Fistringo – A Christmas Cake from Le Marche
Discover Fistringo, the traditional Christmas cake from Le Marche, Italy. Packed with figs, nuts, and festive spices, it’s a must-try holiday treat.
Fistringo is a traditional Italian Christmas cake with roots in the rustic kitchens of central Italy, particularly the Marche region. Its origins date back centuries, where it was crafted using pantry staples like dried figs, nuts, and breadcrumbs, making it both economical and celebratory.
The earliest known printed recipe for Fistringo, also known as Frustingo, dates back to ancient Roman times. Pliny the Elder mentioned a similar sweet called “panis picentinus,” made with dried figs, nuts, and grape must, in his writings. However, the exact date and source of the first printed recipe for Fistringo in its current form are not well-documented.
In my version there are less figs than in most of the recipes I have found online, as figs tend to dominate both taste and texture. I have also substituted olive oil with a more neutral flavoured oil.
Fistringo add to the long list of traditional Italian Christmas cakes like Panforte from Toscana, Pangiallo from Lazio, Parrozza from Abruzzo, Buccellato from Sicily, Spongata from Emilia, Panpepato from Umbria, Tronchetto from Piedmont. Each embodies the essence of Christmas with rich, spiced flavours and an array of dried fruits and nuts, symbolizing abundance.
Ingredients
200 g dried figs
50 ml coffee
20 ml cooked grape must (or substitute with molasses)
100 ml rum
100 ml sunflower oil
110 g sugar
100 g almonds
50 g candied fruits
20 g unsweetened cocoa powder
Zest of 1 orange
70 g raisins
100 g walnuts
80 g breadcrumbs
50 g plain flour (00 type)
50 g dark chocolate
1 tsp instant coffee powder
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Preparation
Preparation
Chop the dried figs into small pieces and soak them overnight in a large bowl with the coffee, grape must, and rum. Add a little water if needed. Let them soak overnight.
Mix the soaked figs with sunflower oil, sugar, chopped almonds, diced candied fruits, cocoa powder, grated orange zest, raisins, crushed walnuts, breadcrumbs, flour, chocolate shavings, and coffee powder. Grate in some nutmeg and sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon. Mix thoroughly.
Let the mixture sit for a few hours to absorb the flavours.
Grease a 22 x 18 cm baking dish generously with butter and spread the mixture evenly.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 170°C for 25–30 minutes, or until the surface begins to crack slightly.
You can decorate the fistringo with candied cherries and walnut halves, but it will still look like an uninviting brown lump. Instead, I have cut it out in bite-sized cubes that can be served as a nuitricious Christmas cookie.
Fistringo is a traditional Christmas cake packed with figs, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate and warm spices
Italian Notes
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