Florentiner

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •Baking sheets lined with parchment paper
• •Palette knife or offset spatula
• •Fork for chocolate ridges
• •Chocolate thermometer (optional but helpful)
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the dry mixture

   Toss the flaked almonds, diced candied orange peel, candied lemon peel, and glacé cherries together in a bowl. Sprinkle the flour over the top and mix until everything is lightly coated. The flour keeps the fruit and nuts from clumping together in the caramel and helps the cookies hold their shape on the baking sheet. Set this aside. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 170°C (340°F).

   Buy the best candied peel you can find, or make your own. The cheap stuff from the baking aisle is dyed, waxy, and tastes like sugar and nothing else. A good Konditorei uses peel that still tastes like the fruit it came from.
2. 2

   Cook the caramel base

   Combine the butter, sugar, honey, cream, Vanillezucker, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Set it over medium heat and stir until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Now stop stirring and let it come to a boil. Let the mixture bubble for exactly two minutes. It will turn a pale golden color and start to smell like toffee. Watch it closely. The line between golden caramel and burnt sugar is about twenty seconds, and there is no coming back from the wrong side of that line.

3. 3

   Combine wet and dry

   Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately pour the hot caramel over the almond and fruit mixture. Stir firmly with a wooden spoon until everything is evenly coated. The mixture will be loose and glossy. Let it sit for ten to fifteen minutes until it thickens enough to hold its shape on a spoon. If you try to portion it while it's still too runny, each cookie will spread into one enormous lace sheet and you'll be scraping caramel off your baking paper with a look of regret.

   If the mixture thickens too much while you're portioning, set the saucepan over very low heat for thirty seconds and stir. It loosens back up.
4. 4

   Portion and bake

   Drop level teaspoons of the mixture onto your lined baking sheets, leaving at least seven centimeters between each one. These spread. More than you think. Flatten each mound slightly with the back of a wet spoon. Bake for eight to ten minutes, rotating the tray once halfway through. They're done when the edges are deep amber and the centers have set into a lacy, bubbling disc. The color you want is the color of strong honey. Pale means chewy. Too dark means bitter.

5. 5

   Cool and shape

   Let the Florentiner cool on the baking sheet for about three minutes. They'll still be soft and pliable. This is your window. If any have spread into each other, use a round cookie cutter or a knife to nudge them back into tidy circles while they're warm. Once they cool completely on the tray, they'll turn glassy and crisp and snap cleanly when you pick them up. If they don't snap, they needed another minute in the oven. Transfer to a wire rack when firm.

   Work in batches of six to eight per tray. You'll be tempted to crowd them. Don't. Two trays of well-spaced Florentiner are better than one tray of caramel chaos.
6. 6

   Temper and coat the chocolate

   Chop the dark couverture finely and melt two-thirds of it in a bowl over barely simmering water. The water must not touch the bowl. When it reaches 50°C (or feels warm but not hot against your wrist), remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the remaining third of the chopped chocolate, a handful at a time, until it all melts and the temperature drops to about 31°C. The chocolate should look glossy and smooth. If you don't have a thermometer, dab a tiny bit on your lower lip: it should feel cool, not warm. This is a simple temper. It's what gives the chocolate that clean snap and shine instead of a dull, streaky finish.

7. 7

   Apply the chocolate

   Turn the cooled Florentiner flat side up. Using a palette knife or the back of a spoon, spread a thin, even layer of tempered chocolate across the bottom of each cookie. Don't be stingy, but don't drown them. You want about two millimeters. Before the chocolate sets, draw wavy lines through it with a fork. This is the Konditorei signature, those distinctive ridges on the bottom of every proper Florentiner. They're not just decoration. The ridges help the chocolate set evenly and give you something to grip when you pick one up.

   Gretel always said the fork lines are what separate a homemade Florentiner from a factory one. Take the extra five seconds per cookie. It matters.
8. 8

   Set and store

   Place the chocolate-coated Florentiner on parchment paper, chocolate side up, and let them set at cool room temperature. Don't rush this by putting them in the fridge. Rapid cooling can cause the chocolate to bloom, leaving white streaks on the surface. Give them at least thirty minutes. When the chocolate is firm and matte with a slight sheen, they're ready. Stack them gently in a tin with parchment between layers. Mahlzeit!

Chef Tips

• •The honey matters more than you'd expect. Austrian Waldhonig (forest honey) has a dark, resinous flavor that gives Florentiner depth. If you can't find it, use the darkest, most flavorful honey you have. Avoid the pale, mild stuff.
• •Couverture chocolate is not the same as eating chocolate. It has a higher cocoa butter content, which is why it melts smoothly and tempers properly. Look for it at baking supply shops or online. If you use regular chocolate, the coating will taste fine but it won't set with that professional snap.
• •Store Florentiner in a tin at cool room temperature, never in the fridge. The chocolate will bloom and the caramel will absorb moisture and lose its crunch. In a proper tin with parchment between layers, they'll keep for two weeks. At my house they've never lasted that long.
• •If your candied peel is in large chunks, dice it yourself. You want pieces small enough that every bite of the cookie has a little jewel of fruit in it, not one massive chunk in the center and nothing at the edges.

Advance Preparation

• •The caramel and nut mixture can be made several hours ahead and left at room temperature. It firms up as it cools, but reheats gently in the pan.
• •Baked and cooled Florentiner (without chocolate) can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days before coating. This makes the job more manageable if you're baking in batches.
• •Fully finished Florentiner keep in a tin at cool room temperature for two weeks. They're perfect for making ahead of holiday gatherings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 23g)