Chocolate Panforte

Chocolate Panforte



When I first heard about blogging by mail/post a couple of months
ago, I was intrigued and disappointed at the same time. Intrigued
because this is such a fun way to combine the joy of receiving a parcel
with blogging events. Disappointed because these event are
geographically restricted to our fellow food bloggers in Europe and the
US. You can imagine how excited I was when I learned that Sam will be
hosting the inaugural
Canadian Blogging By Post!
I’m a veteran in baking and packaging holiday cookies so my first
thought was to make a batch of my signature chocolate espresso cookies
for this event. When I mentioned this idea to my brother, our
conversation went something like this:
Candy: You know, I want to make a batch of my signature cookies.
T: You mean the dark mocha cookies that you flatten with a fork?
Candy: Huh? What fork? I’m thinking of the Chewy
Chocolate Chips Walnut Espresso Cookies…the one that we
eat even before they cool down!
T: Ooooh, that one. Well, that’s really only my second favourite…
At this point, I realized that perhaps my "signature" cookies recipe
isn’t such a signature item after all. Add to my dismay that I actually
lost the book with the dark mocha cookies recipe, I had to dig deep to
decide what to make for CBBP. As I aimlessly leaf through my old Martha
Stewart Living magazines, I came across a feature on fruitcake back in
December 2000. Granted, ordinary fruitcake doesn’t really generate any
excitements. However, what caught my eye was their Chocolate Panforte.
It doesn’t require aging, it is sturdy enough to withstand postal
delivery, and most importantly, the recipe looks delicious.
I have adapted the original recipe to highlight my favourite
complementary flavour for chocolate–orange. Be sure to use the best
ingredients you can afford for this panforte. Trust me, you won’t regret
it. This panforte is best enjoyed in small skinny wedges with a shot of
strong espresso. Personally, I even like to dunk the cookie in the
coffee but I think that’s just me…
Ingredients

• 113g whole hazelnuts
  
• 85g candied orange peel, diced
  
• 2tbsp Grand Marnier
  
• 85g unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped *
  
• 35g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped **
  
• 130g plus 1/2tbsp all-purpose flour
  
• 1 1/2tsp ground cinnamon ***
  
• 215g flavourful honey ****
  
• 135g light-brown sugar
  
• 1/2tsp best-quality cocoa powder
  

* I used Scharffen Berger
** I used Lindt Excellence 70%
*** I used Ceylon cinnamon
**** I used half chestnut honey and half miel de sapin
Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake hazelnut for 10 minute and remove the
   skin. Set aside. Line two 6" round cake pans with parchment paper.
   
2. Reduce oven to 300F. In a large mixing bowl, combine chopped
   chocolate, candied orange peel, Grand Marnier, and hazelnuts. In a small
   mixing bowl, sift together 130g of all-purpose flour with 1/2tsp of
   cinnamon.
   
3. In a small saucepan, combine honey and brown sugar. Bring to a boil
   while stirring occasionally. Simmer for 2 minutes.
   
4. Pour the honey into the mixing bowl with fruit and nut. Stir to
   combine. Gently fold in flour. Pour mixture into the prepared cake pans.
   Each pan should take about 400g of batter. Smooth batter with wet
   fingers.
   
5. In a small bowl, stir together 1/2tbsp of flour, 1tsp of cinnamon,
   and cocoa powder. Sift over batter. Bake until set, about 45 minutes.
   Unmold when cake is completely cool and gently brush off flour coating.
   This cake is ready to eat as soon as it cools.
   

Personally, I think the best part about CBBP is that fact
that I get to wrap up my little care package all nice and pretty. Gift
wrapping is one of my favourite hobbies so I was looking forward to
receiving my recipient’s information so I could start wrapping. I
wouldn’t reveal the content of the package because I don’t want to ruin
the surprise but suffice to say, I had so much fun packing the goodies. I used a green with white polka dot tissue paper to wrap
the panforte. By stroke of luck, I have a round cream-and-brown box that
fits the panforte perfectly. I decorated the lid of the box with a
strip of the same tissue paper and wrap the box with a dark chocolate
brown satin ribbon. The "W" stamp in the middle of the box is the
initial of my last name which I use on all of my gifts. The other
goodies in the care package are also wrapped with the same material for a
unified look and feel. I hope my recipient will like it!



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