What are you putting on your New Year’s Eve cheese board? My panforte, I hope. Thick with toasted nuts, dried fruit, cocoa and baking spices, it’s awesome with blue cheese. Or any cheese. (That’s Rogue River Blue, above.) It keeps forever, or so I’m told. If you’re a guest, take panforte with you. It’s easy to make, easy to wrap, and it doesn’t crumble. (The name means “strong bread,” after all.) Part fruitcake, part confection, panforte will make your holiday cheese board the star of the meal.

Panforte My Way

I find that the panforte’s flavor and texture improve after a day’s rest. To make neat wedges, rinse the knife with hot water between cuts. Adapted from The Cheese Course by Janet Fletcher (Chronicle Books).

• 1 cup hazelnuts

• 1 cup unskinned almonds

• 2/3 cup sifted unbleached all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoon sifted unsweetened cocoa

• 2 teaspoons aniseed, lightly crushed in a mortar or spice grinder

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

• Grated zest of 1 orange

• 8 ounces dried figs, thinly sliced (about 1-1/2 cups)

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 2/3 cup honey

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Toast the hazelnuts and almonds (together, if you like) on a rimmed baking sheet until fragrant and lightly colored inside, about 15 minutes. Let cool, then chop very coarsely. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or a 9-inch cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter the parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, aniseed, cinnamon, cloves and orange zest. Add the nuts and figs and stir to coat.

In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and honey over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to medium and cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 245°F on a candy thermometer, 2 to 3 minutes. Immediately pour over the nut mixture. Working quickly, stir until all the dry ingredients are coated; the mixture will be very stiff. Transfer to the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with a wooden spoon dipped in cold water.

Bake for 40 minutes. The panforte will still be tacky on top. Cool completely on a rack, then remove from the pan and remove the parchment paper.

Slice into 16 to 20 thin wedges.