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Siena is the sweet capital of Tuscany with its extraordinary confectionery products which are world famous.

Panforte is one of Siena’s great specialties

There are various explanations regarding the origin of the name. Some people attribute the adjective forte (strong), to the consistency of the mix, which is decidedly solid. Other claim that the origin relates to a medieval recipe called melatello, a kind of simple cake made with wheat flour and water, sweetened with honey and enriched with fruit of the season; grapes, plums and apples. The fresh fruit was simply broken into the dough, which was then baked at a moderate heat so it did not become too dry and the fruit retained some moisture. If the weather was hot and humid, this cake sometimes acquired a tart taste, hence the name “strong bread" which in the case meant "tart bread".

Another famous Sienese sweet is ricciarelli

The recipe has exotic origins, and its spicy flavor recalls the flavors and smells of the East. Legend has it that the Sienese crusader brought recipe of these foreign sweets when he returned from Holy Land to his castle near Voltera. According to popular tradition, on the other hand, they where the result of an mistake. An impatient nun in the monastery put the traditional marzipan sweets to dry at to high temperature, the result being that they got cooked and turned into crunchy ricciarelli. Anyhow, these small almond delicacies were soon offered to highly regarded guests.

The ingredients and production methods have remained unchanged, in accordance with tradition. There is also chocolate covered version.

RECIPE

Panforte

Ingredients: 300 g of sweet almonds: 200 g of walnut kernels: 200 g of icing sugar; 150 g of dry figs; 150 g of honey; 150 g each of hazelnuts and candied citron, pumpkin and melon rind; 50 g of sweet cocoa; 15 g of powdered cinnamon; a total of 15 g of cloves, white pepper and coriander; wafer for lining the mould.

Method: Peel and roughly cut up the almonds and walnut kernels, after having blanched them in boiling water and dried them in a warm oven. Put the hazelnuts in the oven to toast, remove the skin by rubbing them over a sieve and cut them up into rough pieces. Put these ingredients into a bowl and add the candied fruit and the chopped figs. Sprinkle with the cocoa powder, spices, half of the cinnamon and mix carefully. Pour the honey into a pan, preferably round-bottomed, add the sugar and mix well. Cook until the sugar caramelizes. Remove from the flame and add the fruit mix, stirring with a wooden spoon. Line a wide, shallow mould (with removable edge) with the wafer. Grease the mould beforehand so the wafer clings to the sides. Pour in the mixture and spread evenly. Cook in a low oven for 30 minutes. Remove the panforte from the oven; allow cooling and then sprinkling icing sugar and the rest of the powdered cinnamon on top.

Ricciarelli

Ingredients: sweet almonds; sugar, powdered vanilla, cinnamon, egg whites, wafer, honey, baking powder, a pinch of salt.

Method: Grind the almonds; mix with egg whites, honey, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir well. Flatten the dough into the characteristic shape of ricciarelli. Place them in a large baking pan, sprinkle with icing sugar and bake in the oven at 180°C for 25 minutes or until dried, but not browned.