Florentine Chocolate Bars

Ingredient List

• 100g whole blanched almonds
• 200g whole blanched hazelnuts
• 300g mixed glacé fruit (orange peel, lemon peel, and cherries — or any candied fruit)
• 55g flour
• ½ tsp allspice
• ½ tsp grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g honey
• 200g milk chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 20x20cm baking tin with greaseproof paper on the base and sides — this mixture is very sticky.
2. If your nuts aren't pre-blanched, drop them into rapidly boiling water for 1 minute, drain, then rub vigorously in a tea towel to remove the skins.
3. Roast the blanched nuts for 5 minutes until lightly golden. Leave to cool.

4. Chop the glacé fruit a little finer and combine with the nuts.
5. Sift together the flour, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon, then mix into the fruit and nut mixture.
6. Heat the sugar and honey in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the fruit mixture and stir quickly to incorporate everything — it gets sticky fast.
7. Press into the prepared tin, level the top, and bake for 25–30 minutes. Your kitchen will smell like a German Christmas market.
8. Cool on the counter overnight. Do not refrigerate — it will get stickier.

9. Once completely cold, flip the slab so the smooth side faces up.
10. Melt the chocolate and spread evenly over the surface. Leave to set overnight before slicing.
11. Slice and wrap as gifts or store in an airtight container.