Temp wise, I put my oven on 160c – the aforementioned Guardian article (and Mary Berry) both suggested 180c. That seemed too hot for me, so I erred on the side of caution, preferring a more gentle and longer bake, if necessary. Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Put the chopped glacé cherries for the filling aside to soak in 2 tablespoons amaretto. Grease and line a 25cm x 35cm Swiss roll tin. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, then set aside to cool slightly. Florentines offer ripe opportunities for substitutions. You can use any mix of nuts you like here. Just try and keep the approximate weights the same. You can also add in mixed candied peels, citrus zests, cornflakes, oats and really, anything you like, so long as you keep the approximate ratios the same.

Pour the mixture into the lined tin, tilting the tray so that the mixture reaches the edges. Bake for 15 minutes until set and lightly springy. Leave to cool in the tin.salt - if you like crunchy bits throughout, stir salt into the nuts. Otherwise just mix into the honey/cream/sugar So in 2020, I’ve decided to finally take on this project and I call this: MISSION FLORENTINE. Welcome! Alternatively, you can spoon your mixture into cupcake tins (silicone or metal) and press the florentines into shape. This will give you a very neat finish.

If you have silicone cupcake cases or moulds then you will soon also be the owner of extremely neat and tidy florentines. They look beautiful but cook slightly differently – as the honey/cream/sugar mixture is limited in its path of travel, you’ll get a denser and neater final product. It’s extremely crunchy as the nuts are essentially being deep fried in the syrup. I only have a metal tray and I cannot, in good faith, recommend using it for the baked florentines. They look beautiful but are impossible to get out of the tin. When it comes to baking the florentines, you’ve got two options: freeform or with a little help from a tin. From this understanding of sugar temps, I realised that to get a chewy florentine I may not need to turn my oven on. A chewy florentine was going to be all about the digital thermometer.I dropped piles of the mixture on the tray (as neatly as I could) before putting them into the oven. Knowing that by 10ish minutes the mixture would be fully cooked, I was hoping to take the mixture out at the 7 min mark –at this point, I hoped – it would be golden but still with a little gooey give in the middle.

However, without the oven, how was I going to get the caramel flavour and beautiful golden colour? I cooked up a batch of the light brown sugar + honey + cream mixture and brought it to 116c before folding my nuts and fruit in. Given that this mixture doesn’t even see the oven, there’s no reason that the dried fruit can’t join the party from the outset. The result? Gorgeously chewy but hideously anemic. Place the sugar in a saucepan and place over a medium heat. You can stir it as it melts. Take it to a light caramel. You can go darker, but know that it will go dark quite fast as soon as it goes golden Next up is contents: almond is the traditional choice but you can mix this up – pumpkin seeds or pistachios can look very festive, while sesame seeds can add some real magic. I’ve seen nut-free versions made with feuilletine or cornflakes. You also get to decide here if you want to include dried fruit or mixed peel. I personally love coconut flakes. It’s these varying levels of water concentration that offer different properties to confections/candies. Reserve a few Florentines to decorate, then chop the remainder quite small. Drain the amaretto from the soaked cherries into a mixing bowl. Add the icing sugar and cream and whip to soft peaks. Fold in the chopped amaretto- soaked cherries and Florentines.If you don’t want a mix of chocolate, Thomas. J. Fudge’s Florentines also comein larger form and in separate boxes. I would definitely buy these again, I like the option of the mixed boxes to give some variety yet I would equally be swayed by the larger milk or dark ones. Bravo Thomas. J. Fudges, finally some yummy florentines without orange peel! One you’ve achieved the colour you like, stir in the double cream and honey. It’ll splutter and bubble Sugar temps is one of those things I prefer not to think about unless completely necessary – and today, my friends, it is necessary. Strap yourselves in, we’re about to do a bit of theory: