Here is my twist on the classic Florentine cookie. This decadent treat consists of a delightful white chocolate mousse in a crunchy Florentine shell with a white chocolate drizzle.
Ingredients:
For the Florentine spheres:
- 150g flaked almonds
- 64g icing sugar
- 45g liquid egg whites
- zest of 1 large orange
- vegetable oil for greasing
For the white chocolate mousse:
- 75g white chocolate
- 60g liquid egg whites
- ½ tablespoon caster sugar
- 100g double cream
For the whipped cream:
- 60g double cream
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
To decorate:
- 50g white chocolate
- Freeze dried strawberries
- Flaked almonds
- Edible gold glitter spray
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4
- Using a pastry brush, grease 6 large silicone dome moulds with vegetable oil. Place them on a baking tray and set aside.
- Place the flaked almonds in a large bowl and using your fingertips, lightly crush them until they are broken up into small pieces and roughly all the same size.
- Add the icing sugar and briefly toss together with a spatula until combined. Mix in the orange zest until evenly distributed.
- Fold the egg whites into the mixture using a spatula until well combined.
- Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the mixture into each of the 6 moulds. Tightly press the mixture into and up the sides of the dome moulds using the back of a teaspoon. add more of the mixture if necessary, to completely coat the sides of the dome mould to the top.
- Place in the oven to cook for about 30 minutes or until the Florentines are deep golden brown all over and the base is firm to the touch. Set aside to cool completely while you make the white chocolate mousse.
For the white chocolate mousse:
- Melt the white chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water, then remove from the heat.
- Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Add the sugar and briefly whisk again.
- Whisk the cream to soft peaks. Add the melted chocolate to the cream mixture and immediately fold into the cream with a spatula until incorporated.
- Add a spoonful of the egg whites into the cream and chocolate mixture and stir well. Gently fold the remaining egg whites in, making sure not to knock out too much air. Set aside.
- Once the Florentines have fully cooled, carefully unmould them, making sure they don’t crack.
- Place all 6 Florentines curved side down on a tray lined with baking paper.
- Fill all 6 Florentines with the white chocolate mousse and place in the fridge to set for about an hour. Meanwhile prepare the whipped cream and decoration.
For the whipped cream:
- With an electrical hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk all ingredients for the whipped cream together until stiff peaks. Spoon into a piping bag and set aside.
To assemble:
- Spray about a dozen flaked almonds with edible gold glitter spray and set aside.
- Melt the white chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water, then remove from the heat and transfer to a piping bag.
- Take the Florentines out of the fridge and turn them over (curved side up).
- Using scissors, snip the tip of the piping bag containing the melted chocolate. Drizzle the melted chocolate over each Florentine in a circular motion. Sprinkle all six of the Florentines with the freeze-dried strawberries and stick a few of the golden flaked almonds on just three of the Florentines (these will be the tops of the spheres).
- Place in the fridge to chill until the chocolate has hardened.
- Take the Florentines out of the fridge. Turn the three Florentine bases (the ones with no golden flaked almonds) over, curved side down.
- Cut the end of the piping bag containing the whipped cream about 1cm wide. Pipe a circle of the whipped cream around the rims of the three Florentine bases.
- One by one, pick up the other three Florentine tops and place on top of the Florentine bases to form three Florentine spheres.
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