Panforte di Siena in Bianco
Medium
Prep 30min Cook 30min
The basis to this slice is the toffee of honey and sugar that when mixed with the remainder of the ingredients produces a slightly chewy texture. This slice lasts for weeks and makes a wonderful gift or a delightful sweet to have with coffee, tea or an after dinner liquor. You can adjust the dried fruit and nuts to suit your taste or for a variation to my recipe. It is best made with a mixer, as the toffee is a little difficult to mix into the fruit, nuts and flour if it starts to cool. It’s best eaten in small slivers.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup honey
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup candied peel
- 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
- 3/4 cup chopped dried figs
- 1-1/2 cups blanched almonds, whole
- 3/4 cup plain flour
- 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp. cloves
- 1/4 tsp. mixed spice
- 2 tsp. plain flour extra
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 cup icing sugar for dusting
Substitute Ingredients
- Rice flour, coconut flour or another wheat substitute for the flour.
Recipe Steps
Pre heat oven to 160c
Combine the sugar and the honey in a small pot over a low temperature and bring to the boil. Simmer the sugar mix for about 3 minutes after it comes to the boil until it slightly changes colour to a golden brown and is quite syrupy.
Combine all the other ingredients except the extra flour, cinnamon and ice sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of your mixer.
Prepare your tin by either greasing or lining a 22cm spring form tin or similar, you can also use a square tin.
Pour the honey and sugar mix over the fruits and nuts and working quickly start mixing slowly to incorporate all the ingredients. The mixture will start to get quite firm so if you are doing this by hand put a little muscle into the mixing to make sure you incorporate all of the ingredients.
Quickly scrape the mixture out of the bowl and into your tin, with wet hands, press down the mix until even.
Combine the flour and the cinnamon and then dust this over the top of the surface. Bake for 20 minutes.
Allow to completely cool in the tin and then remove before dusting heavily with icing sugar.
For a real Christmas hit, slice the panforte and dip the slices into chocolate, allowing to set before wrapping, if making this for a gift.