Certosino

Certosino is a traditional sweet bread originating from Bologna. The sweet bread contains almonds, pine nuts, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, honey, and candied fruit. It's traditionally prepared for the Christmas festivities. In local dialect, the sweet bread is also known as zrtuséin, while many people call it panspezial, which refers to medieval times when certosino was prepared by apothecaries (speziali). The rich and dense certosino is made without yeast, so it needs a long storing time before it's eaten. Although the sweet bread nowadays contains chocolate and cocoa powder, the original didn't contain any of those ingredients.