The season of goodwill
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A bag of apples, a pot of homemade jam,
A scribbled note, a bunch of golden flowers,
A coloured pebble, a box of seedlings,
An empty scent bottle for the children….
Who needs diamonds and van-delivered bouquets?
Pam Brown, b.1928
Surrounded by materialistic temptations to buy for Christmas, too little time and dwindling energy, we can easily fork out huge amounts of money for meaningless gifts that have little thought behind them and little use in front of them.
Homemade gifts are even more appreciated when we are all busier than usual preparing for Christmas, and that time is fast approaching again. Our neighbour delivered a festively wrapped jar of her own fruit mince, made from an old family recipe that she brought out from England, and contains real suet chopped by hand. This lovely gift is presented to friends, the butcher who supplies the suet, and the local postie.
A rich-looking bowl of cherries sits on the kitchen bench, also indicating the approach of Christmas, and as juicy berries start appearing on the shop shelves we can be thankful for all the advantages of a warm-climate Christmas.
As usual I have left the big cake-making saga too late, and will have to resort to the same idea as most other years…Panforte di Siena. This cake can be eaten the next day or keeps for weeks if wrapped in foil, so is perfect to make now to either give away as a gift (wrap in red or gold cellophane) or to have as a Christmas cake. Rich and nutty, it contains all the fruit and spice you would normally look for, yet due to the addition of a little chocolate too, you only need a small slice to satisfy. Use a liquid honey you enjoy the flavour of, as this taste comes through.
Panforte di Siena
125g almonds, toasted lightly
125g walnuts (as fresh as possible)
100g dried apricots
100g dried figs
100g mixed peel
100g sticky raisins
2/3 cup of flour
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons of cinnamon
60g dark chocolate
1/3 cup of sugar
½ cup of honey
Butter and line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper, bottom and sides. Heat the oven to 160°C.
Coarsely chop the fruit and nuts and place in a large mixing bowl. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Sift together the dry ingredients. Heat the sugar and honey together in a pot. Bring slowly to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes or until syrup forms a soft ball when a drop is dropped into a cup of cold water. Add the syrup and the melted chocolate to the fruit and nuts and mix. Add the dry ingredients and stir quickly to form a very stiff, sticky mixture. Press this into your prepared tin and bake for about 35 minutes. It will still seem soft and sticky but will firm up on cooling. Cool and remove from the tin. Leave for a day before cutting into thin wedges. Sift a cloud of icing sugar over the top (for the snow effect) to serve if you like.
If you are even shorter for time than this, or you don’t fancy sweet and rich, then you could serve this quick and delicious loaf with a wedge of blue cheese, which is often a nice way to end a long lunch. Adapted from a recent Dish magazine, we have enjoyed this recipe by Claire Aldous using whatever assorted dried fruit and nuts we have on hand at the time of making.
Fruit and nut loaf
2 cups of nuts,lightly toasted and coarsely chopped. A mixture of almonds and walnuts is good
250g dried figs, coarsely chopped
100g dried apricots, coarsely chopped
½ cup of dried cranberries
Finely grated zest of one orange
1½ teaspoons of mixed spice
Pinch of salt
1 cup of self-raising flour
½ cup of honey
2 tablespoons of brandy
Grease a loaf tin and line with baking paper. Heat the oven to 180°C.
Place all the fruit, zest, and nuts together in a mixing bowl. Heat the brandy and honey together in a pot until just warm. Tip into the fruit and nuts and stir through. Quickly mix in the sifted flour, salt and spice. Spoon into the loaf tin and smooth the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until it tests cooked and is firm to the touch. Cool and remove from the tin. Best eaten the next day, though this loaf is a good keeper if kept in an airtight container.
Serve sliced with your favourite soft cheese.
Wishing you all a safe and delicious Christmas!
Fiona Feasey
