Antonella’s panforte

In their new book Tuscany, Giancarlo and Katie Caldesi take you to Italy, where the rhythm of daily life is reflected in the way people cook: slowly and calmly. Let yourself be transported to this region, learn cooking techniques and make the most delicious recipes.

Giancarlo and Katie in the book: “Panforte (meaning ‘strong bread’) can be found in all the pastry shops in Siena. This firm cake, packed with nuts and spices, is thought to date back to the thirteenth century. Documents show that traders gave it to monks and nuns as a kind of tax. At that time, spices were traded in Siena through connections with the Middle East, although they were extremely expensive and exotic. It took Stefano Borella (a chef at our cookery school) and me years to make a panforte we were happy with, so we are very grateful to Antonella Secciani for sharing her precious recipe with us.

In 1879, Queen Margherita of Savoy visited Siena. A local spice merchant created a panforte in her honour, topped with a white layer of vanilla sugar instead of black pepper; this cake is still made that way today. There are also darker versions with cocoa, walnuts, dried figs and many other variations. Everyone who makes panforte has their own secret spice blend and never reveals their recipe. Antonella’s recipe is simple, but you can experiment with pinches of ground black pepper, nutmeg, coriander, cloves and ginger. The spice rub is not essential, but I like the gentle heat of the pepper.”

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a twenty-centimetre cake tin with baking paper and dust with a little flour. Sprinkle some extra flour onto a small plate and set aside. Set out a glass jar with a thick base. Spread the almonds over a baking tray and roast in the oven for five minutes, until they darken and the skins begin to split. Remove from the oven and set aside. Leave the oven on. Heat the sugar with two tablespoons of water and the honey in a pan over medium heat for five to six minutes, until a sugar thermometer reads 105 degrees or the syrup is gently simmering.

Add the remaining ingredients to the pan, including the roasted almonds, and stir for three minutes. Stirring is difficult, but it is important that the flour warms up, so keep stirring until the time is up. Spoon the almond mixture into the cake tin. Dip the base of the jar into the flour on the plate and use it to flatten the almond mixture in the tin. Do this quickly before the almond mixture sets. Bake the panforte in the oven for ten minutes, remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Remove the panforte from the tin and take off the baking paper. Mix all the ingredients for the spice rub in a small bowl. Sprinkle the rub over both sides of the panforte. The panforte will keep for a few weeks at room temperature if stored dry and covered. Serve in thin slices, as it is very rich.

Title: Tuscany
Author: Giancarlo & Katie Caldesie
Publisher: Good Cook B.V.

Available from: 1 May