Pannettone

Round about this time of year loads of shops near me start selling Pannettone. It seems people are starting to associate this Italian cake with Christmas. How, exactly, did that happen? It's not even that nice. Okay quite a few people dislike the traditional Christmas pudding and not everyone likes fruit-cake but come on, Pannettone? Do me a favour. Personally I find it very hard to trust a nation 'dessert-wise' whose contribution to the great and vast pantheon of biscuits is one that's so damn hard you have to soak it in coffee so it doesn't rupture the roof of your mouth and shatter teeth when you eat it.