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Traditional Panforte of Siena

This traditional sweet and spice-filled cake from Siena is the perfect way to get in the Christmas spirit. Enjoy this simple recipe with an incredibly rich flavor that I learned years ago when visiting the city of the Palio horse race in the heart of Tuscany.
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Dessert
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 10 slices
Calories: 403kcal
Author: Guido Pedrelli

Ingredients

  • 350 grams (2.45 cups) sweet almonds with skin
  • 150 grams (1.2 cups) all-purpose flour
  • 160 grams (1.07 cups) candied orange peel
  • 140 grams (0.93 cups) candied citron
  • 150 grams (1.25 cups) powdered sugar + several Tbsp for baking and decoration
  • 150 grams (0.44 cups) wildflower honey
  • 3 Tbsp water
  • 5 grams (2.5 tsp) coriander powder
  • 3 grams (1.5 tsp) ground mace
  • 1 gram (0.5 tsp) ground cloves
  • 1 gram (0.5 tsp) ground nutmeg
  • 1 (1) sheet of wafer paper

Equipment

  • 1 Saucepan to melt the honey, water and sugar
  • 1 fine mesh strainer to dust the panforte with powdered sugar several times
  • 1 medium bowl to mix the main ingredients
  • 1 8-in/20-cm round cake pan to bake the panforte
  • 1 Wooden spoon to stir the ingredients
  • 1 Sheet pan to toast the almond
  • 1 metal spoon to level the cake
  • 1 wire rack for cooling the cake

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C).
  • When the oven is at temperature, toast the almonds in the oven on a sheet pan for about 5 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set them aside to cool.
  • Lightly grease a 8 in (20 cm) shallow round cake pan with butter and then line it with parchment paper. Now cut the wafer sheet to fit into a circle that fits into the bottom of the cake pan and insert over the parchment paper. If you don’t have a wafer sheet, you can just use parchment paper.
  • Chop the candied orange and citron into small pieces.
  • In a medium bowl, add the toasted almonds, the flour, the candied orange and citron pieces and all the spices and stir together.
  • In a small saucepan, add the water, honey and sugar and stir over low heat as they melt to form a uniform syrup. Do not let boil, the mixture should just be heated enough to form a sort of liquid syrup.
  • Now pour the syrup into the bowl with the almonds and all the other ingredients and quickly stir until combined.
  • Put the mixture immediately into the cake pan you have prepared and level with the back of a spoon until compact and even.
  • Sprinkle the top with an abundant amount of powdered sugar using a fine mesh strainer.
  • Turn the oven up to 350° F (180° C) and bake in a static oven on the middle rack for approximately 30 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before removing the entire cake from the cake pan and setting aside to cool on a wire rack for at least 3 hours.
  • When cooled completely, remove the parchment paper.
  • Sprinkle again with lots of powdered sugar, slice and serve.
Serving: 100g | Calories: 403kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 32mg | Potassium: 306mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 9IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 2mg
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