Tanya Burr's Florentines

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/ gas mark 4. Line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

Put the butter, flour and sugar in a small saucepan and heat gently over a low heat until the butter has melted and combined with the flour.

Slowly pour in the cream, stirring all the time, then add the chopped and flaked almonds, candied peel and chopped cherries. Stir well to combine, remove from the heat and leave the mixture to rest for a few minutes.

Scoop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the lined baking sheet, spacing them about 3cm apart so that they don’t stick together while baking. To give them proper space, you may have to bake the florentines in several batches (you should have enough mixture for 24 florentines in total).

Flatten each one slightly and pop into the oven to bake for 10–14 minutes, or until they are flat and golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave them to set and harden on the baking sheet for 2–3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Melt the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water, stirring occasionally until smooth.

Flip the cooled florentines upside down on the wire rack, and spoon over the melted chocolate to coat the back of each biscuit.

Just before the chocolate hardens, use a fork to make wavy lines in each, then leave them to cool and set. They’ll keep in a cool place for up to a week.