Panpepato: Italian Spiced Christmas Bread…
Panpepato or pampepato Christmas dessert with dried fruit, honey and chocolate. I want to tell you in a somewhat special way about this Christmas dessert that is so dear to me, in my dad’s town, Anagni ( Fr) like the whole of Lazio and central Italy, this dessert at Christmas time is a real institution. Its origin is contended by the cities of Terni and Ferrara, although as I mentioned before it is a dessert that is also prepared here in Lazio, especially in Rome and Frosinone, and like all popular recipes each family guards its own recipe.
Ingredients :
- 200g (1½ cups) whole hazelnuts, shelled
- 200g (1½ cups) almonds, shelled
- 120g (1 cup) walnuts, shelled
- 80g (⅔ cup) pine nuts
- 250g (¾ cup) raw honey (or wildflower honey)
- 100g (¾ cup) Italian flour (or all-purpose flour / plain flour
- 100g dark chocolate
- 20g (¼ cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 100g (⅔ cup) raisins
- Candied orange peel, to taste
- Additional flour, as needed
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- Ground cinnamon, to taste
How to make Panpepato:
- To prepare the gingerbread or pampepato first put the dried fruit, raisins, candied orange, chopped dark chocolate, pepper and bitter cocoa in a large bowl.
- Stir well to let the ingredients mix.
- In a small saucepan, place the honey and heat it until completely melted.
- Pour the boiling honey into the bowl of dried fruit and chocolate.
- Stir with a wooden spoon, add the flour as well and at this point knead with your hands so you can feel the texture as well.
- Cover the gingerbread dough with a tea towel and let it rest for 10 hours.
- I recommend making the dough in the evening so that it rests overnight.
- After the resting time has elapsed with floured hands, take quantities of the dough and form small loaves.
- Pinch them tightly with the palms of your hands so that they do not fall apart in baking.
- Transfer the gingerbread loaves to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake the gingerbread in a preheated oven on static mode at 160°C (320°F) for about 30 minutes.
Tipps:
- Once the gingerbread or pampepato is baked let it cool very well and wrap it in plastic wrap, wait at least 2 days before cutting it, the longer it rests the better it will taste.
- You can also add pistachios to taste.
- Raw honey means the clear, solid honey sold in plastic jars; it is ideal for this sweet Christmas recipe.
Bon Appétit!
