However, since I've not been away I've not had the opportunity to purchase any exotic foods. Even when shopping in Bath I was too focused on buying shoes; and during my four, yes four, trips to various garden centres I was also rather pre-occupied with getting things to grow rather than things to eat.
Anyway, really it's just a good excuse to produce something from my own kitchen, since that is where I have spent a lot of time over the past two weeks. After poring over various recipes I settled down to attempt some mini honey-nut Florentines.
For these you need to mix 100g chopped candied peel and 10-12 glacé cherries that have been halved or quartered. To these add 75g blanched almonds and 50g pistachios both roughly chopped. Melt 75g unsalted butter in a small pan and then stir in 75g caster sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of double cream, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Bring to boil, stirring all the time, and simmer for 1-2 minutes, before removing from the heat.
To the sugar and butter mixture, stir in the nuts, cherries and peel, along with 2 tablespoons of plain flour and the finely grated zest of an orange. Leave until barely warm.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180 C, fan 160 C, gas mark 4 and butter the bases of two, twelve-cup muffin tins. The latter will not win you any points on the Great British Bake-Off but will stop your Florentines spreading to ridiculous proportions when in the oven. If you are entering a Bake-Off just line two large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
Once the mixture has almost cooled to room temperature, press a teaspoon of the mixture into each of the muffin tin holes or place 12 drops of mixture onto each of the baking trays, leaving plenty of room for them to spread out. Pop them in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
Allow them to cool in the tin or on the tray for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a clean kitchen towel. If using the muffin tin you'll need to prise them out with a knife. Make sure you place them upside down onto the towel. You want the smooth side facing up.
Once cooled, melt 100g dark chocolate and 100g white chocolate in separate bowls. Spread 12 of the upturned faces of the Florentines with the dark chocolate and the other 12 with the white chocolate. When slightly cooled, you could wiggle the tines of a fork through the chocolate to leave a wave pattern. This really is easier said than done but I distinctly recall that Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry insisted on this finishing touch in the last Bake-Off. However, if like me, you've made your Florentines in muffin tins you're already out of the running for 'best looking Florentine'. I left the dark chocolate too long, missing the opportunity, and made a bit of a mess of the white chocolate but I've decided mine are to be all about taste. Let's just hope my colleagues agree!
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