Locantro Fine Foods is my local cake and coffee shop at Hunters Hill and sister to the family original at Leichardt. I’m so lucky! I get to eat Pino’s cooking any day. If you don’t live as close you can bake his award winning recipes at home now that he’s published his first cookbook ‘dinner with THE BAKER’.
Florentines
Makes 10
150g (5oz) butter
150g (5oz) caster sugar
45g (11/2oz) honey
30ml (1⅛fl oz) fresh cream
130g (4oz) almond flakes
15g (1/2oz) plain flour
70g (2⅛oz) glace cherries, chopped
200g (61/2oz) chocolate, meltedPreheat oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas Mark 6. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Combine butter, sugar, honey and cream in a pot or saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and add almond flakes, flour and cherries, stirring continuously for 5 minutes on low heat.
Remove from heat. Grease inside of an egg ring and place on baking tray. Scoop mixture into egg ring and spread the mixture to the edge of the rings. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown.
When Florentines are cool, spread the flat side with melted chocolate and mark grooves in the chocolate with a comb scraper. Allow chocolate to set before storing in an airtight container.
This Florentines’ recipe is reprinted from the cookbook dinner with THE BAKER by award winning Pino Locantro with kind permission of New Holland Publishers and Pino Locantro.
Locantro Fine Foods Australia
9 Catherine Street, Leichardt NSW 2040
+61 2 9568 3637
77 Gladesville Road, Hunters Hill NSW 2110
+61 2 9817 4133
Could not grab feed.
March 29 2011 at 1:36 pm
Those are stunning Florentines, and my word, that book looks great!
April 02 2011 at 9:56 am
his food is just beautiful Deeba and he is such a nice person too (good heart cooks good food)
March 30 2011 at 12:18 am
Recipe seems easy enough, may have to give this a try!
April 02 2011 at 9:56 am
very naughty of me – but I probably leave Pino’s recipe to the easiest way of all – buying his ready made pastries … but I’m with you it sure is an easy enough recipe
April 05 2011 at 3:17 am
These look beautiful Rebecca.
May 19 2011 at 11:18 pm
I think this recipe needs a mention of the more than one egg ring needed to contain the mixture as it spreads while baking. In my first attempt at Florentines I didn’t know what to expect and stupidly presumed one egg ring would do. On my second attempt I used more flour but just the one egg ring and had another spreading disaster. As a super experienced cook (I am 76 and with time on my hands) I then reread the recipe more carefully. The only indication that more than one egg ring was needed was in the plural at the end of ‘and spread mixture to the edge of the rings’. The finished result tastes great but……
April 01 2012 at 4:00 pm
Didn’t realize Florentines need to be baked with the egg ring still in place. Ended up with one huge florentine!