Desserts Recipes - Panforte di Siena Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 12

• 100g/4oz split whole almonds

• 100g/4oz hazelnuts

• 75g/3oz mixed peel

• 50g/2oz no-soak dried apricots, finely chopped

• 50g/2oz glace pineapple, finely chopped

• grated zest of 1 orange

• 50g/2oz plain flour

• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 150g/5oz caster sugar

• 175g/6oz honey

• icing sugar, for dusting

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Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas mark 2. Line a round 20cm/8in cake tin with baking parchment.

2. Toast the almonds under the grill until lightly browned and place in a bowl. Toast the hazelnuts until the skins split. Place on a dry tea towel and rub off the skins.

3. Roughly chop the hazelnuts and add to the almonds with the mixed peel. Add the apricots and pineapple to the nuts with the orange zest and mix well.

4. Sift the flour with the cocoa and cinnamon, add to the nut mixture and mix.

5. Place the sugar and honey in a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves, then cook gently for about 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens and begins to turn a deeper shade of brown.

6. Quickly add to the nut mixture and mix evenly. Turn into the prepared tin and level the top, using the back of a damp spoon. Cook in the oven for 1 hour.

7. Remove from the oven and leave in the tin until cold. Before serving dredge the cake heavily with sifted icing sugar and serve in thin slices.