“Firm Up” Your Holiday Sweets

 

Christmas will be here soon.  It’s time to begin thinking about the Christmas memories that made your holiday special.  My holidays always involved good food.  During this season I remember my favorite foods and sweets, and make some for gifts and to share on our holiday dinner table.  I was raised in an Italian family, and Christmas revolved largely around traditional cooking and baking.  Some particular favorites of ours are panettone, amaretti, nougat and, of course, panforte. 

Panforte originated in the Tuscan city of Sienna, Italy, and it was definitely my favorite.  The name “panforte” translates to “strong bread”.  It’s definitely not bread, but it’s strong and chewy, and filled with fruits, nuts, honey and spices.  It’s delicious served as a dessert or a mid-afternoon snack with a sweet wine (Vin Santo) or an espresso coffee.  Since it’s very rich, a small slice satisfies that after-dinner sweet tooth.   

You can follow my recipe below, or substitute your own favorite fruits and nuts and come up with your own original.  Even the spices can be mixed and changed.  The basic idea is chewy, sweet and delicious.  There’s no other way to describe it. 

Christmas Panforte

Preheat oven to 350º to toast the nuts. 

Reduce oven to 300º to bake the cake. 

Set oven rack in center position. 

Prepare 9” spring form pan.  Butter and flour the bottom and sides, and cut a round piece of parchment paper to fit inside the bottom.  

Prepare the ingredients: 

1 C dates, chopped

1 C dried apricots, chopped

1 t orange zest

½ C toasted walnuts, chopped

½ C toasted almonds, chopped

¾ C wheat flour

¼ t coriander

½ t cinnamon

¼ t nutmeg

¼ t ginger

1/8 t salt

1 C orange blossom or sage honey

1 C sugar

Powdered sugar for dusting 

Toast the whole nuts on a baking sheet in a 350º oven for 6 - 8 minutes, or until golden.  Cool.  Reduce the oven temperature to 300º.  Coarsely chop the nuts and combine them with the fruits.  Add the flour to the spices and mix well.  Add the flour mixture to the fruit/nut mixture and toss well to coat evenly.  

Over low temperature, heat the honey and sugar in a saucepan until melted.  Raise the temperature a little and stir until the mixture has almost come to a boil.  Remove from heat and stir in the fruit mixture. 

 

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly.  (See my photo.)  Bake for 40 minutes.  Cool and carefully remove from the pan to a serving plate.  Dust well with powdered sugar and serve. 

 

Wrap remaining panforte in foil and store in a sealed plastic bag.   Enjoy the panforte, and have a very Merry Christmas! 

©Pauline Boren 2009