Florentines

I have read conflicting stories which suggest that Florentines were, as the name suggests, first made in Florence, and others which recount a tale whereby their invention took place in the kitchen of King Louis XIV’s to present to a party of Italian guests to his palace at Versailles.

No matter which story is true, I do believe that Florentines are very much a grown-ups biscuit.  They are lace and pearls, airs and graces.  They are the biscuit-y embodiment of an elegant aunt dressed in her Sunday best.  The glace cherries, slivered almonds and dark chocolate are no doubt contributing factors, as well as their lacy, toffee-like texture.

If you are short on time then this recipe can also be made into a slice by pressing the mixture into a tin and baking for around 25 – 30 minutes.  Once removed from the oven spread a layer of chocolate over the top of the slice, leave to cool and then slice into pieces.

Ingredients

Makes 60 bite-sized pieces

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• ½ cup slivered almonds
• ½ cup glace cherries, halved
• ½ cup cornflakes
• ½ cup currants
• ½ cup mixed peel
• 80ml sweetened condensed milk
• 90g dark chocolate

Method

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• 1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC on bake and grease a mini muffin tin.
• 2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and place about a teaspoon of mixture into each greased muffin rounds.
• 3. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until edges begin to brown, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
• 4. Melt the chocolate and once the Florentines are cool spread a layer of chocolate over the underside of each one.