Chocolate florentine also make a really beautiful homemade gift too. Simply wrap in cellophane and tie with ribbon.
What chocolate should you use for florentines?
Dark chocolate is used which can be very rich and sometimes bitter. If you stay down this road, make sure you use the best you can afford as this plays a big part in the overall flavour of florentines. If you’ve got more of a sweet tooth, use a good quality milk chocolate instead. White chocolate, your favourite branded chocolate whatever your heart desires. Any will work just fine.
Traditional Bread is the #1 Health Danger In Your Diet and Contains a Hidden Compound that Makes it Nearly IMPOSSIBLE to Burn Fat & Lose Weight!
How do you get florentines off the baking tray?
The best thing you can do is make sure you line your baking tray first. I like to use a reusable silicone mat but baking paper will work well too. A lot of it is in the timing though. Leave freshly baked florentines on the tray for a few minutes to cool, then carefully slide them onto a flat spatula and transfer to a cooling rack. Although, if they just won’t come off and are stuck to the tray – pop them back into the oven for a minute to warm and loosen a little before trying again.
Are florentines expensive to make?
They may use slightly pricier ingredients than most biscuits but this florentines recipe isn’t that expensive to make, no. Because you get so many biscuits out of such a small amount of dough, you don’t actually need much of each ingredient – making your pennies stretch a little bit further.
How long do chocolate florentines keep for?
Chocolate florentines will easily last for up to 1 month when stored in an air tight container in a cool, dry place. One of the many reasons why this makes a great homemade gift as you can make them a little in advance, taking some of the stress out of Christmas!
Pro-Tip:
- Don’t chop your ingredients too finely or they will spread too much and become overly thin.
- Use the best quality chocolate you can afford as this will play a big part in the overall flavour of your florentines.
- Keep a close eye on the chocolate when spreading it onto the florentine and forking on the pattern. It can set quickly and make this tricky!
- Make sure you allow plenty of room between each florentine on your baking tray, as they spread a lot.
- Keep a tea towel nearby during the decorating part of this recipe, things are likely to get a bit messy!
- Course: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 42 minutes
- Servings: 8 Florentines
INGREDIENTS:
MAKES 36- 40g/1½oz/3 tablespoon butter
- 120ml/4fl oz/½ cup whipping cream
- 130g/4½oz/scant ¾ cup caster (superfine) sugar
- 130g/4½oz/generous 1 cup flaked (sliced) almonds
- 50g/2oz/⅓ cup orange or mixed (candied) peel, finely chopped
- 40g/1½oz/¼ cup glacé (candied) cherries, chopped
- 65g/2½oz/9 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
- 225g/8oz plain (semi sweet) chocolate
- 5ml/1 tablespoon vegetable oil
STEPS:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Grease two baking sheets. Melt the butter, cream and sugar together and slowly bring to the boil. Take off the heat and stir in the almonds, orange or mixed peel, cherries and flour until blended.
- Drop teaspoonfuls of the batter 2.5-5cm/1-2 in apart on the prepared sheets and flatten with a fork.
- Bake about 10 minutes until brown at the edges. Remove from the oven and correct the shape whilst they are hot by quickly pressing in any uneven edges with a knife or a round biscuit (cookie) cutter. If necessary, return to the oven for a few moments to soften. While still hot, use a metal spatula to transfer the Florentines to a clean, flat surface.
- Melt the chocolate in the top double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of hot water. Add the oil and stir to blend.
- With a palette knife (metal spatula), spread the smooth underside of the cooled Florentine with a thin coating of the melted chocolate.
- When the chocolate is about to set, draw a serrated knife across the surface with a slight sawing motion to make wavy lines. Store in an airtight container in a cool place.