My boyfriend was away this weekend and while it was lovely not to have cycling kit draped over everything and random shoes hidden around the flat I got all soppy and missed him. He absolutely loves the Florentines from Fortnum & Mason, so to be a pain in the bum I decided to make some myself. They seem to have gone down pretty well, and diminished in quantity rather quickly, so you’ll have to excuse the photos.
You’ll need:
- 100g of runny honey
- 200g of salted butter
- 140g of light muscovado sugar
- The zest of one orange
- 150g flaked almonds
- 4 heaped tablespoons of plain flour
- Good pinch of nutmeg
- 200g dark chocolate
Pre-heat your oven to 200°C/gar mark 6 and pop a large pan on a very low heat. Add your butter, honey and sugar and let everything melt together until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in your orange zest well so that you don’t have any big clumps of it and then stir in your almonds, nutmeg and flour until everything has mixed together and the nuts are coated well in the caramel.
Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper and spread over half or even a third of your mix. You want a very thin layer so go slow and let it spread out. Don’t just do what I did with my first try and shove the whole thing on there or you end up with something like a flapjack.
Pop it in the over for about ten minutes, until it’s lovely and golden. Let it cool completely on the baking tray and then place another sheet of greaseproof paper over the bottom and flip it over onto a flat surface so the bottom is now facing up.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave and then spread a thin layer over the nuts. Let this set completely and then with a biscuit cutter punch out your florentines. Eat, be merry. You’re done.
What?!