Description
Siena’s rustic, medieval flavoured flat cake, panforte, is dense with candied fruit, spices and nuts. The perfect rich winter treat.
Ingredients
Scale
- 400 g or 14 ounces candied melon (or dried figs or candied cedro)
- 50 g or 1.7 ounces candied orange peel
- 350 g or 12 ounces white sugar
- 350 g or 12 ounces blanched, peeled whole almonds
- 150 g or 5.2 ounces flour
- 10 g or 0.3 ounces (or about 2 tablespoons) mixed spices (the traditional mix is made up of 6 g coriander seeds, 3 g mace, pinch cloves, pinch nutmeg)
- 1 tsp black peppercorns (optional)
- 5 g (1 tablespoon) of cinnamon
- icing sugar
Instructions
- Chop the candied fruit into small pieces and set aside. Grind the mixed spice together (I use a coffee bean grinder that I don’t use for coffee or you can try a mortar and pestle, the old fashioned way) and set aside.
- Place the sugar in about 100 ml (3.3 fluid ounces) of water in a saucepan over low heat. Let it dissolve and thicken into a syrup without colouring (it should reach 120 C if you have a sugar thermometer).
- Take the syrup off the heat and combine with the flour, the candied fruit, the whole almonds and spices (minus the cinnamon).
- Pour into a greased, floured round, flat cake tin (the panforte should be about 2cm tall, a tin about 26cm or 10 inches in diameter should do the trick), sprinkle the cinnamon over the top and cook in a medium oven (about 160 C or 320 F) for 30 minutes or until firm. Remove the panforte from its cake tin, allow to cool and cover generously with icing sugar.
- It keeps very, very well, best if it is covered or in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins