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Whole panforte Sienese on a wooden board dusted with icing sugar, one wedge cut to show toasted nuts and candied orange peel inside

Panforte Sienese Recipe: The Real Tuscan Spiced Fruit and Nut Cake

A genuine panforte Sienese made with toasted almonds and hazelnuts, candied orange peel, and a honey-sugar syrup spiced with cinnamon, coriander, cloves, and black pepper.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 16 slices
Calories: 195
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Nuts and Fruit
  • 150 g blanched whole almonds toasted until pale gold
  • 150 g blanched hazelnuts toasted, skins rubbed off
  • 200 g candied orange peel cut into 1 cm pieces
Dry Mix
  • 50 g plain flour (type 00 or all-purpose)
  • 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 0.25 tsp ground cloves
  • 0.25 tsp ground black pepper freshly ground
  • 0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
Syrup
  • 150 g runny honey mild variety such as acacia
  • 120 g caster sugar
For the tin and finishing
  • 2 sheets wafer paper (ostia) or baking parchment to line tin base and top
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar for dusting after baking

Method
 

Prepare the tin and nuts
  1. Heat the oven to 160 C / 320 F. Line the base and sides of a 20 cm round tin with wafer paper or baking parchment.
  2. Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until pale gold and fragrant. Set aside.
  3. Toast the hazelnuts the same way for 5 minutes, then tip onto a clean kitchen towel and rub firmly to remove the skins. Leave a few spots of skin on is fine.
Mix the dry ingredients and combine with nuts
  1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, black pepper, and nutmeg.
  2. Add the toasted almonds, hazelnuts, and candied orange peel to the bowl. Toss until the nuts and fruit are well coated in the spiced flour.
Make the syrup and bring together
  1. Put the honey and caster sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Stir once to combine, then stop stirring and let the mixture come to a boil.
  2. Cook until the syrup reaches 115 C / 239 F on a sugar thermometer. This is the soft-ball stage and usually takes 4 to 6 minutes from boiling.
  3. Immediately pour the hot syrup over the nut and fruit mixture. Stir quickly with a wooden spoon or spatula until everything is evenly coated. The mixture will stiffen fast, so work without pausing.
Shape and bake
  1. Tip the mixture into the lined tin. Press it down firmly with wet hands or a damp spatula to form a flat, even disc with no air pockets.
  2. Lay a second sheet of wafer paper on top and press lightly to smooth.
  3. Bake at 160 C / 320 F for 30 to 35 minutes, until the surface looks dry and matte and the edges just begin to pull from the tin sides.
  4. Remove from the oven and leave in the tin for 10 minutes. The panforte will still feel soft at this point but firms as it cools.
  5. Unmold while still warm. Dust generously with icing sugar through a fine-mesh sieve. Leave on a wire rack to cool fully before wrapping.

Notes

Panforte improves significantly after 2 to 3 days as the spices settle and the texture firms to the right chewy consistency. Bake it at the start of the week if you plan to serve or gift it at the weekend.