chocolate florentines with pomegranate molasses
Chocolate florentines with pomegranate molasses and sour cherries aren’t just for Christmas. But if you’re looking for a last minute home-made present, this might be a solution. The recipe makes about 16, they take 8 minutes to cook, and feel free to substitute cranberries or currants, if you don’t have sour cherries. They’re a bit sweeter but just as chewy.
We based ours on the florentine recipe in Nigella Lawson‘s “How to be a domestic goddess”. Instead of using double cream, we added Zejd’s pomegranate molasses. Not a lot, but enough to add tartness and bind things together. The mixture is fairly dry, so you may need to compact the almonds as you roll a teaspoon of the mixture into a ball. For extra tang, we added a teaspoon of citrusy sumac. The flecks of this spice mixed through the almonds, add another layer of sharpness. And make the florentines look beautiful too. Dark chocolate, melted and spread on the base, is a regal combination with sour cherries.
They are best made the day before Christmas, so they remain crispy. They also make an elegant emergency pudding, if you suddenly feel the need for something chewy and chocolatey after a meal!
makes about 16
ingredients
100g almonds, flaked
90g sour cherries, (chopped in half if they look big) or currants or cranberries
25g butter
70g caster sugar
15g plain flour
2 tablespoons of Zejd pomegranate molasses
1 tsp Zejd sumac (optional)
100g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
method
- Melt the butter and sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan on a low heat. The mixture should melt slowly, catch it before it bubbles.
- Add the flour, and mix well, then remove from the heat.
- Put 2 tablespoons of Zejd’s pomegranate molasses into the saucepan and mix well. Switch on the oven at 190degrees/fan 170 degrees/ Gas 5.
- Tip the almonds and the sour cherries into the mixture and coat as well as you can. The mixture will be quite dry.
- Take a small amount, the size of a conker, and roll it into a ball, pressing the almonds together. Place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Leave enough space for the biscuits to spread. With the back of a spoon, press each one to flatten the top slightly.
- Place in the oven and bake for 8 minutes. By which time the biscuits will have flattened and spread. Watch the edges don’t catch and begin to burn. Remove from the oven.
- With 2 teaspoons, while the biscuits are hot, push in the edges to make the florentine a bit more sturdy. Leave on their tray to cool down.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, or in a microwave. When melted, with a round edged knife or the back of a teaspoon, coat the backs of the florentines (careful removed from the baking paper). Leave them chocolate side up to dry.
When the chocolate is dry, wrap in tissue paper and tie with a ribbon. Alternatively, put your feet up and much with a cup of olive leaf infusion!