Panforte

Ingredients:

100g blanched almonds, roughly chopped
100g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
120g pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
75g dried figs, roughly chopped
120g dried dates, roughly chopped
2 tbsp mixed peel, finely chopped
50g dark chocolate, chopped
70g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
generous pinch of ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
pinch of salt
150g soft brown sugar
100ml runny honey
50g butter
icing sugar, for dusting

Method:

Heat a non-stick frying pan and when hot use to lightly toast the chopped nuts (be careful they do not burn). Turn into a large bowl then mix in the fruit, chocolate, flour , spices and salt. Mix all these ingredients thoroughly.

Combine the sugar, honey and butter in a small pan. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil and continue boiling gently until the mixture reaches 120°C (the Hard-Ball Stage).

Take off the heat and pour the syrup mixture over the dry ingredients. Working quickly now, mix thoroughly to combine. Turn the resultant mixture into a 20cm square tin, the bottom of which has been lined with greaseproof (waxed) paper. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 150°C (350°F, Gas Mark 2) and bake for 35 minutes.

After this time, remove from the oven and set aside to cool in the tin. Turn the cake out onto your work surface and dust generously with icing sugar. Cut into small serving-sized squares and wrap these in greaseproof paper.

These squares make excellent gifts, or can be served as an alternative to more traditional Christmas cakes.

Find more Christmas Recipes Here.

Panforte

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