Aftera ski trip from which I will never recover and one Christmas party too many, I am very much looking forward to
going home and stuffing my face with Christmas cakes of every origin and kind.
This one I’m sharing with you today
(metaphorically sharing. Soz) is from Ferrara in the North of Italy. It’s called Panpapato
(it’s the funniest name and it always takes me a good five minutes to spell it
properly without adding extrapa’s in it. HA) and it’s full of nuts and yummy things and so rich and the most delicious. In
fact, my dad posted a homemade one to me about a month ago because I couldn’t
wait until Christmas. Miss impatient. Now I’m not saying this is better than my
dad’s because my dad is the cake master but what you can do is make this one
and then ask your dad to make another one and post it to you and you eat them both and happy days.
PANPAPATO
200g (1 ¾ cups) pastry flour
80g (heaped ½ cup) cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon baking powder
150ml (1/2 cup) agave syrup
100g (3/4 cup) almonds, blanched
100g (2/3 cup) candied orange peel
120ml (1/2 cup) lukewarm water
100g (3/4 cup) dark chocolate, chopped
Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) and line
a cookie tray with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together flour, cocoa
powder, spices and baking powder. Add the agave syrup, almonds and orange peel
and mix with a spoon and then with your hands. Add the lukewarm water to the
mixture a tablespoon at a time, mixing until everything comes together. If the
mixture is too crumbly, add some more water until it just holds together. Form
a ball with the dough and slightly press it onto the prepared cookie tray to
give it a disc shape. Bake for 50 minutes or until just slightly cracked at the
edges. Place on a cooling rack to cool completely before making the chocolate
coating. Once cool, melt the dark chocolate and spread a thick layer over the
bottom of the cake, then leave to set. Do the same for the top of the cake,
then again leave to set. Wrap in foil until Christmas or just eat the whole
thing yourself and no one will know you ever made it and they won’t judge you.
