A traditional Italian Christmas specialty that’s chewy and rich, kind of like the fruitcake, but made a little more magical with a chocolate and fig twist.
Ingredients
- 100 g (3 ounces) dark (semi-sweet) chocolate
- ¾ cup (110 g) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 2 tbsps cocoa powder
- 2 tsps cground cinnamon
- ¾ cup (150 g) coarsely chopped semi-dried figs
- ¼ cup (40 g) finely chopped glacé orange
- 1 cup (160 g) blanched almonds, roasted
- 1 cup (140 g) hazelnuts, roasted
- 1 cup (120 g) pecans, roasted
- ⅓ cup (115 g) honey
- ⅓ cup (75 g) caster (superfine) sugar
- ⅓ cup (75 g) firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 tbsps water
Steps
Preheat oven to 150 C. Grease a deep 20 cm round cake pan; line base with baking paper.
Place chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water (don’t let water touch base of bowl; stir until chocolate is melted; remove from heat.
Sift flour, cocoa and cinnamon into a large bowl; stir in fruit and nuts. Combine honey, sugars and water in a small saucepan; stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer, uncovered, without stirring, 5 mins. Pour hot syrup then melted chocolate into nut mixture; mix well.
Press mixture firmly into pan; press a 20 cm round of baking paper on top.
Bake for 40 mins; cool in pan. Remove panforte from pan, discard baking paper; wrap in foil. Stand overnight before cutting into thin wedges to serve.