PANPAPATO - ITALIAN CHRISTMAS CAKE

After a 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 extra pa’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.