Panforte
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Serves: 12-14 people
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1 sheet rice paper
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1 cup/140g/5ozs. almonds
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1 cup/140g/5ozs. hazelnuts
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200g/7ozs. candied citron, medjool dates or dried figs diced
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1 cup/150g/5ozs. flour
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3 tablespoons cocoa powder
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2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
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1 or 1.5 teaspoons ground cloves
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1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
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1 teaspoon ground ginger
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1 teaspoon allspice
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1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
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Pinch of salt
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220g/7.7ozs. honey
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1 cup/220g/7.7ozs white sugar
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130g/4.6ozs. dark chocolate
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1 teaspoon vanilla
Step 1 - Take a 20cm/8inch springform tin and line the base with parchment and line the sides with rice paper (or parchment). Preheat oven to 180C/350F and toast the nuts - spread them out in a single layer on a tray and roast for 6-8 minutes at 180C/350F or until they start to smell fragrant and toasty. Set aside to cool and mix with the diced citron or dates.
Step 2 - In a large bowl whisk the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, black pepper and salt together. Add the nuts and fruit and mix to coat all of the nuts and fruit with the spiced flour. Set aside.
Step 3 - In a saucepan heat the honey and sugar on medium heat until it becomes a syrup (it should take about 5-7 minutes or so to reach 115C/239F). Remove from the heat and then add the chocolate and vanilla and stir these in melting the chocolate. Add this syrup into the flour and nut mixture and use a sturdy silicon spatula to mix this up. This is a firm mixture so you do need a bit of strength.
Step 4 - Scoop into the prepared tin and press out to reach the edges with damp hands and smooth the top. Reduce the oven temperature to 160C/320F and bake for 25-30 minutes (check at 25 minutes, if the centre is like custard but not sticky then it is ready). Take out of the oven and allow to cool in the tin. Then unclip the ring and place on a serving plate and dust with icing sugar. You can also rub the icing sugar into the panforte. Serve in small wedges.
On the day that I made this I woke up with a spring in my step ready to make my panforte and then went to the fridge which is where I store my nuts (the oils in nuts can make them go rancid quickly so keeping them in the fridge helps keep them fresh). But when I went to open my box of nuts all I could find was almond meal and no whole almonds! The horror! My cooking schedule in December is tight and I didn't have time to go to the shops. So I tossed up whether I should text my neighbour upstairs Cheryl to see if she had a cup of almonds. Is asking for a cup of almonds is like a healthier version of borrowing a cup of sugar?
I didn't like my chances because really who asks if someone has a cup of almonds but Cheryl texted me back straight away. She had a big bag of almonds that she was going to give me but figured that my cupboards were super full and that she'd be happy to drop them off at my door!
She was at my door in a flash - I didn't even have a chance to change out of my pyjamas which didn't seem to faze her. She handed over the bag of nuts and we had a chat. I also handed her a box of cookies. "Oh no! Now I owe you!" she exclaimed. The cool thing about nice people is that they're not takers and always try and even things out. "No you don't owe me anything! This bag of almonds is huge!" I told her hauling the big bag of almonds to my kitchen. And panforte day was saved!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you ever ask your neighbour for random things? And do you try and keep things even?