Pistachio Fig & Honey Panforte
This is my take on the traditional Italian panforte, a glorious combination of spices, dried fruit, whole nuts and honey packaged in a dense little cake. Sliced thinly it is delightful enjoyed with a cuppa and good company.
Ingredients
- 1 cup hazelnuts
- 1 cup blanched almonds
- 1/3 cup pistachios
- 3/4 cup chopped dried figs
- 1/4 cup candied citrus
- zest of 1 orange
- 100 g chopped dark chocolate – I used Whittaker's 72%
- 1/2 cup ground almonds or flour of choice
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- pinch of ground cloves
- pinch of grated nutmeg
- pinch of sea salt
- 3/4 cup honey
- 30 g butter or coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven 160C. Line the base of a 25cm round cake tin or 2 x loaf tins.
- First toast the hazelnuts and almonds in the oven for 10 minutes. Rub the skins off the hazelnuts with a clean tea towel.
- In a large bowl combine the nuts, dried fruit, orange zest, chocolate, flour, spices and salt.
- Heat the honey and butter [or coconut oil] together in a saucepan until melted together. Pour this over the dry ingredients and fold together. Spoon the mixture into the tin/s and use a spatula to spread and press down evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes until firm to touch. Leave to cool completely in the tin/s on a cooling rack.
- Once cool remove from the tin/s and wrap in grease-proof paper and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
These also make lovely edible gifts - Cut into quarters [round cake] or halves [rectangle cakes], and wrap in brown paper and kitchen string.