Fabulous Florentines

December 10, 2017 5:08 PM

My mission: make my Dad the best Florentines ever, for Christmas // I'm looking for: your best recipes, tips and techniques to make delicious, flavoursome Florentines // Dad loves: dark chocolate, the flavour of toasted almonds // Dad doesn't do: chunky nuts (his teeth are dodgy), hard or very chewy toffee (thin, crisp toffee is okay), dried apricots // Bonus question: how far ahead can I make Florentines, without compromising flavour or texture?

My skills: confident baker, some experience with toffee work, though I've never made Florentines
Equipment: food processor, kitchen mixer, oven (gas, not fan forced), stove (gas), microwave, good range of pans and knives, a well-stocked pantry (ready access to essences, candied and dried fruits, nuts, quality chocolate)
FYI: I'm in Australia, so my cup and spoon measures may vary from your standard measures, and I'm baking and storing my baking in warm weather.

posted by brushtailedphascogale to Food & Drink (6 answers total)

Best answer: Florentines last remarkably well. My wife makes many dozens of them every year for the holidays (she just made another batch today) and sends them out as gifts; of course we keep a lot for ourselves, and I'm sometimes still eating them in March. They may not be quite as fresh by then, but they're still tasty. So you can make them whenever is convenient for you without worrying.
posted by languagehat at 5:31 PM on December 10, 2017

Best answer: If you haven't watched the Great British Bakeoff, you might look for the episode where they make Florentines. Paul and Mary talk a bit about what makes a good one.
posted by bunderful at 5:54 PM on December 10, 2017

Best answer: Also came to recommend the Great British Bakeoff-- if you have access to the Masterclass companion series, Mary and Paul take on Florentines in even more detail (it's season one, episode one.) Mary's recipe is here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/marys_florentines_49833
posted by jetlagaddict at 8:29 PM on December 10, 2017

Re: Mary's Florentines
I haven't made them yet but they have been on my to-try list ever since that episode gave me a fierce craving for one. IIRC, some of the important aspects they discussed on the show are laciness or chewiness/crispiness (affected by portion size), watching the baking time so they don't burn, and getting the chocolate temperature and decoration right.

Just a tip in case you go hunting for Bake Off episodes: the seasons got renumbered for US/Netflix airing (dunno about Australia); the original episode as aired in the UK is Season 5 Episode 2.
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 10:36 PM on December 10, 2017

I use Delia's recipe, except I use only flaked almonds instead of whole and flaked and I use raisins instead of glace cherries and angelica

I don't know how long they'll last - they're too good to last lol. If you can resist eating them they should be fine to last until christmas if you make them now - if you can keep them cool and dry (ie not in the fridge - too damp)
posted by missmagenta at 2:43 AM on December 11, 2017

Response by poster: Thanks all. I wasn't able to catch the GBBO eps, but watched a couple of 'cook along' fanvids on YouTube instead. I used Mary's (excellent) recipe as a starting point, but used a mixture of cranberries, flaked almonds, chopped pistachios, mixed peel, lemon rind, candied citron, and some glace cherries. I had to sub in brown sugar, as I didn't have demerara - just used a bit less, to make up for difference in densities. They went down a treat!
posted by brushtailedphascogale at 11:15 PM on December 30, 2017 [1 favorite]