Italian Fruit And Nut Cake Recipes

PANFORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C).
• Line a 7-8 inch cake pan with parchment paper making sure you line both the bottom and the sides. To help the baking parchment stick to the cake pan you can rub a little butter or spray a little oil on the cake pan first.
• Mix the flour, spices, nuts and candied peel in a large mixing bowl, set aside.
• In a large pot or Dutch Oven add the sugar and honey on a medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is slightly bubbling.
• Turn the heat down low and add the flour and nut mixture to the honey, stir it quickly until it is thoroughly combined. It will be very sticky so a silicone spatula works best for this.
• Once combined, spoon the mixture into the cake pan and smooth it out as you best you can.
• Put in the oven and bake the panforte for 35 minutes, remove and allow to cool completely.
• Once cooled remove from the cake pan and parchment paper and dust heavily with powdered sugar.
• Slice and serve or store for later.

PANFORTE/ ITALIAN CHRISTMAS FRUIT AND NUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180 °C . Place hazelnut on a tray and bake for 15 mins until it turns light brown. Keep it aside to cool.Bake almonds for 5 mins until it turns light brown. Let it cool. Chop hazelnut and almond coarsely. In a large bowl add nuts, candied fruit, spices, flour, salt and Cocoa powder.
• Melt chocolate in a steel bowl by double boiler method.
• Stir the melted chocolate into the chopped fruit and nut mixture.
• Mix well until melted chocolate is evenly coated.
• Meanwhile grease pan well and place a parchment paper below.In a sauce pan, stir together honey, sugar and maple syrup. Stir continuously until sugar has dissolved.
• Wash the side's of the pan with silicon brush dipped in warm water.
• Continuously boil the mixture over medium heat without stirring until the temperature reaches 115 °C.
• Switch off heat and stir the boiled sugar, honey and maple syrup into the chopped nut, fruits and flour mixture and mix gently.
• Transfer the mixture immediately to the greased pan and flatten the surface with wet hands. Spread evenly as the mixture will get hard quickly
• Preheat oven to 150 °C and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the surface forms blisters. Remove from oven and let it cool on a wire rack.
• Once it's cooled, wrap tightly in a plastic wrap and store in a cool, dry place. Well wrapped Fruit cakes will stay for several months and can be served with cup of coffee or wine or as a dessert after a meal.

PANFORTE DI SIENNA (ITALIAN FRUIT CAKE)

Steps:

• Position the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 325° F. Coat the pan with cooking spray, then lay a round of parchment in the bottom, and then coat the top of the parchment with cooking spray. Dust flour all the way around the sides and the bottom and tap out any extra. The panforte will be very sticky, so you want the pan to be well-prepared.
• In the large bowl, toss together prepared almonds, hazelnuts, figs, apricots, and orange peels.
• In the medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cocoa powder, salt, nutmeg, cloves, and ground pepper. Make sure all the dry ingredients are thoroughly combined. Add the dry ingredients to the fruit and nuts and toss together until everything is thoroughly coated.
• In the medium sauce pan with the candy thermometer attached, add the sugar, honey and butter and cook over medium heat until the temperature reaches 217° F. Remove the pan from the heat and remove the candy thermometer. Quickly pour the sugar mixture over the fruit and nuts mixture and stir together with a nonstick spatula until everything is thoroughly coated.
• Pour into the prepared baking pan and spread the mixture around evenly.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the surface is bubbly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
• To serve, dust with powdered sugar and cut into thin slices. Wrap in parchment and plastic wrap to store.

ITALIAN FRUIT AND NUT CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C in a fan oven), 375°F, gas 5 and line the springform tin with grease-proof paper.
• Briefly toast the hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios in a pan without fat, stirring. Allow to cool, rub off the skins of the hazelnuts and roughly chop all the nuts. Tip into a bowl and mix with the figs and raisins.
• Put the icing sugar and honey in a metal bowl over a pan of hot water. Stir continuously over a low heat until the mixture melts and forms threads. Stir in the cinnamon and cloves and allow to cool, stirring.
• Stir the honey mixture into the nuts and mix through 1-2 tbsp flour. Transfer to the cake tin and smooth the top flat. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from the tin.
• Serve dusted with icing sugar and cut into slices.

PANGIALLO LAZIALE (ITALIAN CHRISTMAS CAKES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine prunes, raisins, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, sugar, orange marmalade, candied orange peel, and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. Pour in wine and olive oil. Add flour and mix everything into a sticky dough, adding more flour if mixture does not stick together.
• Shape mixture into 8 similar sized logs with wet hands and place onto prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 30 minutes.

FESTIVE FRUIT & NUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4/fan 160C and lightly grease and line the base and sides of a deep 22-23cm round loose-based cake tin with Bake-o-Glide or baking parchment (see overleaf). Beat the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, ground almonds and spices until thoroughly mixed and creamy, preferably with an electric beater or in a food mixer.
• Measure off 100g/4oz of the cake mixture, put in a bowl and set aside. Fold the fruit and rum into the remaining mixture, then gently stir in the marzipan. Spoon this mixture into the prepared cake tin and flatten with a spatula to make a smooth even surface, then make a slight dip in the centre of the cake. This simple trick will give the finished cake a nice flat top. Bake for 11⁄4 hours.
• While the cake is in the oven, make the fruit and nut topping. Mix all the nuts, cherries and syrup into the remaining cake mixture (see tip overleaf). Spoon the mixture on top of the part-cooked cake (once it has had its 11⁄4 hours), evenly distributing the mixture of nuts and cherries across the surface of the cake. Loosely cover the top of the tin with foil.
• Return to the oven for 40 minutes more, then take off the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes, so the nuts can turn golden. Keep an eye on them, so they don't get too dark. To test the cake mixture is cooked, insert a fine skewer into the cake - if it comes out clean then it's ready. Cool in the tin then turn out, keeping the lining on, and wrap with foil. (The cake will keep for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen for up to 2 months.)
• To serve, remove the cake from the foil and strip away the lining. Place on a board or serving plate and tie with a decorative ribbon.

HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°. Combine fruit and nuts. In another bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Pour over fruit and nuts; stir to coat. , Transfer to a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 2 hours. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap tightly and store in a cool place. Bring to room temperature before serving; slice with a serrated knife.

NUTTY AS A FRUITCAKE (HEALTHY VERSION)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Mix all ingredients, except condensed milk, in a large bowl.
• Pour the can of condensed milk over the fruit mixture. Mix well.
• Pour into well greased loaf pans(2 large or 3 small). Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Cool in pans a few minutes before turning out onto wire racks to finish cooling.
• The longer this keeps the better it tastes! Enjoy!
• Note: These make great gifts!

ITALIAN CREAM CAKE I

Steps:

• Cream together 1 cup butter or margarine, egg yolks, and 2 cups white sugar. Alternately mix in flour and buttermilk. Add baking soda. Mix in 1 cup walnuts and coconut.
• Beat egg whites, and fold into batter. Pour batter into three greased and floured 9 inch round cake pans.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven.
• Combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter or margarine, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract. Spread onto cooled cake. Top iced cake with chopped walnuts.

DRIED FRUIT AND NUT CAKE

Steps:

• Line bottom of 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Butter parchment paper and sides of pan. Preheat oven to 300°F. Mix first 10 ingredients together in large bowl.
• Stir honey and 1/3 cup sugar in heavy large saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium and cook until candy thermometer registers 235°F. (soft-ball stage), stirring frequently, about 4 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat. Mix in nut-flour mixture. Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Press to even thickness using buttered palm of hand or spoon. Bake until top is no longer sticky, about 35 minutes. Cool. Sift powdered sugar over. (Can be prepared 3 weeks ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

SIENA CAKE - PANFORTE DE SIENA

Steps:

• Chop almonds, hazelnuts, apricots, pineapple, orange and lemon peel.
• Mix well with flour, cinnamon, and cocoa.
• Put sugar and honey in a saucepan, stirring over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add chocolate to saucepan, stir until melted, and remove from heat.
• Combine with fruit and nut mixture; cut parchment paper circle to fit bottom of 8" well-buttered round cake pan, then butter the paper and evenly spread the batter into the pan.
• Bake at 300 degrees F for 35 minutes.
• Let cool in pan.
• Remove cake from pan, wrap in foil, and let stand overnight.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into thin wedges.
• Wrapped in aluminum foil to stay air-tight, it will keep for weeks, refrigeration not needed.
• Note: the Julesong photo accompanying this cake was taken about a month after it was made, because this cake can keep for so long and we forgot to take pics when it was newly done and the powdered sugar was still all pretty. :) Please excuse the slightly messy nature of the cake in the photo - we'll replace it with a good one, next year.