Homemade Christmas Cream is an essential part of the holiday season for my family and is served with the traditional Christmas cake – Panettone. This recipe is one of the specialties of my Grandma Giuliana, my dad’s mother. She was a fantastic cook and many of her recipes were passed down to me through my father.

This homemade Christmas cream was always the perfect ending to the holiday meal. I always remember my grandmother’s smile when she served this cream – she always delighted in sharing this homemade treat. While Panettone is typically bought from a bakery, the Christmas cream is the personal touch of the host, and my grandmother’s version was delicious! The cream was coming in a small bowl along with a slice of Panettone. We were supposed to use a spoon to dip small pieces of Panettone in the cream and eat them. But my favorite thing as a little kid was to do “Scarpetta” – taking a piece of Panettone with my hand and dipping it deeply into the cream, before savoring it. And I still like to do this today.

I must confess that I am the only one who was lucky enough to inherit Grandma Giuliana’s original Christmas cream recipe and I decided to share it with you this Christmas. What makes this Christmas cream particularly unique is its caramel flavor, which you will obtain by caramelizing the sugar. While it is sweet, it is not overly sweet, which is very important because it does not overpower the Panettone’s taste.

Why you will love this recipe

– It is one of those traditional family recipes that has been passed down from generation to generation.

– It is a new take on how to enjoy the classic Italian cake Panettone.

– You will only need 4 ingredients and 30 minutes, plus cooling time in the refrigerator.

– Its mellow caramel taste is addictive.

– You could also use it to fill some croissants for the next morning if it will last that long.

How to make Homemade Christmas Cream

The steps to make this Christmas Cream are simple and easy. You will need milk, eggs, flour and sugar.

First, you whisk the eggs with 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of flour, until they are well combined.

In a pot over low heat, add 8 fl. oz of milk and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Let the sugar caramelize slowly, without allowing the milk to boil. This part will require some attention as you do not want to burn the sugar.

Once the sugar is fully caramelized, remove the pot from the stovetop, add the eggs and sugar mixture, and all the remaining milk. Return to the stovetop and stir over low heat until the cream thickens.

Remove the cream from the stovetop. Transfer the cream to a serving bowl, cover it with cling wrap and let it cool for 1 hour and a half in the refrigerator. Stir the cream from time to time to prevent a film from forming on the surface.

Recipe substitutions and variations

In terms of substitutions, use gluten-free flour if you are intolerant to gluten.

Now in terms of variations – this gets a bit touchy. In general, I would not add any spices to this recipe. Indeed, you could add nutmeg, cinnamon or ginger, which are all “Christmas-y” spices, but those might interfere with the caramel flavor, which is really what makes this special. In the end, for me this is “la crema della nonna” (the cream of my grandma), so I like to stick with the same original recipe that she used to follow.

How to store Homemade Christmas Cream

You can prepare this Christmas cream 2 days in advance and store it in the refrigerator. I would not recommend freezing it, since it has eggs.

What to serve with Christmas Cream

This treat was made to go with Panettone. Place it in a small bowl with a spoon on the side of your slice of Panettone. For the Panettone, I suggest buying an artisanal one that will allow you to savor generations of tradition. I recommend Panettone from Loison, a Venetian family business whose products are available in many countries.

Christmas cream also goes great with Pandoro, another traditional Italian Christmas cake.

Which wine to pair with Homemade Christmas Cream

I recommend choosing a wine that goes well with the specific Panettone or Pandoro. A classic Panettone typically has candied fruit and raisins, and its best pairing is with a Moscato d’Asti, a sweet bubbly wine from Piemonte with citrusy notes.

Some versions of Panettone or Pandoro have chocolate or caramel filling, and the best pairing for those is a Passito wine from Sicily, which has notes of raisins and caramel.

Please let me know how you like the Homemade Christmas Cream in the comments! I would really love to hear from you, and hope you will enjoy this yummy treat with a slice of Italian Panettone this holiday season!