Here is the The Ninth Recipe For Christmas / Apricot Siena Cake which is a chewy, sticky combination of bread and cake. It smells heavenly and tastes divine.  It is said to have originated in Siena, Italy and is also known as Panforte. My first attempt at making it was a total disaster. That was years ago. With a little bit of improvising I managed to get a very eatable cake, this year.

The Ninth Recipe For Christmas / Apricot Siena Cake

Ingredients:

100  gms nuts

100gms candied pineapple, chopped

100 gms dried Apricots, chopped

50 gms candied orange peel

2/3 cups flour

2 level tbsp dark cocoa powder

1 tsp mixed spice

50 gms dark Cadbury’s chocolate

1/3 cup sugar

½ cup honey

2 tbsp icing sugar to dredge cake with once done.

Method:

Mix the nuts, pineapple, apricots candied peel, cocoa and flour together in a deep mixing bowl. Heat the sugar and honey together in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves and it begins to boil. Lower flame and simmer 5 minutes. Add the dark chocolate and stir until it has completely melted. Cool 5 minutes and pour over the mixture in the bowl. Mix well. Pour into round 9″ pan, sprinkle with flaked almonds and bake in preheated oven at 150 C for 35 minutes or till done (when skewer inserted in centre comes out clean). Cool, cut into wedges and roll in powdered sugar. This cake can be stored for months (unless it’s eaten up by appreciative family members and others). Slice into wedges and dredge with icing sugar. To store, wrap in plastic paper or foil when completely cool and keep in a dry place.

Learn how to cook a traditional Indian meal using recipes that have been inherited from my Mum & Grandmother