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Pane dei morti
Fig, cocoa and almond biscuits
Pane dei morti: Milan's chewy All Souls' biscuits of figs, cocoa, almonds and spice
Pane dei morti ('bread of the dead') is baked in Milan and across Lombardy for All Souls' Day on 2 November. Bakers once made them to use up leftover biscuits, crumbling them with dried figs, raisins, almonds, cocoa and spices into a dark, chewy dough, shaped into long ovals and dusted with icing sugar. Older recipes add a glass of vin santo or white wine; this one uses orange juice. They taste of fig and spice and keep for weeks. Chef's tip: let the mixture rest overnight, which softens the crumbs and deepens the flavour.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
- 7 oz dry biscuits (savoiardi, amaretti or plain tea biscuits)crushed to crumbs
- 5 ½ oz dried figsfinely chopped
- 1 ¾ oz raisins
- 2 ⅛ oz ground almonds
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 ⅞ oz plain flour
- 2 ⅛ oz brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 tbsp icing sugarto dust
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Mix 7 oz dry biscuits (savoiardi, amaretti or plain tea biscuits), 5 ½ oz dried figs, 1 ¾ oz raisins, 2 ⅛ oz ground almonds, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 ⅞ oz plain flour, 2 ⅛ oz brown sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves and 1 tsp baking powder in a bowl.
Step 2: Add 2 egg whites and ¼ cup orange juice and mix to a thick, sticky dough. Cover and rest in the fridge overnight.
Step 3: Heat the oven to 350°F (300°F fan) and line two trays. With wet hands, shape the dough into 16 flat ovals about 10 cm long and 1.5 cm thick.
15 minStep 4: Bake for 20–25 minutes, until firm at the edges but still a little soft in the middle. A common mistake is baking them hard: they should be chewy.
22 minStep 5: Cool and dust with 2 tbsp icing sugar.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 180 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pane dei morti take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of ground almonds?
- Ground cashews, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cocoa powder?
- Drinking chocolate, same amount (sweeter, so cut the sugar).
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