I have written about fig and walnut panforte before as a note on my panforte recipe on the blog, but I really think it deserves a page on it’s own. I adore simple recipes and with not much more than the figs and walnuts, this is good anytime of the year but I especially love it over the winter holidays.
The spice mixture used smells like the holidays. It has several names here and is also used in salami making. Often at flea markets you will see small ceramic jars labeled droghe, yup, drugs. Remember drugstores? Well, when the spice trade started, these spices were used to season meats and sweets and were very expensive. Siena is famous for their pastry shops and some of my favorite recipes came from the drugstores in Siena. Giovanni Righi Parenti wrote a wonderful book which I use often,“I dolci di Siena e della Toscana” (
I make two small logs and bake quickly. It is a rich dessert you don’t need a lot of.
To make this easier, you can also simply line a pan with parchment and press the batter into the pan and bake.
And then cut into small bite-size pieces.
I sort of consider this the original energy bar. Today, it is a lovely end to a meal, sliced thinly and served with a espresso or with a tray of other traditional sweets. It is also really nice served along with cheese. We serve the local Pecorino, sheep’s milk cheese.( Not Pecorino Romano, which is very salty.)
I hope you add this to your holiday sweets. Let me know and post a photo on FB and tag me!
Another simple recipe for the holidays are my Ricciarelli, also from Siena.