Siena Cake

This is richer and heavier than the classic panforté you would come across in Siena, but it is delicious and I make it every Christmas for gifts. It comes out kind of hard and chewy. Be warned, it’s expensive to make, and I have found it very difficult to find the ingredients in the US. But, it’s delicious and decadent and so rich that you only need the smallest slices to serve with coffee.

125g blanched almonds
125g hazelnuts
60g glacé apricots*
60g glacé pineapple*
60g mixed peel
2/3 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon cinnamon
60g dark chocolate
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup honey

Roast almonds and hazelnuts, chop and combine with chopped fruit. Add flour, cocoa and cinnamon, once nuts are cool. Melt chocolate over water. Put sugar and honey in a saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil, simmer uncovered for approx 5 min, or until the syrup forms soft balls when dropped into cool water.

Add syrup and chocolate to fruit and nut mix. Mix together and quickly spread into a tin.

Bake at 160oC (300oF?) for 35 min. Cool in tin

* The glace fruit is what I really have a hard time finding in the States. It’s partially dried fruit preserved in a small amount of sticky syrup. It might be that it’s called something different, I don’t remember. But last year, I found some at Table & Vine and some at a gourmet ingredients shop. If you really get stuck, you could probably use normal dried fruit instead and soak it in water or honey before using it to give it some more moisture.