Panforte: Italian Christmas Cake (2024)

Panforte is a traditional Italian dessert for Christmas.It's from Siena in Tuscany to be precise. Panforte contains fruits and nuts, and resembles fruitcake, only better! Trust me, this is NOT your grandma's fruitcake. My German friend Angela said it reminded her of a similar Christmas German dessert called Lebkuchen.

Panforte allegedly dates back to 13th century Siena. Documents from 1205 show that panforte was given to monks and nuns at a local monastery. It was tax or tithe due on the February 7th. At the time, the ingredients were expensive! This mediterranean dessert was a real treat. The poor did not use spices.

Literally translated, panforte means "strong bread."This is a reference to its rich and aromatic flavor. The predominant spices in panforte are nutmeg, cinnamon , coriander, and cloves. It also contains nuts lightly toasted hazelnuts and almonds. Additional ingredients include dried fruits (apricots, cherries, orange peel, and sometimes figs). Orange rind gives the cake a nice hint of citrus, but not overpowering. The use of honey, made this a highly non-perishable dessert in the winter months.

Keeping panforte fresh.

Honey is a natural preservative and nature's antibacterial as well. The mixture is baked in a shallow pan. The cake is dusted with powdered sugar. The texture of panforte is slightly chewy, just so you know. I was surprised to find out through my readings that there is no set recipe for panforte; every pastry shop has their own version.

The city of Sienna was an important spice trading center during the Middle Ages. At one time, panforte had pepper. This is why its original name was panpeto which translates into peppered bread.

Legend says that panforte has 17 ingredients. Why, you might ask. Well, my research tells me that each ingredient represents a neighborhood in the city of Siena. It comes as no surprise that in Siena there 17 neighborhoods or Contrade! Each pastry shop has its own variation of ingredients.

Step by step photos

1. Gather all your ingredients and have them chopped, measured and ready to go. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line and 8 inch cake pan with parchment paper in the bottom. I like to use a tart pan with a removable bottom and cut the parchment around the removable disc.
2. Remove the skins from the hazelnuts and almonds by blanching in some boiling water with a 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Boil for 3-5 minutes and then drop them into an ice bath. Roast in the oven on a baking tray for about 10 minutes until lightly brown. Keep a close watch on them as they can burn and become very bitter. Chop them coarsely with a knife or food processor.
3. Place the following ingredients in a large bowl: candied orange peel, apricots, cherries, orange zest. Mix these together and then add the flour, cocoa powder, coriander, nutmeg cinnamon and cloves. If you need instructions on how to make candied orange peel I have those included in my recipe for German lebkuchen with step by step photos.
4. Heat a sauce pan on low and add the honey and sugar. Mix together until all the sugar is dissolved then turn up the heat to medium and bring to a boil.
5. Add the nut mixture to the pan and stir continuously for about 5 minutes until it browns slightly.
6. Add the sugar and nut mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients.
7. Work quickly combining before it gets too stiff.
8. Pour into your cake pan, level it out and bake for 1 hour. It will be quite gooey when it goes into the pan. Allow to cool completely and I like to slice my into ¼ inch slices. It is a bit chewy and slightly crunchy on the edges.

I adapted this recipe slightly from one I found in a book: Bake by Edward Gee.

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Originally published December 2014 and updated December 2021.