In a plastic bowl add all the ingredients, mix and knead well for 5 minutes and to form dough.

Cover it with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for a minimum 8 hours or preferable overnight.

After overnight or 8 hours sponge will look like this.

To prepare the fruit

Place the raisins in a bowl and add rum and toss to coat and cover it overnight. Add mixed fruit peel just before mixing it into the dough.

Place all the ingredients, orange zest, sponge, and vanilla extract,

Fiori di Sicilia into kitchen aid mixer bowl fitted with dough hook and mix to combine.

Then add egg yolks and water and mix once again to combine.

Then add soften butter over 5 additions while still kneading.

This process will take some time at first the dough will be soft and sticky at first then knead for 10-15 minutes. Resting the dough for 1 minute every 2-3 minutes until it becomes very smooth, elastic, soft and shiny.

Set aside for doubling in size in a lightly greased bowl for about 1 hour.

Knock it down and fold the dough once again and set aside for another 30 minutes. Then to this dough try to incorporate, the rum soaked raisins, candied fruit peels and

knead once again until you incorporate the entire fruit into the dough. Set aside for double for about 35 minutes.

Then divide the dough into 12 equal pieces of about 50g dough and place it into a buttered muffin tin. Let it set aside to rise about 30 minutes.

In mean time pre-heat the oven to 375F and before ready to bake the mini panettone, make an x mark and on the top and place ½ tablespoon butter

bake it for about 15 minutes or until it becomes golden brown color with dome on the top.

Once it is removed from the oven immediately brush with melted butter and leave it cool. You don’t need to hang the panettone as we need to do for the regular panettone.

Enjoy