Delicious Panforte Recipe

Italian Cuisine

No-bake

Easy to make

We got this recipe for Panforte (a traditional dessert containing fruits and nuts) from our travels to Italy.

Ingredients:

250 g good quality dark chocolate
3 tbsp of good-quality honey
3 egg whites
50 g candied citrus peel or chopped dried figs
200 g ground almonds (not almond flour)
100 g walnuts or pistachio
50 g hazelnuts
200 g icing sugar
4 tbsp good quality almond liqueur

How to make Panforte:

Made with delicious ingredients, this couldn’t be easier…

Gently melt the chocolate in the microwave.
In a separate mixing bowl gently scramble the egg whites with a fork (just enough to mix well). Add the honey and mix gently until well combined.
Add the ground almonds and mix again.
Add the liqueur, icing sugar, nuts, and citrus peel to the chocolate and gently fold in the egg whites.
Pour the mixture into an 18 cm springform cake tin lined with clingwrap (double). Cover the top with the clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for about 2 to 3 hours.
Unwrap and cover it with a chocolate glaze, or just sprinkle it with some icing sugar.

Make a Chocolate glaze:

100 g good quality dark chocolate
2 tbsp boiling hot water
70 g Icing sugar

Melt the icing sugar with the boiling water. Add to the melted chocolate and mix.

Spread quickly over the panforte (before it sets).

Which liqueur is the best to use for Panforte?

In Italy (Tuscany) they would use Amaretto Liqueur, but you can use something like Amarula (from South Africa) or Frangelico, as well. However, the idea is to use a liqueur close to the taste of Amaretto (if you don’t have Amaretto itself). For this purpose, have a look at the available Hazelnut liqueurs in your shops, as an alternative for amaretto.

Chef’s Tip:

You can change the combination of nuts according to what you love. Figs, pistachio, and walnuts are a fabulous combination. Maybe you can make two different types of Panforte… If you have a Woolworths shop nearby, you should be able to get almost all the ingredients in one shop.