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Panforte di Siena
Panforte: Siena's dense spiced cake of honey, nuts and candied fruit
Siena has been making panforte since the Middle Ages, when spices arriving along the pilgrim road made it a luxury of apothecaries and convents; today the city's pastry shops stack it in paper-wrapped discs, especially for Christmas. It is more confection than cake: toasted almonds and hazelnuts, candied orange and citron, a little flour and cocoa, all bound with hot honey and sugar syrup and fragrant with cinnamon, coriander, clove and pepper. The texture is chewy and nutty, cut in thin wedges with coffee. Chef's tip: work fast once the syrup is in; the mixture stiffens in a minute or two, so have the tin lined and your hands wet.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (300°F fan). Toast 5 ½ oz whole blanched almonds and 3 ½ oz hazelnuts on a tray for 8–10 minutes, until golden. Rub the hazelnuts in a towel to loosen the skins.
10 minStep 2: Line the base of a 22 cm springform tin with 2 sheets edible wafer paper and the sides with baking paper. Lower the oven to 325°F (275°F fan).
Step 3: Mix the nuts, 4 oz candied orange peel, 2 ⅛ oz candied citron or lemon peel, 2 ⅝ oz plain flour, ½ oz cocoa powder, 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground coriander, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground cloves and ¼ tsp ground white pepper in a large bowl.
Step 4: Warm 5 ½ oz honey and 4 oz sugar in a small pan over a low heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 2–3 minutes until it reaches 250°F, or a drop in cold water forms a soft ball. Common mistake: overcooking the syrup; above 250°F the panforte bakes rock-hard.
5 minStep 5: Pour the hot syrup over the dry mixture at once and stir quickly with a wooden spoon until everything is coated.
Step 6: Tip into the tin and press flat with a wet hand or the back of a wet spoon.
Step 7: Bake for 30 minutes, until the surface looks dull and set at the edges; it will still feel soft in the middle.
30 minStep 8: Cool completely in the tin, then peel off the paper and dust with 2 tbsp icing sugar and a little cinnamon. Wrapped well, it keeps for weeks.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 210 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does panforte di Siena take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 35 minutes to prepare and 35 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 plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of cocoa powder?
- Drinking chocolate, same amount (sweeter, so cut the sugar).
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