Panforte Di Siena

Panforte is a medieval Italian confection from Siena that’s more candy than cake. Barely any flour holds together a dense mass of toasted almonds, hazelnuts, candied orange peel, citron, and mixed candied fruit, all bound with honey and sugar syrup cooked to soft ball stage.

The honey-sugar syrup must reach exactly 238°F (114°C) before you fold in the nut-and-fruit mixture. This soft ball stage creates the chewy, sticky binding that holds everything together. Fall short and the panforte crumbles. Go too far and it turns tooth-breakingly hard.

Cocoa, cinnamon, and allspice give this the characteristic warm, spiced chocolate flavor that distinguishes panforte from plain fruit-and-nut candy. Baked low and slow, the result is a flat, firm confection that gets dusted generously with powdered sugar on every surface. Cut thin wedges to serve; this is intensely rich.

Chef Tips

• Toast the almonds and hazelnuts before adding; raw nuts taste flat and starchy in this dense confection
• Stir constantly while cooking the honey-sugar syrup; it scorches easily and there’s no recovering burned honey
• Wet the knife when smoothing the surface in the pan; the mixture is incredibly sticky
• Panforte improves with age and keeps wrapped tightly for weeks, making it an ideal holiday gift

Variations

• Panforte bianco (white): Skip the cocoa powder for the traditional white version
• Chocolate-dipped: Cut wedges and dip one edge in tempered dark chocolate
• Ginger version: Replace the allspice with ground ginger and add ¼ cup diced candied ginger