Photo from Crixa Cakes in
Berkerly, CA.
This recipe is
by Chefs Duskie Estes and John Stewart of the restaurants
Zazu Restaurant
and Bovolo
Restaurant in Sonoma County, California. I slightly adapted this recipe.
An Italian confection that is a cross
between fruit cake, candy, and honey cakes called Lebkuchen (lasting cakes. It is a
wonderful confection and so easy to make. I usually make this for the Christmas season,
but it is wonderful any time of the year. It is best eaten, sliced into very thin slices,
served after dinner with an good port wine or a dessert wine, tea or coffee. The name panforte, "strong
bread," is due to its strongly spicy flavor. In Italy it's also called Siena cake.
Originally a Christmas pastry, panforte is now enjoyed year round by Italian cuisine
enthusiasts.
Check out more
of Linda's wonderful
Cake Recipes
and her favorite
Panforte Di Siena
recipe.
3/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* To toast nuts, preheat oven to 350° F. Place nuts in a single layer
in an ungreased shallow pan or rimmed baking sheet. Bake 5 to 10 minutes, stirring once or
twice during toasting to aid in even browning, or until they are golden brown. Remove from
oven and remove from pan; let cool.
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300° F. and adjust oven rack
to center position. Brush an 8-inch cake pan or an
8-inch Springform
Pan
with butter. Cut
a dish of
parchment paper, or rice paper* to fit pan bottom; pat gently into place and spray with
nonstick spray. NOTE:
If using Asian-style rice paper, wet the
paper to make it easier to cut, then trim it to the correct size with scissors.
In a small bowl, mix the
walnuts with the raisins, currants, figs, flour, orange zest, lemon zest,
cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, coriander, cardamom, and white pepper; set aside.
In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine
the sugar, honey, and butter. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until mixture comes to
a full boil and reaches a temperature between 242 degrees F. and 248 degrees
F. on a
candy
thermometer
(soft ball stage); remove from heat. Immediately pour into the walnut
mixture and stir together quickly.
Pour batter into prepared
springform pan. Smooth top with the
slightly wet palm of your hand. It hardens quickly so work fast.
Place cake in center of middle
oven rack. Bake about 30 to 40 minutes until set. Remove from oven; cool completely on a wire rack.
When cool, loosen panforte from pan by running a small knife
around perimeter (if using a
springform
pan, remove sides of springform pan). Use knife to peel away parchment paper.
When cool, it can be wrapped in several
layers of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil and stored in an airtight container
for several weeks, or frozen for up to six months. Serve at room temperature. Cut into small wedges to serve.
Makes 16 servings.
