Panforte.
I ended up most closely following the recipe from Marcellina In Cucina, although gleaned a lot from each of the several recipes I posted the other day on the Holiday Treats thread. Felicity Cloake’s article in the The Guardian was quite useful, and (as usual) reassured me improvisation rules the day.
I cut the sugar back by 25%, although my equal volume of honey weighed in at a whopping 275 g. I used a mix of 70% and 80% chocolate, as I had some amounts of each I wanted to use up. My fruit consisted of dried figs, glazed lemon peels and glazed orange peels (nothing fancy or expensive). I used almonds and filberts for the toasted nuts. On a clue from David Lebovitz, I added a few cranks of black pepper and a small pinch each of cayenne and ancho chili peppers. Tasting what was left on the spatula and assuming this works out, next time I’ll go a bit heavier on the peppers. It tasted very good, in any case.
I baked in two 6” spring-form pans for 25 minutes at 320. The tops were dry, the center shiny but firm, and the edges just showing signs of being done. I guess I’ll know in a week or so on tasting day whether I nailed the bake, and whether I might want to cut back on the flour a bit.
