Recipe Archives->Cakes->Panforte 09

Traditional Panforte

690 g roasted whole hazelnuts
690 g roasted whole blanched almonds
270 g pineapple rings (each cut into 12 segments)
270 g apricots (cut into 1/2 cm pieces)
270 g ginger (cut into 1/2 cm pieces)
780 g finely chopped mixed peel
450 g plain flour
10 g ground cinnamon
5 g ground coriander
5 g ground cloves
5 g ground nutmeg
3 g white pepper
900 g white sugar
740 g honey
180 g butter

To roast the hazelnuts, place on a baking tray and place in a
preheated oven at 180 C for 10-15 minutes. Rub the skin from the
hazelnuts in a clean tea towel.  Toast the blanched almonds until
they are a very pale golden colour, about 10-15 minutes. Once cool,
chop the hazelnuts and almonds. Mix the nuts,  fruits, mixed peel,
spices, pepper and flour thoroughly together in a large bowl. Place
the sugar, honey and butter in a heavy based saucepan and cook over
a medium heat until the mixture reaches 116 C (soft ball) on a sugar
thermometer. Remove from heat. Immediately pour the syrup into the
dry ingredients and stir it quickly using a wooden spoon until the
mixture is well combined. Working quickly, place 890g of the mixture
into a 20cm springform cake tin lined with greaseproof paper. The
mixture will quickly cool and become very stiff. Press the mixture
evenly into the prepared tin by dipping your hand in warm water and
patting the mixture until smooth and level. Repeat for rest of
mixture. Place tins onto a baking tray and place in a preheated
oven at 150 C and bake for 30-40 minutes.  The panforte won't colour
or seem very firm even after baking, but it will harden as it cools.
Cool in the tins until firm. Remove from tins, and remove the
greaseproof paper.

Printable version: panforte09.txt.