Recipe: A perfect Panforte for the holidays

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Panforte is a traditional Italian cake originating from the Tuscan city of Siena. Packed full of nuts, fruit, honey and spices, it has an almost candy-like chewy texture and flavour that is hard to resist. Below is my version of Panforte, a Christmas “fruitcake”.

Panforte (Christmas Cake)

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1 cup (250 mL) whole almonds roasted

1 cup (250 mL) hazelnuts roasted

3/4 cup (180 mL) candied fruit for baking

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3/4 cup (180 mL) candied peel for baking

1 tbsp (15 mL) water

2/3 cup (160 mL) honey

1 cup (250 mL) sugar

1 1/4 cup (310 mL) flour

1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon

3/4 tsp (4 mL) ground cloves

1 tbsp (15 mL) powdered icing sugar

Topping:

4 tbsp (60 mL) powdered icing sugar

Roast the nuts on a cookie sheet in a pre-heated 350F oven for 7 minutes. Remove nuts from the pan to a clean bowl to stop the nuts from roasting.

Spray 8-inch pan with canola oil spray and cut a piece of parchment paper to fit your cake pan.

In a large bowl, add nuts, candied fruit and candied peel. In a separate bowl add flour and spices. Set aside.

To a small pot, add honey, water and sugar. Heat on medium heat, stirring until mixture starts to boil. Lower the heat to low and continue to stir for 3 minutes until the sugar is dissolved, being careful not to burn. Add the honey mixture to the nuts and stir to combine.

Add the flour mixture and quickly combine, using your wet hands will aid in combining the mixture. Place batter into your prepared cake pan and flatten so it is evenly distributed. Sprinkle the top of the batter with 1 tbsp powdered icing sugar so the top is white. Bake for about 35 minutes.

Let the cake cool for 20 minutes then run a knife around the outside of the cake and gently remove from pan. Completely cool on a wire rack before dusting with powdered icing sugar. You will need a sharp knife to slice.

Makes one cake.

Maria Fazzari Larosa is a cookbook author of Maria’s Italian Cucina from Burnaby who shares her recipe creations online @mariascucina on Instagram.

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