Spiced Panforte di Siena Recipe
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
40 minutes
Servings:
10 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 cup hazelnuts, blanched and skins discarded
  • 1 cup almonds
  • 1 cup dried figs, chopped
  • ½ cup candied orange, chopped
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon allspice
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup honey
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ⅔ cup chopped semisweet chocolate bar
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 320 F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper and sides of the pan generously with butter or cooking spray.
  2. In a small saucepan, bring the 1 cup of almonds and water to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes and strain the almonds with a strainer. Run cold water, then place the almonds on a towel and dry. Peel the almond skins off.
  3. Combine the nuts, chopped figs, and candied orange slices in a large bowl.
  4. Sift the flour, cocoa, spices, and salt together and combine with the nut and fruit mixture.
  5. In a small saucepan, combine the honey and sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat and let the sugar dissolve. Simmer the sauce pan over low heat for 3 minutes and whisk occasionally.
  6. Put the chopped chocolate into the mixture and keep stirring until it's melted. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
  7. Pour the chocolate into the flour and nut mixture and stir until it's well incorporated. The mixture will become firm, so make sure you are able to use some muscles to combine all the ingredients together.
  8. Use a wooden spoon to press the mixture into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top of the batter. Bake the cake for 30 minutes.
  9. Let the cake cool completely and then remove it from the pan. Dust top of cake with confectioners' sugar and extra chopped candied oranges.