Panpepato

Panpepato (or pampapato) is a dense, dark, spiced, dried-fruit-and-nut-spiked cake typical of the city of Ferrara (though similar yet different versions exist under the same name in Tuscany and Campania, too). The name panpepato (literally 'peppered bread') refers to the liberal dose of spices included in the recipe – not unlike most Italian traditional sweets from the Renaissance. Pampapato (Pope’s bread), on the other hand, refers to the alleged history of this cake, which originates in a convent in Ferrara during the 1600s. Using the most precious ingredients available at the time (nuts, citrus, spices and, most especially, the newly landed and luxurious cacao), the nuns created a dome-shaped cake topped with melted chocolate and named their creation after the Pope. To this day, it remains a special cake for special occasions – such as Christmas and New Year – and a symbol of the fine culinary tradition of Ferrara and Emilia Romagna.