The first time I learned about the wonderful dessert called florentines, I was watching the Great British Bake Off, and making Florentines was one of the challenges. Right away, I knew I wanted to make them, and the ingredients didn't seem to difficult to convert to a paleo recipe. Instead of using flour, like the traditional recipe calls for, I used almond flour. Then for the caramel sauce, I used coconut milk instead of heavy cream. I decided to add the praline (hazelnut, almond, and sugar mixture) just to add a bit more texture and for something different. Other than that though, most of the ingredients were things that I could already eat, which just makes this recipe that much better. I have tried traditional florentines, and I can assure you, that these are the REAL DEAL, if not better! So don't put off making these for years like I did... go and make them right now! You won't regret it :) |
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
The ingredients:
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup thinly sliced almonds
- 1/3 cup praline (mixture of ground hazelnuts, almonds and sugar)
- 1 tablespoon almond powder
- 80 grams dark chocolate
The creation:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a medium sauce pan, bring the honey to a boil over medium heat, letting cook for 5 minutes until it starts to darken in color.
2. Remove honey from heat and add in the coconut milk, coconut oil, and salt. Then return to medium heat and let cook for 10 more minutes, stirring regularly.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the sliced almonds, praline, and almond powder in a medium sized bowl, mixing well.
4. Next, add the caramel honey sauce to the nut mixture. Stir well and let cool for 10-15 minutes.
5. On a parchment lined baking sheet, spread the caramel mixture out very thinly, so it completely covers the sheet. Note that the mixture is going to spread out quite a bit.
6. Place the pan in the oven and let cook for 15 to 18 minutes. You want the florentine to start to get a bit lacy, but not cooked so much to the point where it becomes brittle. Carefully survey the pan the last 5 to 7 minutes of baking to make sure that it doesn't become too brown. It should darken a bit color, but it should not look like it's burning.
7. Remove the pan from the oven, and then let cool for about 5 minutes, but not for too long so that you are still able to work with the dough to cut out the cookies. Then take a circular shaped cookie cutter and cut out circles, to make the circular florentines. You may have some odds and ends pieces after you're done making the cookies. You can still eat these, they taste exactly the same, they just look different.
8. Once the cookies have completely cooled, melt the dark chocolate, using the double boiler method where you boil water and melt the chocolate in a bowl placed on top of the boiling water. Then using a spoon, place the melted chocolate on the flat side of the florentines and let dry, crusty side facedown, letting the chocolate covered side dry face up. All that's left to do is enjoy with a nice cup of coffee! Bon appétit!