There are soooo many recipes for holiday cookies out there, I think we don’t need any more. Maybe I’m just being Grinchy, or maybe I live in France, where we’re in the middle of an onslaught of sweets, which happens every year, from Advent calendars with doors hiding chocolates and candied chestnuts to boxes (and boxes) of chocolates and panetonnes. (The best are from Christophe Louie, although one day I want to get one from Brigat’—but will have to wait for next year because this year I got o̶n̶e̶ three infused with Chartreuse elixir from Morlacchi in Italy.)
There are also a lot of parties, which means lots more eating…and just when we think it’s time to stop, January brings Galettes de rois. But like all the people who are contacting me about 2025, I am going to focus squarely on 2024 for the moment. And when 2025 rolls around, I’ll deal with that.
Earlier this month I picked up two citrons, which used to be very hard to find in Paris, and now you can find them in some produce stores. I saw a television show where people were sitting around a table at the Ritz hotel, passing around one, precious Buddha’s Hand citron, handling it as if it were a just-discovered Da Vinci painting. I laughed, because in California, people used to let them rot on the ground, since if you had a tree, you found yourself with way too many citrons on your hands.
Some goofball once tried to start one of those online tiffs with me, saying a Buddha’s Hand was not a citron, which it is. I don’t mind being wrong, but I love being right. Shortly after I arrived in Paris, I was invited to a lunch with some French food journalists who tried to explain to me what all the ingredients on our plates were. One held up a leaf of mustard from her salad and explained to me, the dopey newbie in town, that it was mizuna, asking me if I knew what mizuna was? Not sure if she minded being wrong, but I gently corrected her.
Panforte is an Italian confection that translates to “strong bread.” It’s from Siena and comes in various guises, with different nuts, candied fruits, and chocolate added, as well as panpepato, a version that’s spicier.
I’d planned to make it again this year, so I candied my precious citrons (despite making fun of those people sitting around the table passing around a piece of fruit like it was the Hope diamond, I do treat every piece of fruit with reverence) with the intention of having some panforte for gift-giving. But then I got submerged in other projects, so that didn’t happen.
Since I had the candied citrus, I decided instead to churn it up with a batch of Panforte Ice Cream.
The original recipe is in my book, The Perfect Scoop, and came from Mary Canales, who I worked with in the pastry department at Chez Panisse for many years until she opened her own ice cream shop, called Ici. Mary was really fun to work with and made great ice cream, although she eventually closed her shop. She did tell me that when she opened, all the food service people assumed that she’d be buying ice cream mixes and so forth, and they were surprised she was going to make all her ice creams from scratch. Never underestimate bakers from California! (Especially ones who know their produce…)
This ice cream is gently spiced with little hints of candied peel and crunchy almonds, with a few spoonfuls of honey, which gives it a smoother texture, and the flavor of the honey gives it a little more of a holiday feel, at least to me.
It could be served with apple pie or alongside a fruit tart for the holidays. If you want to go another route, a drizzle of chocolate sauce takes it in another direction. Or if you’re serving something decidedly wintery, such as cranberry raisin pie or cranberry upside down cake, it’d pair nicely with either of them or with one of your own festive creations.
Panforte ice cream
Makes about 1 quart (1l)
Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop
I use a fairly strong honey, which provides the best flavor. If you have buckwheat honey, that’s my favorite, but any honey that’s on the darker side will work, although you can also use mild honey, too. (If that’s your preference or what you have on hand.) I make my own candied citrus peels (recipes linked in the post), but King Arthur Baking also has a recipe for making your own. If you don’t have a cinnamon stick you can add a scant 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 cup (250ml) half-and-half or whole milk
2/3 cup (130g) sugar
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Big pinch of salt
2 cups (500ml) heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons (45ml) strongly flavored honey
1/2 cup (80-100g) chopped candied citrus peel
1/2 cup (65g) toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
In a medium saucepan, warm the half-and-half or milk with the sugar, spices, and salt. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 1 hour to steep.
When ready to make the ice cream, pour the cream into a medium-large bowl. Set the bowl of cream into a larger bowl that’s partially filled with ice and a little water, and set a mesh strainer over the top of the bowl of cream.
Rewarm the spice-infused mixture.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly as you pour, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof flexible spatula, scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer into the cream. Discard or compost the cinnamon stick. Add the vanilla to the custard.
Stir the custard until cool. While the custard is cooling, warm the honey in a small saucepan, then stir it into the custard. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
When the ice cream is finished churning, stir in the chopped candied citrus peel and almonds.
love your discussion about correcting the want to be food police.
I always have to listen to the white chocolate isn't chocolate one !
So informative. You covered it all … from selection to preparation .