Can You Freeze Panforte?

3 minutes

Panforte is one of those Italian treats, much like panettone, that makes a resurgence at Christmas. The problem is, you can only eat so much panforte before you get sick of the stuff. So, how do you store it?

How to Freeze Panforte

Freezing panforte is quite easy since the dessert is dense and rich. However, to make sure that you don’t damage the panforte during freezing, follow these simple steps:

1. Cool: If you have made the panforte yourself, then you’ll need to give it ample time to cool to room temperature. Freezing warm food is not a good idea as the condensation will ruin the texture of both the panforte but also other food in the freezer too.
2. Wrap: Once the panforte is cooled to room temperature, you can wrap it in cling film. A tight layer is better, as that will ensure that no air will be trapped between the panforte and the film. If you’re worried, double-wrap it. You can never be too cautious.
3. Pop Into a Container: Place the panforte into a large, rigid container. Typically, large Tupperware containers are ideal for this, as they’re built to hold a whole cake.
4. Freeze: Transfer the whole container to the freezer. For the time being, make sure to place the panforte as flat as possible to ensure that it freezes without being squashed.

3 Tips for Freezing Panforte

Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing panforte to have the best results:

Check the Cling Film Seal
Ensuring that the cling film seals fully will lock out any levels of smells or poor aromas within your freezer which would make for a worse final eating experience. Run your hands across the film with gentle pressure, and it should seal well. 

Use a Container With Little Excess Space
If your container has an excess of open space within it, you’ll likely end up with a level of staling during the freezing process. The less excess space there is around your baked goods in the freezer, the better their final consistency and flavor are likely to be. 

Avoid Icing Sugar
A number of recipes for panforte recommend dusting the cake with icing sugar before serving – don’t freeze the cake with icing sugar on it! If you do, the sugar is likely to clump up. Instead, dust the cake slices down immediately before serving.

How Long Can You Freeze Panforte?

You can freeze panforte for up to 6 months.

The main reason for this is that a lot of the larger ingredients within the panforte are simple and easy to preserve over that length of time.

For example, dried fruit and nuts may well keep quite well at room temperature over the course of 6 months, let alone when they’re kept in the freezer.

How Do You Defrost Panforte?

You can defrost panforte very easily in your fridge. To do this, we suggest removing the whole cake from the freezer and storing it in your fridge overnight. This should allow the ice to melt while keeping the panforte at a safe temperature for longer-term storage.

You could also cut away individual slices of panforte and keep them at room temperature for two to three hours to be sure that they will be thawed and ready to eat a little more quickly.

Can You Refreeze Panforte?

Yes, you can refreeze panforte! There are two reasons for this. The first reason is that the cake is very dense, so the actual structure won’t lose much during freezing.

The second reason is that the cake doesn’t contain meat, fish, or raw dairy, all of which are ingredients that cannot be thawed and refrozen.

Does Panforte Freeze Well?

Panforte freezes quite exceptionally well since it’s such a dense, rich cake! This means that the cake itself doesn’t lose much flavor, if anything, during freezing, while the texture is utterly untouched.

The only minor exception to this is if you have dusted it with icing sugar. The icing sugar will clump up once frozen.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing panforte or panforte in general, then these may help: