Ayurvedic Panforte
Panforte was traditionally made by Italian monks in the 13th century as a chewy dessert. The monks came up with the recipe as something that is self-preserving and portable. This makes it an ideal gift recipe.
I decided to put an Ayurvedic spin on it so have considered the ingredients from an Ayurvedic perspective.
To negate any potential drying effect of the fruit, I have added a little ghee to the recipe. Traditionally fats were not added to Panforte, but I think it works really well. The crystallised ginger in conjunction with the nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon gives a lovely warmth, helps you to process the natural sugars and soothes the digestive tract. Click here to find out more.
The combination of the protein in the nuts and the sugars and dietary fibre from the figs means these Panaforte are like fortified energy balls. Click here to find out more.
To make the Panforte vegan and gluten free, substitute the ghee for coconut oil and the flour for Gluten free flour.
Makes 10 mini cakes
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
75g dried figs
75g dried apricots
40g walnuts broken into pieces
40g whole hazelnuts
40g diced crystallised ginger
75g white spelt flour
12g ghee
70g coconut sugar
Grated nutmeg
1/2tsp cinnamon
2 large green cardamom pods, seeds removed and ground
Grease proof paper
Muffin tins
Ribbon and paper for wrapping
Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas mark 2
Method
Cut some circular discs out of the greaseproof paper and line the muffin tins. Blend the apricots and figs in a blender until smooth. Put the nuts onto a baking tray and place in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Remove, set aside, weigh out the flour and dice the crystallised ginger. This way all preparation is ready ahead of the next step.
Place the sugar, ghee and spices into a saucepan. Cook on a medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts and looks like melted chocolate.
Very quickly add in the blended fruit and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and add in the nuts and flour. Keep stirring until it is all well combined.
When the mixture is cool enough to handle take a large dessert spoon of the mixture, roll it into a ball between the palms of your hands and then squash it to make a disc shape, roughly the same size as the base of your muffin tins. Place it on top of the greaseproof paper in the tin and continue until all the mixture is used up. Bake for 15 minutes or until it takes on more golden colour. Remove and allow to cool in the tins. The mixture will further set and firm up on cooling.
Allow to completely cool before placing your Ayurvedic Panforte in an airtight container. This will keep them fresh until you are ready to gift them. You can then wrap them up in whatever you have. Beeswax cloth will continue to keep them fresh or use other paper, cellophane and ribbon.
