This sweet is typical of Tuscany and is eaten mainly at Christmas time, at the same level in Italy as Pandoro or Pannetone. It is considered to be one of the oldest Italian recipes and was already documented around the 12th century. Currently it can be found in Italian supermarkets almost throughout the year although the tradition of making it at home or buying it in the local bakery is still important as it is not difficult to carry out.
As in all these ancient recipes there are hundreds of variations and some use few ingredients while others exaggerate in the number of them. I propose to make a traditional panforte with few ingredients and also easy to find.
INGREDIENTS :
- 450 grams (16 oz) of peeled and toasted almonds
- 150 grams (5.3 oz) of white wheat flour
- 350 grams (12.3 oz) of sugar
- 120 grams (4.2 oz) of honey
- 350 grams (12.3 oz) of assorted candied fruit (orange, watermelon etc)
- Half a teaspoon of cinnamon
- Half a teaspoon of nutmeg
- Cookie wafers *
- Icing sugar (to decorate)
* You can find them in large supermarkets.
First, we cut the candied fruit into small pieces, as if we were going to make a plum cake.
In a saucepan, melt the honey over low heat and add the sugar, stirring constantly, until they turn brown. Then we remove from the heat and add the toasted almonds (whole), the flour, the candied fruit, the nutmeg and the cinnamon. We stir well with a wooden spoon until a homogeneous mass is left.
We place a large wafer in the bottom of a round mold that can go to the oven (a disposable aluminum one is more than enough).
Pour the dough into the mold and onto the wafer and bake for exactly half an hour at 150 degrees (300 F). We remove from the oven and sprinkle with icing sugar. Let it cool and eat...and enjoy !