Christmas cake is the highlight of the festive dinner, this time we went to Italy for inspiration. We bring you the recipe for the original Italian Panforte Christmas cake.
That is Christmas cake, which Italians swear by during the holiday season. Panforte Christmas Cake is a thin but delicious dessert made of nuts, candied fruit and honey when Italians prepare it during the December holiday season. The dessert is especially popular in Tuscans, where it originates from. According to legend, it was invented in the 13th century by a local nun after she discovered that mice were gnawing through bags of sugar, spices and almonds. Instead of throwing the ingredients away, she used them to make a delicious cake. All you need are a few ingredients, and the result will impress all the guests.
Panforte Italian Christmas Cake
Ingredients
- 280 g of candied citrus fruits
- 160 g of flour
- 150 g of honey
- 125 g of white sugar
- 100 g of roasted hazelnuts
- 100 g of roasted almonds
- a spoonful of water
- spoon of powdered sugar
- a teaspoon of cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
Directions
- Heat the oven to 150 C. Grease a cake pan with a diameter of 20 centimeters.
- Mix candied chopped fruit, roasted almonds and walnuts in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and coriander powder.
- In a small pot, mix honey, plain white sugar and one tablespoon of water. Heat the mixture on the stove at a moderate temperature. When the mixture boils, reduce the temperature and heat the ingredients until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Pour the honey liquid over the nuts and candied fruit and quickly mix in the flour. Put the resulting mixture into a cake mold. Smooth the surface of the cake with a wet spoon and sprinkle one spoonful of powdered sugar on top.
- Bake the cake in a preheated oven for about 35 to 40 minutes.
- Leave the cake for 10 to 15 minutes to cool, then remove it from the mold and cut it into thin slices. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
