Panforte- Italian chocolate, fruit and nut cake recipe Posted on 3 March 2011 Panforte is an Italian chocolate, fruit & nut cake served in little squares with espresso coffee at breakfast, in the afternoon or after dinner. It’s kind of like a dense nutty brownie fruit cake combination. Rich, sticky, chewy and delicious; it’s a grown up thing and you need to try it. Lauren’s recipe included crystallised pineapple as her Aussie twist on the classic. In the absence of pineapple I used crystallised ginger which goes really well with the chocolate and orange zest and gives it more of that grown up feeling. If you don’t like ginger leave it out. The dried cranberries were another addition of mine just because I had some in the cupboard and they work with the other flavours. Panforte Recipe makes about 12 -14 small squares/slices, vegetarian 125 gr almonds, roughly chopped 125 gr hazelnuts, roughly chopped 60 gr stem ginger (crystallised or not) finely chopped 60 gr dried cranberries (soaked for 15 minutes in boiling water) roughly chopped 60 gr chopped mixed peel (I use the zest of 1 lemon & 1 orange) 100 gr plain flour 2 tbsp cocoa powder (good cocoa not hot chocolate powder) 1 tsp cinnamon (or mixed spice) 60 gr dark chocolate, chopped 75 gr sugar 175 gr honey Preheat the oven to 160 C. Toast the almonds and hazelnuts in a dry pan if they are not toasted and coarsely chop. Sieve the flour, cinnamon and cocoa in to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add in the nuts, fruit, zest and ginger and stir again. Melt the honey and sugar over a medium low heat, when just about to boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until thick and syrupy, Take it off the heat, leave for one minute then tip in the chopped chocolate and stir until melted. Pour this over the dry ingredients and mix everything together very well. It is a very stiff, sticky mass and quite hard on the arms but keep going it comes together eventually! Line a 20cm cake tin or small baking tray with parchment paper, and cut another circle of parchment the same size as the tin. Tip the mixture into the tin, put the extra piece of parchment on top and press it down and spread it out until it is flat and even. Leave the parchment on the top and bake for about 35 minutes or until it has just lost its sheen. Leave to cool on a wire rack before cutting into slices or squares with a sharp knife. Store in an airtight container. Feel free to substitute the cranberries for sultanas or use glace cherries instead. She recommends glace apricot as well as the glace pineapple. I think glace mango would be amazing with the chocolate too maybe with some macadamia nuts as well. Enjoy! Related Posts 3 Wine estates to visit in KwaZulu Natal 31 May 2023 The Cape may be the wine capital of South Africa, but you can still enjoy... read more 11 alcohol-free drinks for the sober curious 26 May 2023 Ocsober and Dry January are all good and well, but how about a permanent shift... read more Treat yourself to a one-of-a-kind fine dining experience in Franschhoek 20 March 2023 If you love a unique fine dining experience, you'll want to treat yourself to the... read more PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE
3 Wine estates to visit in KwaZulu Natal 31 May 2023 The Cape may be the wine capital of South Africa, but you can still enjoy... read more
11 alcohol-free drinks for the sober curious 26 May 2023 Ocsober and Dry January are all good and well, but how about a permanent shift... read more
Treat yourself to a one-of-a-kind fine dining experience in Franschhoek 20 March 2023 If you love a unique fine dining experience, you'll want to treat yourself to the... read more