Ingredients
50g (2oz) butter
50g (2oz) demerara / brown sugar
50g (2oz) golden or corn syrup
50g (2oz) plain All Purpose flour
4 red and green or natural glacé cherries finely chopped
50g (2oz) finely chopped candied peel or raisins
50g (2oz) finely chopped mixed almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, peanuts. (You can choose your favourites!)
175g (6oz) plain, milk or white chocolate or a variety of all three!
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (375°F). Line a baking tray with parchment paper. (If you don't, the florentines will be very difficult to remove)
2. Put the butter and syrup into a pan. Heat until the butter melts, remove from the heat, then add all other ingredients apart from the chocolate. Mix everything well.
3. Place teaspoonfuls of the mixture on the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart then flatten with a back of a spoon.
4. Bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 2 - 3 minutes until they harden then using a palette knife, transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
*** If the Florentines become too hard to remove, put them back into the oven for a few moments to allow them to soften.
5. Now melt the chocolate in a basin over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water.
6. Spread a little melted chocolate over the flat base of each Florentine using a palette knife, and leave to set, chocolate-side up, on the cooling rack.
Store in an airtight container.
*** It's quite common to make a variety of florentines, some with white, milk and dark chocolate, so you can do that instead of all one type of chocolate if you wish!