Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable (82 page)

Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Cover a work surface in confectioners’ sugar, and roll out the marzipan to ¼ inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out heart shapes. Place on prepared sheets. Decorate with icing, miniature candies, or sprinkles.

General Description:

Panforte is a cross between cake and candy and a classic Christmas treat from the Tuscan town of Siena
. Made from nuts, candied fruit, and spices combined with sugar and honey syrup, this confection is rich, spicy, and very chewy. Although traditional panforte does not contain chocolate, many popular modern versions do. It is usually shaped in a round and served in slices like cake, but its dense texture and intense sweetness make it similar to chewy candies. Panforte also invites comparisons to English fruitcake, with its candied fruit and long shelf life.

History:

The word
panforte
means “strong bread” in Italian; “strong” refers to the powerful spiciness of the confection. The original form of panforte was
panpepato
, or “pepper bread”; it contained generous amounts of spices, including pepper, which were valued commodities imported from the Middle East. Panforte
was first created in Siena during the 13th century, and it has been enjoyed as a special Italian Christmas treat since.

Serving Suggestions:

Panforte is traditionally dusted with confectioner’s sugar and served in small wedges. It is best enjoyed with a glass of vin santo or port.

Candy-Making Notes:

Experiment with a combination of nuts, dried fruit, and spices that you like—just be sure to keep the total amount of mix-ins the same.

Recipe:

1.
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Grease an 8-inch round springform pan or line an 8-inch round cake pan with foil and grease well.

2.
Combine nuts, candied peel, flour, and spices in a bowl.

3.
Combine sugar and honey in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

4.
Continue cooking the sugar syrup until it reaches 242°F, firm ball stage. Immediately pour it over the nut mixture and stir until fully combined.

5.
Turn out the mixture into the cake pan and spread evenly.

6.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the mixture is bubbling around the edges.

7.
Let pan cool before removing the springform ring or pulling the panforte from the cake pan. Dust the top liberally with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Yield:

One 8-inch round of panforte

Storage:

Wrap in aluminum foil and store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Variation:

Panforte Nero

For chocolate panforte, add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder in step 2.

General Description:

All brittles have a crisp crunchiness that make them delightfully addictive
. They are made from sugar syrup cooked to hard crack stage like
hard candy
and then mixed with nuts. The mixture is then poured very thinly so it will break easily into crunchy shards. Sometimes baking soda is added to aerate it so it is easier to bite into. Although in America peanut brittle is the most popular version, almost any nut can be used, making brittle one of the easiest ways to combine sugar and nuts into one delicious candy.

History:

Many brittle-like candies are made with nuts covered in honey or sugar syrup, such as Greek
pasteli
or French
croquant
. Brittles are made with pistachios and almonds in the Middle East and sesame seeds and peanuts in Asia.

Serving Suggestions: