Panforte
by hilla.kariv on May 5, 2014
One day a panforte popped into my life – it was a regular weekday when my neighbor, who is a caterer, showed up with a beautiful white wheel; its insides full of nuts and dried fruits
That afternoon I fell in love – thinly slices of nutty texture and the scent of orange peels and spices.
Instead of asking for a recipe I tried on my own, mixing this and that, tweaking and trying again and again. A good panforte I discovered, doesn’t yield its secrets easily.
Everyone around me had to test and taste again and again – too sweet, too cardamony, too hard (says the broken knife) or too soft. Until this one, the right one!
There must be a thousand versions of the Tuscan panforte, and mine the 1001th, doesn’t stick too closely to the original. There’s a lot of fruit and nuts and not much in between-
Great to enjoy with your afternoon tea on a rainy, grey or completely sunny afternoon.
Panforte – Tuscan fruit and nut cake
Use a 9”/24 cm round pan or 2 – 6”/16 cm rounds
Keep the panforte covered and well snuggled deep in your pantry. Time does it good and it will keep for weeks.
12 oz. / 350 gr. roasted nuts, unsalted – almonds or hazlenuts
7 oz. / 200 gr. dried fruit – cranberries or cherries
2 oz. / 50 gr. candied orange peel
2 Tablespoons cocoa beans (optional)
2 Tablespoon cocoa powder
½ cup flour (gluten free works well)
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon cardamom, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, a pinch of cloves
1/3 cup honey
¼ cup sugar
2 Tablespoons water
For the topping: ½ cup confectioner’s sugar
Heat the oven to 350f / 180c.
Line the pan with baking paper and lightly grease.
Chop the fruits and nuts roughly and transfer to a bowl. Add the cocoa beans if using.
Add flour, cocoa powder and spices and mix well until all is coated.
In a small pot mix: honey, water and sugar and bring to a boil, making sure all the sugar has dissolved. Pour on top of the fruit and nuts and mix well. Although it may seem like there isn’t enough of the liquid to cover everything, mixing well will solve the problem.
Transfer to a pan and using the back of a wet spoon, spread mixture pressing it down evenly.
Bake for 30 minutes. After removing from the oven, use a thin knife to separate the cake from the edges, to help removal later.
When completely cool, remove the cake from the pan.
Place on a large piece of baking paper and cover with the confectioner’s sugar. Rub the sugar in on top and sides using your hands and shake the excess.
Cover well with baking paper and plastic bag to store.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
All of your recipes speak to me, but this one is really talking loud (in the very best way). Just gorgeous.
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Thank you!
So happy to find your blog- my kind of recipes
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ahh I love this. I remember gnawing on these as a kid…It’s impossible to gobble it so mom gave them to me in long car rides.
I still gnaw on them
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