Name: Panforte di Siena
Total time: 3 h
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: butter for greasing the pan; 1 tablespoon cake flour; 1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs; 2 tablespoons ground almonds; 1/2 cup cake flour plus 2 additional tablespoons; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander; 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves; 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1/2 cup honey; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1/2 cup candied citron , or candied melon (about 3 ounces/85 grams), cut into small dice; 1/2 cup candied orange peel (about 3 ounces/85 grams), cut into small dice; 1 cup blanched almonds (about 5 ounces/142 grams), toasted and coarsely chopped; confectioners' sugar for dusting the panforte before serving

Panforte di Siena

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Time

1 hour, plus 2 hours cooling

Yield

Serves 16

Ingredients

butter for greasing the pan

Bread Crumb Pan Lining (Optional, see note above)

1 tablespoon cake flour 1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs 2 tablespoons ground almonds

Panforte

½ cup cake flour plus 2 additional tablespoons1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground coriander ¼ teaspoon ground cloves ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg ½ cup honey ½ cup granulated sugar ½ cup candied citron, or candied melon (about 3 ounces/85 grams), cut into small dice½ cup candied orange peel (about 3 ounces/85 grams), cut into small dice1 cup blanched almonds (about 5 ounces/142 grams), toasted and coarsely choppedconfectioners' sugar for dusting the panforte before serving

Before You Begin

Imported panfortes use edible wheat starch paper (ostia) for the bottom lining. If you can't locate ostia, you can try using German oblaten or Vietnamese rice paper. For a non-paper lining substitute, use the bread crumb pan lining included in the recipe below.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Brush an 8-by-1 1/2-inch round cake pan with butter. Cut a disk of parchment or wax paper to fit pan bottom. Brush paper with butter and fit into pan bottom.

Line pan bottom with wheat starch paper, oblaten, or rice paper, overlapping the paper about 1/2 inch at seam. If substituting Bread Crumb Pan Lining mixture, mix flour, bread crumbs, and almonds; then evenly scatter it over buttered surface and pat gently into place (see illustration 1).

Mix 1/2 cup cake flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and the coriander, cloves, and nutmeg; set this spiced flour aside. Mix remaining 2 tablespoons flour with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; set this cinnamon flour aside, as well.

Pour honey, then sugar into medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until mixture comes to a full boil.

Remove from heat; stir in candied fruit and almonds. Sift spiced flour over the mixture; stir until smooth. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Smooth top with the slightly wet palm of your hand or an oiled spoon (illustration 2). Sift cinnamon flour through strainer over the top (illustration 3).

Bake until panforte just starts to simmer around edge of pan, 20 to 25 minutes. If it begins to simmer at edge much before 20 minutes, place pan on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan to insulate bottom, and check carefully as it bakes to be sure it does not simmer again.

Remove pan from oven; let cool to room temperature on wire rack. Invert pan to let cinnamon flour fall away. Loose panforte from pan by running a small knife around the perimeter. Invert onto wire rack. Use knife to peel away parchment (illustrations 4 and 5).

Invert panforte again and allow to cool completely. (When cool, it can be wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap and a layer of foil and stored in an airtight container for several weeks, or frozen for up to 6 months.) Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar and cut in small wedges.