Panettone cakes - are they worth the money?

[bacon]

I've seen a lot of these and Aldi have one in a lovely tin but at £8 are they worth it and will it get eaten?

Are they extra special - I've never had it. Or best eaten then used for a bread and butter type pudding. Will it keep or dry out after opening hence have to be stuffed down just to shift it?

I am Italian and know my panettone
to be honest, I like panettone, but I am not wild about it, unless it is particularly good, ie made by a good bakery and therefore v. expensive.

Imho the best brand available in supermarkets is Maina, I think you can find it in the uk quite easily. Panettone is best eaten accompanied by a mascarpone cream.

I love the plain ones, with coffee. But don't buy them any more as I just scoff them.

I don't like all the little fruity things some have.

I've used them to make french toast before which turns out quite nicely, and the good news is it works much better when it has gone a little stale.

Lidl has panettone (the one with sultanas and mixed peel) - and I think Pandoro also (plain, sweet sponge one) for £3.99; you could give one of those a go before splashing out £8 (!) or more.

Not worth it at all I'd say. A good fruit bread is superior to my mind (And I normally prefer sourdough to yeast breads), and a lot cheaper. But like anything it's going to be up to you!

If you think of them as per your title as a Panettone cake you will probably be disappointed, as they are nothing like cake. THe nearest equicvalent is fruit bread as FredFred says

Crap dry fruit bread, more air than bread too, like nimble slimming bread. It tastes ok but there's no substance to it.

It makes fantastic bread and butter pudding, recipe with eggs nod cream so it has lovely custardy texture. I just buy the £3 one from Lidl - it's definitely worth it!