Panforte Margherita

The story

Panforte, a dense, chewy cake full of honey, almonds and candied fruit, barely bigger than a palm yet heavy as a brick, comes from medieval Siena. It was first made there by monks and nuns in the monasteries along the pilgrims' road, using spices (pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg) that reached the city by the same trade routes the pilgrims themselves traveled. Its older name, "panpepato" ("peppered bread"), reveals that the original was sharper and more peppery than the sweeter version common today, covered in powdered sugar. Thanks to its high proportion of honey and dried fruit, panforte almost never spoils, so for centuries it was ideal food for travel and trade, the cake that made Siena known far beyond Tuscany. It is cut into very thin slices because it is exceptionally dense and sweet, closer to candy than to an ordinary cake. A box of panforte, its lid printed in the traditional style of a medieval miniature, is still a common Christmas gift throughout Italy.