Florentines Recipe

Ingredients

• Double Cream. . . 120ml/4fl.oz
• Sugar. . . . .100g/4oz
• Butter. . . . .40g/1 ½ oz
• Glace Cherries. . . . . 25g/1oz
• Finely chopped Almonds. . . . 75g/3oz
• Flaked Almonds. . . . . 100g/4oz
• Crystallised Orange Peel, finely chopped. . .100g/4oz
• Plain Flour. . . . . 50g/2oz
• Good Quality Plain Chocolate. . . . .225g/8oz

How to make Florentines

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas mark 4 and lightly grease and flour 3-4 baking sheets.
2. Place the glace cherries in boiling water for 5 minutes then drain and quarter.
3. Place the cream, butter and sugar in a pan, bring slowly to the boil then remove from the heat and stir in the cherries, the chopped and flaked almonds, orange peel and flour.
4. Mix well.
5. Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking sheets, spacing very well apart as they`ll spread during cooking.
6. Flatten each florentine with a wet fork.
7. Bake in the oven for 5-6 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and drawn in the sides of each florentine to tidy them up a little.
9. Return to the oven and bake for a further 5-6 minutes until just beginning to brown at the edges.
10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little on the baking sheets before transferring to wire racks.
11. Once the biscuits are cold, break the chocolate into pieces and place in a heatproof bowl.
12. Set over a pan of very hot, but not boiling, water and stir with a wooden spoon until melted.
13. Spread the chocolate over the smooth undersides of each biscuit and allow to set.