Panforte
Panforte is a decadent, rich fruitcake and an Italian favourite. Originally from Siena, this traditional sweet can now be found throughout Italy and beyond. A chewy confection full of nuts and fruit, it is perfect served with coffee.
When we visited Siena, panforte was everywhere even on the breakfast table. In many stores, there were beautifully wrapped little cakes of goodness. With many varying flavours, there was something for everyone.
Traditionally only for Christmas, this spicy sweet is now available year-round and great to have anytime! Keep this cake in the refrigerator and these Italian butter cookies in the pantry and you’ll be ready for entertaining anytime.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Sure, Panforte di Siena is often available at good food stores so why bother making it at home? While this delicious confection might be easy to find, it is also quite expensive. Making panforte at home is quite simple and the result is delicious. The best reason to make your own panforte is that you can suit your tastebuds and make a variation using the ingredients you enjoy the most.
The best part about this recipe is that it actually is better if it’s made a few days before serving. The flavours develop and the cake sets for better slicing. So, make this and keep it on hand so you’ll never be caught out without anything to serve. Don’t just reserve this for coffee but add it to a cheeseboard to have with drinks or after dinner.
Ingredient notes
The ingredients you need for this recipe are simple.
- nuts
- dried or candied fruit
- spices
- flour
- chocolate
- honey
- sugar
Variations
This is a recipe that is totally up to your taste. I have used figs, candied orange slices, almonds and hazelnuts because that’s what I like. You could use any combination of dried or candied fruit and nuts. Change the spices if you prefer something different. Just remember to keep to the measurements in the recipe. You can’t go wrong. This is a no-fail recipe.
Why not try:-
- candied ginger, citron or other candied fruits.
- dates, raisins, sultanas or currants.
- walnuts, pistachios or pecans.
- black or white pepper, cardamom, coriander or chilli powder.
- white or milk chocolate.
These are just a few suggestions but this recipe is limited just to your imagination.
Instructions
- Toast nuts and chop fruit.
- Mix in dry ingredients.
- Boil the sugar and honey for a few minutes then add the chocolate. Add to the dry ingredients.
- Press into prepared pan and bake.
Tips for success and FAQ’s
The most important step not to skip is the toasting of the nuts. Just 10 minute in a moderately hot oven will bring out the flavour of nuts. Whenever you cook or bake with nuts, be sure to toast first. It’s a simple step that makes all the difference.
Also, don’t over bake the panforte because it will be too firm once cooled. The middle will still be soft when it’s ready. Check by carefully pressing the centre. Your finger should come away clean.
Panforte originated in the Italian region of Tuscany back in the 13th century or maybe even earlier. It is derived from a cake known as panpepato or cake with pepper. Pepper was the spice of choice in the original version and can be included even today.
Yes, however you must use “1 for 1” gluten free all purpose flour or baking mix.
Tightly wrapped in plastic, it will keep for about 3-4 weeks at cool room temperature or in the fridge. Alternatively, freeze well wrapped for up to 6 months.
This post was first published on the 20th of December 2011. It has been updated with new photos, improved recipe and tips.
More Christmas recipes
Crostoli or Angel’s wings
Gingerbread Pizzelle
Italian Fig Cookies
Gingerbread Cupcakes from Sugar Salt Magic
Snowman Chocolate Bark from Sweet Caramel Sunday
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Panforte Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150 grams) blanched almonds toasted
- 1 cup (135 grams) hazelnuts nuts toasted and skins discarded
- 1 cup (180 grams) chopped dried figs stems discarded
- ½ cup (40 grams) chopped candied orange
- 1 cup (125 grams) all purpose (plain) flour
- ¼ cup (25 grams) cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (180mls) honey
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar (castor)
- ⅔ cup (115 grams) chopped semisweet (dark) chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 320°F/160ºC. Grease and line a 9in/23cm springform pan.
- Combine nuts, figs and candied orange slices in a large bowl.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa, spices, and salt and combine with nut mixture.
- Combine the honey and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat to dissolve the sugar then simmer over low heat for 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir through the chocolate until melted then remove from heat.
- Pour into the bowl with the flour mixture, nuts, and fruit and mix until well combined.
- You will find that once you add the chocolate, and remaining ingredients the mixture becomes quite firm and you will need some muscle to mix it. That all as it should be.
- Press the mixture into a prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Cool in pan before turning out and slicing thinly to serve.
Notes
- Don’t skip toasting the nuts.
- Remove the panforte from the oven while the middle is still soft otherwise the cake will be too firm.
Nutritional Estimate Per Serving
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. For accurate results, it is recommended that the nutritional information be calculated based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Can I use (drained) Luxardo cherries? They are quite moist.
I have never used Luxardo cherries in this. I do think they’d be too moist. If you can find candied cherries, that would work.
Everyone said it was the best panforte they had ever tasted! I was going to do Gino’s recipe but thought it was a bit odd that it was held together with egg whites and not baked. I will always use your recipe every Christmas now. Delicious.
I’m happy to hear that you loved this panforte, Didee! I know the recipe that you’re talking about and it does sound odd.
Ive made before but havnt made this for gluten free daughter. What flour could i substitute to achieve same outcome?
Sally-Anne, I’ve never tested this with gluten free flour but that would be the first option I’d try. Use a 1:1 gluten free flour.
Can you leave out the ground allspice?
Absolutely
Hi Marcellina,
I was wondering if you have to blanch the almonds and hazelnuts.
sometimes when pressed for time I skip that step and I still love the finished dessert like a biscotti or cake.and I feel there is nutrients in the skins. i do this also bc I can never even get the skins totally off so was wondering if u think there is a big difference in the flavor result.
MrsD, I think you could skip blanching the nuts if you prefer. It won’t make that much of a difference in the flavor.
I would like to make this in a rectangular 26x17x3cm pan. Would you suggest the same time? I have used this pan for a different panforte recipe in the past but would like to to yours this year. Thanks.
Jan, I have never made this in a rectangular pan so I can’t be sure. I would think it would need the same time but it may be a bit thinner so check it a little before around the 20-25 minutes mark. If it overcooks it will be harder than it should be.
Do you suggest cooking the panforte in the static or fan forced mode? Thanks.
I cook it in a fan forced oven generally but I’ve also used the static mode (when my fan forced element as broken!) and both seem to work.
Absolutely stunning! Had to blanch my own almonds and hazelnuts as supermarket didn’t carry them… so worth the effort. First time making this recipe and it was perfection. Added some white and black pepper and a pinch of cardamom, just because I like it. It WAS hard to mix the batter and I was slightly worried that there would be flour visible in the finished product – but it all cooked together beautifully. Baked exactly to specified time and the texture was spot on. Lined the tin with edible rice paper on top of the baking paper. Thanks for sharing your delicious recipe. Going to make a bunch more for Christmas presents!
Thank you for coming back to let me know about your experience baking panforte. The extra spices are a great touch!
Could I use edible rice paper to line my springform pan simlar to how torrone is made.
Do you have good crunchy terrone recipe
Yes, you can use edible rice paper for the panforte.
I have helped my zia make crunchy torrone but don’t personally have the recipe. I will ask her for it. There are some recipes for torrone online. Zia slowly heats up honey and sugar until the sugar is melted and the mixture is creamy. Never boiling it. At the right time, she will beat egg whites to stiff peaks and add them to the hot honey and sugar mixture. This is stirred for a long time (40-60 minutes). She’ll test it to see if it holds it’s shape. If it does it’s ready. If not, keep cooking. The temperature must be very low so the mixture remains white. It’s quite complex. With a bit of research, I found this recipe that could be correct. It’s very similar to the one Zia makes but I have never made this particular recipe.
If you want crunchy torrone, don’t use a nougat recipe the adds the hot honey syrup to the beat egg whites without further cooking. This one is soft.
Ive just made this – gosh it was hard to mix!
Baked for 35 mins at 160 – really doesn’t look any different than when it went into the oven!
That’s correct. It will be hard. If you’ve over cooked the honey and sugar it might be even harder to stir. It won’t change in appearance in the oven. Baking is to set it.
It was yum
I’m thrilled to hear, Jane!
I’m excited to taste this recipe. I just baked it and my house smells heavenly. However, the baking time has me concerned. After 30 minutes it was soupy in the center instead of soft. I baked it in 10 minute increments and it was still soupy. After an additional 30 minutes it was still rather wet in the center but edges were getting dark. I hope I didn’t overtake it but I’m salivating! Will post about results 🤞🏼
That’s exactly how your kitchen should smell! The panforte will be soft in the centre – after all there’s a lot of molten chocolate and sugar in there so that’s normal. It should set when it cools. Hopefully it hasn’t overcooked.
FANTASTIC!!!! So beautiful. Full of multiple flavors and texture. DELICIOUS!!
Kathy, I’m thrilled that you love it. Yes, it’s certainly a taste sensation!
Looks perfect, I’m excited to try it. And I have a question. How would this work in mini springform pans -so I can spread the joy with more families.
I have successfully divided this mixture into two 6 inch pans baking for just 15-20 minutes depending if you want it more firm or not. I haven’t gone smaller than that but I think it would work though I’m not sure about the baking time.
Ok, and thank you for such a quick response! My pans are about 3 inch’s wide, so I may have to make the regular size and divide it that way. They’re just so cute, but I don’t want to overcook … Undercook them! LOL
Individual panforte would be gorgeous but I’m not sure about the baking time. Next year, you could test in advance.
Hi! Update
It mostly worked, I wish I could send a pic! I only had 4 mini pans, so they were thick, and I may have over cooked them. I couldn’t find the orange and didn’t feel like making it, so I used dried apricot as the additional fruit. Yummy! Next time I’ll add even more fig😋
Question, do I have to use the parchment? They looked rather ratty, I’d like a smoother edge. This was a test run ( gifting them out) I’m making it again for the holidays- but maybe the regular size.
Thanks again, the best recipe out there!
Hello Lorayne, I’m happy to hear that they mostly worked and that you’re happy with the taste. Dried apricot is a good substitution. I like adding candied crystallized ginger too. Are you meaning the parchment paper to line the pan? Yes, I would because it can easily stick hard to the pan. To make it less ratty, grease the pan well before lining with parchment. This way the parchment will stick to the surface and be much neater. I hope that helps.
Hi Marcellina, this recipe looks great, I’ll be trying it this weekend. I’ve looked at your advice for weights and I’m wondering which size measuring cups and spoons are you using? Our measuring cup sizes in Australia are slightly different to the American sizes. If you have the alternate metric measurements that would be fabulous.
Cheers 🥂
Hi Rosemary, this recipe has been prepared using US cup measures. However it will work with Australian cups as well. The difference in this type of recipe is negligible. I’ve gone in and added a couple of weights that might help you. However what is more important is how you measure the flour. The flour must be stirred to lighten then spooned into the measuring cup before leveling off with a knife. Don’t dip the cup into the flour or pack the flour into the cup. This makes a big difference.
BEST PANFORTE RECIPE EVER!!! Easy to follow, just make sure you do follow the recipe to the letter. My go-to recipe every time. Thanks Marcellina! 😋
Thank you, Robyn! I’m so thrilled that you love my panforte recipe!
Have not made this as yet but the recipe looks amazing. Hoping to make if for gifting for Diwali! I would prefer not to use the candied orange peel. Would I just omit this or should I replace it with something else?
The candied orange could be left out completely but I think it would be nicer with some type of fruit. Try replacing it with other candied fruit or ginger. Alternatively add dried sweet fruit like apricots or dates. Let me know how it goes, Anita.
I absolutely loved making this recipe while so easy to make. However, I think I must be doing something wrong. Please help.
I’ve made it 3 times now to try and get a better texture. I’ve followed the recipe to a tee but it comes out quite hard each time. I’ve even reduce the cooking time to 20 mins, but it’s still hard. What am I doing wrong???
Lynda, panforte is meant to be quite firm, chewy and almost candy-like. If you prefer a softer texture, you can reduce the flour to 1/2 cup. I haven’t even done this because I like the firm texture though I think it would work. Instead of reducing the flour, a 1/4 cup of water added to the honey and sugar syrup would also make it more soft. Be careful not to caramelized the syrup. Hope that helps.
I have never tried this, but it looks easy and delicious.
I’ll save the recipe for my future reference.
A marvelous dessert recipe! We had something similar in Switzerland and your version was just as yummy!
Thanks for such wonderful feedback, Liz!