Kerrie Christmas 10 - Panforte de Sienna

Something to have with coffee or perhaps a glass of muscat. Chocolatey, sweet with honey and full of glace fruit and nuts, it needs to be sliced into thin wedges.  I make quite a few of these using tins of differing sizes - 4, 6 and 8 inch. I usually make a triple quantity at a time. I have tried many recipes for Sienna cake but have found this one to be very good and it keeps  if stored in an airtight container. I think this recipe was originally from Simply No Knead. Wrapped in  foil, then cellophane and tied with a nice ribbon they make a nice gift.

Panforte de Sienna

½ cup honey 5 tablespoons raw sugar 50 g glace cherries, cut in halves 50 g glace figs/apricots, thinly sliced 50 g sultanas 150 g almonds or mixture of walnuts and almonds

1 egg 3 tablespoons good quality Dutch cocoa 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon nutmeg ½ teaspoon cardamom 75 g plain flour

Method

Put honey and sugar in a medium saucepan, cook on low heat until sugar has melted, remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes.

Add nuts and fruits and stir to combine.

Stir in flour, spices, cocoa and egg, mix well.

Place mixture in a 20 cm cake tin that has been lined with glad bake/ baking paper.

Bake at 150 deg C until set, approximately 30 minutes.

This is what it looks like when sliced