queensland panforte

with dried mango, ginger, coconut, and macadamias

day five of my twelve days of christmas: panforte margherita!

I couldn’t stop at just one panforte variety - this is lighter than panforte nero, traditionally with glace citrus and vanilla and no cocoa powder.

I’ve gone full queensland here for my version and used dried tropical fruits (mango, starfruit, pawpaw, and pineapple), coconut, macadamias, and a double hit of ginger (dried and glace)

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 macadamias, whole

20g dried mango, diced

30g dried mixed tropical fruits (pineapple, pawpaw, star fruit, and coconut)

10g glace ginger, diced

30g plain flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

0.25 tsp ground cloves

0.25 tsp ground nutmeg

pinch salt

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), macadamias (30g), dried mango (20g), dried fruits (30g), glace ginger (10g), flour (30g), cinnamon (1 tsp), ginger (2 tsp), cloves (1 tsp), nutmeg (1 tsp), and salt (pinch) to a medium bowl and mix through to distribute the spices evenly

in a small saucepan, mix together the honey (40g) and sugar (45g) and stir 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

this is sweeter than my other panforte - do with that what you will