Panforte
A Sienese cake whose roots, by tradition, go back to the Middle Ages; the name means strong bread — usually explained by the intensity of its spices. It is not a cake in the ordinary sense: flour is less than a tenth of its weight, the rest being nuts, candied fruit and honey. Success depends on the syrup: it must reach exactly 115°C. Lower and the panforte never sets, spreading as you cut it. Higher and it turns very hard once cool.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Roasting the nuts 15 min
- Syrup 10 min
- Baking 35 min
- Cooling 60 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneRoast the nuts and skin the hazelnuts
Roast the almonds and hazelnuts 12 minutes at 170°C, then wrap the hazelnuts in a cloth and rub the skins off. The skins are bitter, and in panforte, where the nuts stay whole and noticeable, that makes a clear difference.
Ingredients: 200 g almonds · 150 g hazelnuts · 150 g candied orange peel · 100 g candied citron · 80 g dried figs
Skin the hazelnuts — in panforte the bitterness shows.Line the tin with wafer paper
Line the base of a 23 cm springform tin with wafer paper, panforte's traditional base, which stays on the cake after baking. Failing that, use buttered parchment; the mixture is so sticky that an unlined tin cannot be emptied.
Ingredients: 180 g honey · 150 g sugar · 2 tbsp water · 4 tbsp icing sugar · 1 pcs wafer paper
Mix nuts with fruit and spices
Chop the candied fruit and figs to nut-sized pieces and mix with the whole nuts, flour and spices. Do not chop the nuts — in panforte they should be whole and visible in the cut face, the mark of this cake.
Ingredients: 90 g plain flour · 2 tsp cinnamon · 1 tsp coriander · ½ tsp nutmeg · ½ tsp cloves · ½ tsp black pepper · 2 tbsp cocoa
Cook the syrup to exactly 115°C
Boil the honey, sugar and water to 115°C, checked with a thermometer. The one critical measurement here: lower and the cake never binds and spreads when cut, higher and it sets into caramel you cannot bite through.
Ingredients: 180 g honey · 150 g sugar · 2 tbsp water · 4 tbsp icing sugar · 1 pcs wafer paper
One hundred and fifteen degrees — the one critical reading.Pour the hot syrup in and mix at once
Pour the boiling syrup into the bowl of nuts and mix quickly with a wooden spoon until everything is coated. Work fast — the syrup cools on contact with the nuts and the mixture stiffens by the moment until it can no longer be stirred.
Ingredients: 200 g almonds · 150 g hazelnuts · 150 g candied orange peel · 100 g candied citron · 80 g dried figs
Press it flat with wet hands
Transfer to the tin and press it flat with wet hands or a damp spatula. The mixture is extremely sticky, but it barely clings to wet hands. The layer should be about 2–2.5 cm.
Ingredients: 200 g almonds · 150 g hazelnuts · 150 g candied orange peel · 100 g candied citron · 80 g dried figs
Wet hands — the one thing this mixture will not stick to.Bake briefly at low heat
Bake 30–35 minutes at 150°C. Panforte does not rise and barely changes appearance — the top merely dulls and starts to bubble at the edges. Longer baking dries it and it hardens as it cools.
Ingredients: 90 g plain flour · 2 tsp cinnamon · 1 tsp coriander · ½ tsp nutmeg · ½ tsp cloves · ½ tsp black pepper · 2 tbsp cocoa
Cool in the tin and dust with sugar
Cool completely in the tin, at least an hour — warm panforte is soft and breaks as you lift it. Release the ring, dust thickly with icing sugar and cut with a sharp knife into narrow wedges, as it is very rich.
Ingredients: 180 g honey · 150 g sugar · 2 tbsp water · 4 tbsp icing sugar · 1 pcs wafer paper
Before you start
Pepper in a Christmas cake
Black pepper in panforte is not an extravagance but a reminder of the medieval spice trade in which Siena took part. The panpepato version carries still more and noticeably stings the tongue — and remains a dessert.
Citron is hard to replace
Candied citron tastes milder and more floral than orange peel and gives panforte its characteristic note. If you cannot find it, use more orange plus candied lemon, but not orange alone.
A month wrapped in paper
Panforte keeps a month wrapped in paper and stored cool — traditionally it was made with long keeping in mind. It hardens over time; slice it thinly and bring it out half an hour before serving.
