Today is Father’s Day in Spain. Even though I live in Spain and my Dad lives in Cape Town I still do the British father’s day in June for some reason. My Dad loves Florentines and I found this recipe with some beautiful photos here this week and just had to have a go at them. 
Today we went to see our friends Andrew & Rafa. It was Andrew’s birthday this week so I took him some of these Florentines as a gift. I think they really liked them because we managed to eat them all and he posted a photo of them on Facebook. Andrew writes a blog called Manana- The Andalucia Diary which is a really informative insider’s guide to Andalucia and beyond. It includes loads of invaluable information about, where to stay, where to eat and places to visit as well as information about living and working in Southern Spain.
So Dad, here is your virtual Spanish Father’s Day gift, you would have really enjoyed them, but we ate them all sorry. I don’t think they would travel very well but you will be pleased to know that I was thinking of you as we were shoving them down our necks….!!
I have adapted the original recipe to include dried cranberries rather than dried cherries and I used crystallised ginger instead of candied peel as that was what I had (and my dad loves ginger). I used greek yoghurt rather than whipping cream, because I didn’t have any, and wholemeal rather than plain Italian 00 flour.
Florentines with Chocolate, Ginger & Cranberries
makes about 24, vegetarian. Adapted from Catalina Bakes
- 50 gr butter
- 65 ml whipping cream (I used greek yoghurt)
- 115 gr sugar
- 55 gr honey
- 120 gr flaked almonds
- 60 gr dried cranberries (or dried cherries, quartered)
- 30 gr crystallised ginger chopped finely(or candied peel)
- 40 gr wholemeal (or plain) flour
- about 250 gr good quality dark chocolate, chopped
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Soak the cranberries in boiling water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile put the butter, cream/yoghurt, sugar & honey in a small saucepan over a low heat and bring to a boil. Boil for about 5 – 7 minutes, stirring constantly until a light golden butterscotch colour. Remove from the heat and stir in the almond flakes, chopped ginger and the soaked cranberries that have been dried with a clean tea towel. Mix well then stir in the flour. You should have a sticky batter.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and drop teaspoons full of the mix on the sheets about 7 cm apart (They spread a lot). Flatten them out a little with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes until the edges are turning golden brown (the top sheet will cook quicker than the bottom sheet) then turn the oven down to 150C and bake for a further 4 or 5 minutes until the centre is golden as well (Don’t let the edges burn). Remove the top sheet of Florentines from the oven and swap the bottom sheet to the top if they need to brown a bit more but keep an eye on them.
Move the cooked Florentines on their baking paper to cool completely on a wire rack while you repeat with the rest of the mix.
When all the Florentines are cooked & cooled. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering (not boiling) water. Spoon a tablespoon of chocolate on the flat back of each Florentine and spread it out to reach the edges. Leave to cool chocolate side up while you do the rest. After a few minutes make wavy patterns in the chocolate with a fork and leave to cool completely.
Feliz Dia del Padre Dad! I promise I’ll make you some when I come over…..xx
Cook Eat Live Vegetarian 