pandoro

As Christmas draws near, shop windows in Italy fill up with red underpants while supermarkets fill up with boxes of Verona's classic pandoro. A tall fluffy sweet yeast bread invented in the 18th century, it gets its golden tint from many egg yolks—seven in the classic recipe—pandoro is baked in a star-shaped mold.

It's similar to panettone, only it has no candied fruit or nuts, although it may contain slivers of chocolate. It is typically covered with powdered sugar, although some hedonists pour chocolate or other sauces over it.