Panforte

Around to the Cake from Siena numerous mixed legends to history fragments get confused, one what but it is sure, its origins are remote. The more ancient legend much reconnects it to the Saint Night of the Birth of the Christ, when in homage to the Redentore a child carried its poor gifts: a little bread and of the almonds that, after the blessing of S. Giuseppe, transformed in a wonderful Panforte. The modern formula of this cake is born towards the end of the ight hundred with the Cake from siena Daisy, where the employment of thecanditi ones of cedar, orange will be introduced and lemons in adding
to sweet drugs like the cinnamon or the vaniglia.

Ingredients:
flour, candito of cedar and orange, almonds, paste of
marzapane, sugar of vaniglia, vaniglia natural, a pizzico of moscate walnuts.

Around panpepato there is a mixed of legends however its origins are great and remote .The story tell; in the saint christmas night, a child brought its poor gifts; some bread with almonds ,that after the benedition of Saint Giuseppe became a marvelous panforte … this is the story ….the modern receipt of this sweet food was born on the end of the eight hundred with the "panforte margherita", where will be introduced additionally employed: cedar, orange, and lemon candieds , cinnamon and vanilla .

ingredients:
flour, cedar,orange candieds , sweet almonds , marzapan pasta, vanilla sugar, natural vanilla, and a ground nuts. Traditionally a christmas dish.

Ricciarelli
Sweet almond biscuits

The Ricciarelli are one of the most our traditional cakies and also one of the most difficult to prepare at home, there are white ones and black ones (with chocolate). For the first time the ricciarelli appeared on the crusades time, when a legionary back from Turkey brought these sweets with walnuts ,almonds mixed with honey. Other testimonies, surely more reliable, they connect the origins of "ricciarelli" to the "marzapane senese" famous in Tuscany in the XVI century, at the beginning the name was " marzipane", only in 500' moment, they changed the name in ricciarelli, when many kitchens start to use the white sugar.

Ingredients:
marzipan, orange candied, white flour, eggs , castor sugar .

Cantucci ( also with chocolate and hazel-nuts )

"the biscotti of Prato" , these sweets were born from housewifes that after having prepared some sweets, decided to mix some minced walnuts with eggs.
the "cantucci" is diffused in Tuscany and particularly in Siena, where "cantucci and vin santo" are one of the best way to completing a good meal .

Ingredients:
white fluor, the white of egg, shelled almonds,orange peel.

Cavallucci ( also with hazel-nuts)
small horse-shaped honey cakes

One of the most ancient sweets in Siena is the "cavallucci" , founder of the variegated family of honey biscuits, they are a sort a of little ball of pasta , cooked in the oven.
the peculiarity of this sweet is to assume a spicy taste ,with the addition of black pepper, anises, zenzero and walnut.
the cavallucci name's derives from the small press that the producers affixed on the stamp, the greatest consumers of such desert were, master's horses, stablemen .
Serve with excellent vin santo or good red wine.

Ingredients
white flour , honey ,orange peel , nuts, almonds, spieces.

Pan co'santi

Sweet of the senesi countries typical of november period, to eat with vin santo and young wine .
taste a bit spicy thanks to the black pepper , it furnishes a good pretext for the tasting of good wine.

Ingrendients:
white flour , raisins, crack nuts, lemon peel , sugar, a pinch of black pepper .