Florentiner

These cherry and almond florentines make a really special Christmas gift boxed up and tied with a ribbon.

Makes about 16 • Ready in 45 mins, plus cooling time

50g unsalted butter, at room temp 80g soft light brown sugar

2tbsp plain flour

80g flaked almonds

50g glacé cherries, roughly chopped

30g mixed peel Pinch of fine sea salt For the base:

100g dark chocolate

¼tsp coconut oil

1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4 and line 3 large baking sheets with non-stick baking parchment. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, with a wooden spoon, until light and fluffy, then add the remaining ingredients and gently mix through.

2 Using a teaspoon, spoon small amounts of the mixture onto the prepared sheets, placing them at least 10cm apart. It’s quite a sturdy mix and so will just sit there in a lump, and this is fine and how it is supposed to be

– I usually find that they spread to roughly 7cm in diameter, so 6 is the maximum one sheet can hold.

3 Bake for about 10 mins, taking the sheet out after 5 mins and flattening the centre of the florentines slightly with the back of a teaspoon.

4 After the full cooking time, they will have spread further and will need gentle reshaping around the edges while they are still warm on the sheet. Allow to cool completely on the sheet, then transfer them, flipped upside down, to a wire rack. Put the chocolate and coconut oil into a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a small saucepan with water in the bottom, and heat up to melt, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat once the chocolate has become glossy.

5 Spoon a teaspoonful of the melted chocolate onto the base of each florentine, spreading it almost to the edges with the back of a teaspoon.

6 Allow to set for 10 mins before dragging a fork through the chocolate in squiggly patterns. It will take an hour or so for the chocolate to set fully.

Per serving: 130 cals, 7g fat, 3g sat fat, 14g carbs

TIP They are quite odd to bake – high in butter and low in flour, it seems like they won’t work, but stick at it and you’ll succeed