness at best.
How can I cut Panbriacone?
A bread knife, with serrated blade, is ideally the best to cut the product preventing the dough from smashing.
Can I serve Panbriacone during summer?
Sure. Bonci produces its famous leaveved dough all year long. We suggest accompanyning the slice cut with Malaga raisin ice-cream. What goodness!
What can I drink with Panbriacone?
You could accompany it by drinking sweet wines such as Italian Moscato or Passito.