Pampepato di Terni

Appearance & taste

The cake is round, flat underneath and domed on top; it measures 1 to 20 cm in diameter, is 1 to 10 cm high and weighs 25 g to 1 kg. On the outside it is dark brown to almost black, and the nuts can be made out on the surface. When cut, the dark brown dough shows many well-distributed nuts and pieces of candied fruit. It is compact, supple from the chocolate, raisins, candied fruit, honey and coffee, and crunchy from the roasted nuts.

It first smells of chocolate and nuts, then of spices, above all cinnamon, pepper and nutmeg. The taste begins with chocolate and a hint of spice, followed by nuts and candied fruit; at the end, chocolate and spices dominate. It contains no colourings or preservatives.

Production

For 10 kg of dough there are 3.5 to 6 kg of roasted almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts, 1.5 to 3 kg of raisins and candied orange and lemon peel, 0.5 to 1.5 kg of blossom honey, 0.2 to 0.5 kg of unsweetened cocoa, 0.5 to 1.5 kg of chocolate with at least 50 % cocoa, 50 to 150 g of pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg, and 0.2 to 0.7 kg of “tipo 0” flour or maize, rice or almond flour. Small amounts of concentrated grape must, liqueur, sugar, orange peel, pine nuts and coffee are also allowed, as is a wafer as a base and, for machine-made dough, at most 5 % water.

Making the dough, portioning, shaping, baking and ripening take place in the area. After ripening, the cake is packed airtight, still at the production site, in cellophane, parchment, aluminium or another food-grade material; according to the specification, in the air the spice aromas would fade, the nuts would lose their crunch and the surface its shine. It is sold whole, in individual packs or in slices 0.5 to 1.5 cm thick.

Origin & history

The area covers the entire province of Terni and the municipalities of Massa Martana, Marsciano, Todi, Fratta Todina, Montecastello di Vibio and Deruta in the province of Perugia. According to the specification, for centuries the cake was made from what farmers had been able to put aside over the year.

Commercial production is first mentioned in 1913, when a pastry shop in Terni sold it as “il dolce di Terni” (the cake from Terni). In 1931 the gastronomic guide of the Touring Club Italiano called panpepato a typical Christmas cake from Terni; numerous recipe books and travel and food guides followed. The Accademia Italiana della Cucina devoted several publications to it, and since 2009 a prize for the best home-baked panpepato has been awarded in Terni every year, at which the previous year’s winner hands the new winner a wooden pastry spoon. On 10 February 2002 pastry cooks from Terni baked one weighing 112 kg.