Florentines - chocolate biscuit heaven

Florentines - possibly the nicest biscuits in the world!  Ideal with ice cream or a whipped creamy pudding, they are surprisingly easy to make, but vanish quickly, which speaks for itself.   The ideal Florentine should have a good mixture of nuts and fruit, snap crisply and have a lovely layer of chocolate on the base.  Personally, I prefer not to chop the fruit up too much as I like a more rustic looking Florentine.   Like brandysnaps, there is a window of time when they are malleable, but the mistakes are equally delicious!  This is a Good Housekeeping traditional recipe - it always works.

Florentines

Florentines

3 ½ oz/100g butter

4oz/110g caster sugar

1tbsp cream (single or double)

4oz/110g nuts (walnuts and almonds mixed are best)

2tbsps sultanas

5 glacé cherries

2tbsps cut mixed peel

4oz/100g plain chocolate

Line 2-3 baking sheets with silicone paper/parchment (it has to be non-stick: I learned the hard way!), and preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Assemble the nuts, fruit and peel on a large chopping board and chop roughly so that they are not still whole, but retain some individual texture and shape.    In a small pan, melt the butter, add the sugar and boil together for 1 minute.  Then add the chopped ingredients and the cream, and mix well.  

Remove the pan from the heat, and put heaped dessertspoons of the mixture onto the baking sheets.  They spread, so I usually put about 2-3 per tray (makes about 12-14 depending on the spoon size).   Bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown.   To start with, bake a tray at a time, so they don’t all need attention at once!

When the biscuits are brown, take out of the oven and, using a palette or table knife, press the edges inwards to make a better shaped biscuit – they will firm up relatively quickly, so don’t leave it too late…. (if so, just put them back into the oven for a VERY short time until they soften, and try again)     When they are firm, put onto a wire rack and leave to cool fully.  You can then re-use the parchment for another lot. 

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, and spread it onto the backs of the Florentines, leaving chocolate side up so it sets.     Store in an airtight tin, between layers of parchment or waxed paper.   They are fragile, but beautiful.