Vegan Florentines

Traditional, festive and possibly one of my all-time favourite biscuits. Florentines are my mum’s favourite biscuit too, so she shared this recipe with me to recreate them, but we made them totally vegan. A florentine is a sweet pastry with delicious nuts and fruits, with a layer of wavy-lined dark chocolate at the base. Enjoyed often at Christmas time, you will want to make these over and over again, because they never last very long!

All you’ll need is:

• Butter

• Light brown sugar

• Maple syrup (could use golden syrup)

• Plain flour

• Dried cranberries

• Flaked almonds

• Pistachios kernels

• Sunflower seeds

• Orange

• Dark chocolate

• Sea salt

Firstly, line two baking tray. Then melt the butter, sugar and maple syrup in a saucepan over a gentle heat. Make sure to stir frequently. Once melted, you can remove from the heat and the saucepan.

In a bowl, whisk through the flour to create a smooth texture similar to caramel. Pour in the chopped fruit and nuts, sea salt and orange zest. It’s at this time you’ll start to get very hungry because the smell is so delicious. The perfect combination of festive flavours.

You can chop the nuts and seeds more finely if you want a thinner and more refined biscuit, however I prefer it thicker and a bit more chunky.

Place around a tablespoon of the mixture onto the baking tray for each biscuit base. Allow room between each biscuit for them to spread a little. Squish each tablespoon of biscuit mixture down a little to flatten.

Bake in the oven for around 10 minutes, until golden brown. As these are small biscuits, and ovens vary, keep an eye on them in the last few minutes to make sure the don’t burn, as I have made this mistake before.

Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes until they have firmed up, and then transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool.

Next, melt the chocolate in the microwave in bursts (or over a pan of boiling water). Turn the florentines over so the flat side is facing up. With a spoon, top with the melted chocolate, spreading to the edges of the biscuit. When the chocolate is just firm, draw wavy lines with a fork across each biscuit for the classic florentine design. Allow to set completely, and enjoy!