hazelnut, fig & coffee panforte
pocket sized panforte
day four of my twelve days of christmas: panforte nero!
panforte is a dense, sticky, heavily spiced disc of nuts and dried fruit glued together with honey that dates to 13th century tuscany
this is my take on panforte nero (dark, with cocoa), with hazelnuts, dried figs and a touch of coffee to amp up the dark, toasty flavours
I’ve scaled it for a tiny cake tin or ramekin, but if you’d prefer to make a full-sized recipe, multiply all the quantities by four for a 20cm cake tin and increase the bake time to 30-35 minutes
ingredients
40g almonds, whole
30g hazelnuts, whole
30g candied lemon peel, diced
30g dried figs, diced
30g plain flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
0.5 tsp ground ginger
0.25 tsp ground cloves
0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
few cracks of black pepper
pinch salt
2 tsp instant coffee
2 tsp water
40g honey
45g caster sugar
method
preheat the oven to 160°C
line a small (~10cm) cake tin or ramekin with baking paper
optionally, grease the inside of the baking paper too for easier removal
add the almonds (40g), hazelnuts (30g), lemon peel (30g), dried figs (30g), flour, (30g) cocoa powder (1 tbsp), cinnamon (1 tsp), ginger (0.5 tsp), cloves (1 tsp), nutmeg (1 tsp), salt (pinch) and pepper (few cracks) to a medium bowl and mix through to distribute the spices evenly
in a small saucepan, mix together the instant coffee (2 tsp) and water (2 tsp) over low heat until the coffee granules have dissolved
add in the honey (40g) and sugar (45g) and mix over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved
cook 3-5 minutes more until the mixture reaches 115°C (or soft ball stage)
quickly pour the hot syrup over the dry fruit and nut mixture and stir together with a silicone spatula (it will stick to a wooden spoon)
transfer the sticky mixture to the prepared tin
press down the mixture with wet fingertips
bake for 20 minutes until the edges have set and the middle is slightly soft
let cool completely in the tin and dust with icing sugar
serve in very small slices, with coffee after a meal
(or take hiking, as a very efficient fuel source!)
