Almond and Hazelnut Florentines

I made these upon the request of my dad. It seemed a very strange request as he has never even mentioned florentines before, let alone specifically asked for them. I had never eaten one before today, so I didn’t know what to expect and even now I can’t comment on whether mine tasted as they should. Regardless of whether or not they fit the bill of being a florentine, they were quite tasty and made a nice change to the biscuit jar, although I wouldn’t recommend dipping them in your tea!

Ingredients:

1 1/2oz cut mixed peel
1 1/2oz glacé cherries, diced
1 1/2oz roasted chopped hazelnuts
1 1/2oz blanched flaked almonds
1 1/2oz butter2oz caster sugar
1tbsp double cream
4oz dark chocolate

Method:

– combine the nuts, cherries and peel in a bowl
- melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the sugar, heating gently until dissolved
- bring the mixture to the boil and pour onto the fruit and nut mixture
- add the cream and mix thoroughly
- place little mounds of the mixture (no more that a heaped tsp) onto your prepared baking trays – ensure they are spaced well apart as the mixture will spread!
- bake in batches in the oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown
- when out of the oven, use a round pastry cutter to press the florentines into a perfectly round shape
- place on a wire rack to cool

- break up the chocolate into a small bowl and melt over a pan of boiling water, stirring until smooth
- when cool, spread the bottom of each florentine with chocolate and place chocolate side up to cool
- before the chocolate completely dries, use a fork or toothpick to mark it with wavy lines

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