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.
150grams(1.25cups)powdered sugar + several Tbsp for baking and decoration
150grams(0.44cups)wildflower honey
3Tbspwater
5grams(2.5tsp)coriander powder
3grams(1.5tsp)ground mace
1gram(0.5tsp)ground cloves
1gram(0.5tsp)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.