Sugar & spice
These sweet treats are handy to have on hand to serve after a meal or with afternoon tea. Or wrap them up nicely to make a lovely homemade gift, says Nicola Galloway.
These florentines aren’t exactly authentic, but are the result of my oven unexpectedly playing up this week. Hopefully, it is an easy fix, as it isn’t exactly the oldest oven, although it does get used somewhat frequently to test 100+ new recipes each year.
So for now, I amgetting creative with the stovetop and barbecue.
Florentine caramels
Preparation time: 30 minutes Makes about 18
1⁄ cup (50g) dried cranberries or glace 3 cherries, halved 1⁄ cup (40g) mixed peel or crystallised 4 ginger, roughly chopped 1⁄ cup (40g) sliced almonds
3 1⁄ cup (50g) roasted hazelnuts or
3 walnuts, roughly chopped 1⁄ cup (50g) ground almonds (almond 4 meal)
1 tsp ground ginger
80g butter
1⁄ cup (50g) sugar 4
2 tbsp (40g) mild honey
Pinch of salt
200g quality dark chocolate
Line a tray, that will fit into the freezer, with baking paper.
Combine the dried fruit, nuts, ground almonds and ginger in a bowl. Set aside.
In a saucepan, melt together the butter, sugar, honey and salt over a low heat. When the mixture begins to bubble, set a timer for 5minutes and cook until thickened, stirring regularly.
Add the dry ingredients to the caramel and stir to combine. Drop tablespoon rounds onto the lined tray. Transfer to the freezer to set for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, then remove from the heat. Line another tray with baking paper.
Remove the caramels from the freezer. Spoon tablespoon amounts of the melted chocolate onto the second tray. Quickly place a chilled caramel onto the melted chocolate and press gently to spread the chocolate out to the sides. Repeat with the remaining chocolate and caramels.
Place the florentine caramels into the fridge (or freezer if in a hurry) to set for 1 hour, then transfer to a sealed container.
These are best kept in the fridge, so they don’t melt, and will keep for 2 weeks.
Hazelnut & fig panforte
Serve thin slices with coffee after festive feasting, or cut into thick wedges and wrapwith brown paper and twine for an edible Christmas gift.
Panforte is a glorious combination of spices, dried fruit, whole nuts and honey in a dense little cake.
Preparation time: 20 minutes. Cooking time: 40 minutes Makes 1 large panforte, or 4 small cakes.
1 cup (150g) roasted hazelnuts
1 cup (150g) blanched almonds 3⁄ cup (100g) dried figs, quartered
4 1⁄ cup (40g) mixed peel
4
Zest of 1 orange
100g quality dark chocolate, chopped 1⁄ cup (70g) white flour (can use 2 gluten-free flour)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon 1⁄ tsp mixed spice
2 1⁄ tsp finely ground black pepper
4 1⁄ cup (100g) sugar
2 1⁄ cup (70g) honey
4
30g butter
Preheat oven to 170C (fan bake 150C). Line the base of a 25cm round cake tin or 4 x 10cm round tins.
In a mixing bowl, combine the nuts, figs, mixed peel, orange zest, chocolate, flour, cocoa and spices.
Heat the sugar, honey and butter in a saucepan, until the sugar dissolves. Pour this over the dry ingredients and fold together. Quickly spoon the mixture into the tin/s and use a spatula to spread and press down evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until fragrant and firm to the touch. Leave to cool completely in the tin/s on a cooling rack.
Once cool, remove the panforte from the tin/s and wrap in baking paper. Store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to amonth. Cut thin slices to serve.
If gifting, cut the larger cake into quarters, wrap in brown paper and secure with kitchen string.