Quarantine chocolate Florentines, Signature

Lottie Bedlow’s Quarantine Florentines

The handshake card

• Baker: Lottie Bedlow
• UK series: Series 11 (2020)
• Week/theme: Week 2, Biscuit
• Challenge: Signature
• Handshake fact: Lottie received a Hollywood handshake for her Quarantine Florentines.
• Yield: 18 Florentines
• Difficulty: Needs skill
• Official timing: 1 hour hands-on; 8–10 minutes baking
• Source: Lottie’s Quarantine Florentines for Nana & Papa, The Great British Bake Off
• Evidence: Master index entry #35; research sources [S1], [S2], [S3].

Why it earned the handshake

These Florentines balance a sticky caramel with sour cherries, crystallised ginger, coconut, almonds, pistachios, and dark chocolate. The source recipe’s crucial discipline is timing: a Florentine should be evenly golden, not pale in the middle and not pushed so far that it becomes brittle. Lottie’s handshake bake turns a very thin biscuit into a study in controlled spread, clean rounds, and sweet-spiced contrast.

Ingredients

• 40g pistachios
• 60g dried sour cherries
• 60g crystallised ginger
• 20g plain flour
• 30g coconut flakes
• 120g flaked almonds
• 70g salted butter
• 120g light muscovado sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp double cream
• 125g 54% dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 25g white chocolate, finely chopped

You will also need a sugar thermometer, two baking sheets, parchment, and an oiled round cutter.

Method

1. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C; 180°C fan). Line the baking sheets.
2. Pulse the pistachios, cherries, and ginger to a small rubble. Add the flour and pulse briefly to combine. Tip into a bowl and stir in the coconut and almonds.
3. Put the butter, muscovado sugar, and salt in a small pan. Heat gently, moving the pan rather than stirring, until the caramel reaches 248°F (120°C). Remove from the heat, stir in the cream, and pour over the fruit-and-nut mixture. Mix thoroughly.
4. Set the oiled cutter on the tray. Put about 1 tablespoon of mixture inside it, press it to an even thickness, lift the cutter, and repeat. Leave generous gaps because the biscuits spread.
5. Bake for 8–10 minutes, watching the colour carefully. Even gold gives a crisper, more balanced biscuit; pale centres remain softer, while over-browning makes them brittle.
6. While hot, use the cutter to nudge each Florentine into a neat round. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.
7. Melt the dark chocolate over gently simmering water. Dip the base of each biscuit in the chocolate and set chocolate-side up to firm.
8. Melt the white chocolate and drizzle it over the dark chocolate. Leave to set before serving.

Baker’s tips

• Weigh each portion so the biscuits bake at the same speed.
• Give the circles room to spread; bake in batches if necessary.
• Shape the edges while the Florentines are still warm. Once cool, the caramel will have set.
• Watch the last few minutes closely: the centre should catch up with the edge without burning.

Make-ahead

Once completely cool and the chocolate is set, store the Florentines airtight at room temperature. Separate layers with parchment. The unbaked mixture should be portioned and baked fresh rather than held as a loose mass.