These European biscuits are traditionally made with a delicious mixture of sugar, butter, cream, nuts and fruits to craft their unrivalled texture.
Though they are easy to come across in shops, especially over the festive period, they retail for much more than the average biscuit.
That’s why it’s much cheaper to make them from scratch, which doesn’t get easier than when following Mary Berry’s recipe.
Sharing her unique formula for Florentines on her website, the British chef said: “Try making these chewy, luxurious biscuits at home. Careful weighing of the ingredients is the key to success.”
While the recipe calls for a simple mix of ingredients, a sugar thermometer and three baking trays are essential tools.
Mary Berry’s Florentine recipe
Start with a preheated oven set to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4, then line the three baking trays with greaseproof paper.
Next, finely chop the cranberries (or cherries), almonds, candied peel and walnuts until everything is a similar size and set aside.
Measure the butter, sugar and syrup into a small pan and gently melt over low heat. Remove from the heat and add the flour along with all fo the chopped ingredients.
Stir everything together to combine before measuring out the mixture into 18 Florentines-worth (six spoonfuls on each baking tray).
Leave plenty of room between each biscuit for them to spread during cooking, then place in the oven for eight to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before transferring them onto a cooling rack using a palette knife.
If the florentines have become too hard to remove, return to the oven for a minute or two to allow them to soften.
Next, set a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water ensuring the two do not touch. Temper the chocolate by braking half of it into the bowl, and stir until it reaches 53C. Meanwhile, finely chop the remaining chocolate.
Take the bowl off the heat, add the chopped chocolate and stir until everything has cooled to 26C. Finally, spread a little of the melted chocolate over the flat base of each florentine and leave to cool before marking a zigzag pattern in the chocolate with a fork.
Leave to set, chocolate side-up on a cooling rack, then store in an airtight container.
