These are perfect treats for this special season but in
truth – for any season. Obviously they cannot be easily put to a healthy food
category but if we really wanted to, we could find health benefits of some
ingredients (e.g. dark chocolate is a source of magnesium after all). But we
really don’t have to as the taste of these Florentines speaks for itself: they
are chewy and crunchy at the same time, sweet and simply wonderful.
It was my
father-in-law who called them “luxurious” as they are not the thin and tiny
Florentines you may get with a cup of
coffee in some coffee shops: they are thick and generous, they are luxurious in
taste and in size! There is also another great advantage of these Florentines –
they are really quick and easy to make and could be almost entirely (maybe
except for melting the chocolate and cutting) prepared by a few year old child.
INGREDIENTS:
300g dark chocolate broken into pieces,
3 cups crushed cornflakes,
1 cup raisins,
0.75 cups roasted unsalted peanuts
100g read glace cherries,
1 cup sweetened condensed milk.
METHOD:
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water.
- Line a base and sides of a 30x40cm baking tray with greased aluminum foil (you will probably need 2 sheets of foil, they should overlap).
- Spread the chocolate evenly over the aluminum foil and then put the tray to a fridge till the chocolate sets completely.
- Preheat an oven to 180 Celsius degrees (160 for a fan oven).
- In a big bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
- Spread the mixture evenly over the set chocolate base; use back of a tablespoon to press it down.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Take the tray out from the oven, let the Florentines cool down completely (the chocolate base must be set again) and cut into squares.
