I love Valentine and to me it is another opportunity to be creative in the kitchen and to eat something new. And could you actually ever have enough of that?!
I chose to make Florentines on this occasion as they seem to make the perfect gift for a lover especially if wrapped up with a bright red silky ribbon.. so sexy and luxurious biscuits!
Made with chocolate with a crunchy caramelized topping of fruit and nuts; they are soft inside and crunchy on the outside. To die for.
I had them for the first time, years ago at an M&S store in the UK and I went literally mad for them! I would describe them as fine patisserie as the combination of chocolate, nuts and fruit is simply irresistible.
And after all of this let’s go ahead and make them.
- Prep Time : 45 min – 1 hour minutes
- Cook Time : 20 minutes
Ingredients
- butter – 80 g
- raisins – 2 tbsp
- glace’ cherries – 7
- sunflower seeds – 2 tbsp
- flaked almonds – 100 g
- double cream – 2 tbsp
- dark chocolate – 180 g
- sugar – 65 g
Instructions
Chop the cherries
Melt the butter with the sugar in a sauce pan over a low heat
Mix the fruit and nuts up with the cream. Put the mixture in the pan with the butter and sugar
On a baking tray lay a sheet of baking paper. Put a small amount of the mixture inside a heart shaped pastry cutter over the paper.
Allow plenty of space between each heart as the mixture will spread a little. Bake them in a hot oven at 180C for 10-12 minutes until golden
Remove from the oven and whilst still hot use the pastry cutter to pull in the edges and make perfect hearts. Then leave them to cool down completely before removing them from the baking paper
Melt 3/4 of the chocolate by putting it in a bowl over a sauce pan with simmering water
Spread the chocolate onto a sheet of baking paper, then just before it sets put the hearts flat side down on the chocolate
Let them cool down and set completely
Cut around the Florentines and remove from the paper
Spread more chocolate on the coated side of the hearts and with a fork mark some waves in the chocolate.
Leave them to set and keep them in a cool place
My Little Italian Kitchen 
These look so tasty, Alida! And they’re just adorable… I love the chocolate coating with the nuts and seeds and I’m sure your Valentine will be very happy with these! Thanks so much for sharing…
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You are very welcome! Thanks for hosting 🙂
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They are adorable and sweet. Exactly the right treat for V-day.
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They look really lovely and for sure will also taste like that. I might have a go at them, although I won’t do the heart shape.
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What a nice idea! I love Florentines at Christmas but have never really thought of making them at another time of year but these are perfect little hearts for Valentines! 🙂
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thanks for sharing this recipe. I love florentines and always wanted to make them
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Your Florentines are adorable and such a clever idea to make them into heart shapes. I’ve only made them once before, but I think it’s high time I did so again.
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