Christmas Chocolate, California Walnut & Apricot Panforte By Ruby Bhogal
Course Dessert
Keyword Apricots, Chocolate, Panforte
Servings 12
Calories 353kcal
Ingredients
150gCalifornia Walnutsroughly chopped
150gChopped Dried Apricots
100gChopped Dates
100gMixed Peel
100gDark Chocolate
75gPlain Flour
2tbspCocoa Powder
1tspAll Spice
1tspCinnamon Powder
1tspVanilla Bean Paste
155gHoney
100gGolden Syrup
70gUnsalted Butterdiced
50gLight Brown Sugar
Amaretto Liquorto soak
Icing Sugarfor dusting
Instructions
Place the chopped apricots and dates into a bowl and pour in enough Amaretto Liquor to cover. Allow to soak for approx. 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 140°C/Fan 120°C and lightly grease and line an 8inch springform tin. Leave to one side.
Place the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place on top of a saucepan of simmering water. Allow to fully melt and then take off the heat and allow to lightly cool.
In another bowl, sift in the Plain Flour, Cocoa Powder, All Spice and Cinnamon Powder and stir. Add in the Californian Walnuts, Mixed Peel and Vanilla Bean Paste and stir again. Drain the Amaretto soaked Apricots and Dates (but be sure to keep the remaining drained liquor for later!). Add into the bowl and mix well.
Into a saucepan, add in the Honey, Golden Syrup, diced Butter and Sugar and place over a high heat. Once the butter and sugar have melted, bring to boil for approx. 5 mins or until it has reached 118°C (‘Soft Ball’ stage) on a thermometer.
Once reached, take off the heat and gently pour into the bowl of mixed flour and fruit. Stir well. Add in the cooled melted chocolate and fold in until combined.
Pour in the mixture into the lined tin and level out with a spatula. Pop into the oven for approx. 50 mins on a middle shelf
Remove from the oven, place the tin on a cooling rack and allow to completely chill before removing (2 hours should be good!). Gently remove from the tin.
Use a pastry brush to lightly brush over some of the drained liquor on top and then dust lightly with a sprinkling of icing sugar to finish