Around this time each year, my thoughts turn to the best way to combine nuts and chocolate. It’s my mum’s birthday you see, and while she’s not much of a cake person, she’ll bite your arm off for a florentine.
In the past, I’ve made proper ones – you have to make a caramel – but this easy version coats nuts in maple syrup for a much friendlier recipe. It can be easily adapted to the things you (or your mum) love: milk or dark chocolate; dried fruits, nuts, seeds and candied fruits.
The tart is what I will make instead of a birthday cake: half chocolate tart, half pecan pie, with a little help from some salted caramel. Too much, some might say, but this is how you celebrate a woman as full of life as this.
Here’s to you, Mama; there are not enough salted caramel chocolate pecan tarts in the world to say thanks.
Easy florentine chocolate drops (pictured above)
My son loves making these with me. You can swap the nuts, dried fruit or chocolate (dark, milk or white) to suit your tastes: just keep the amounts the same.
Prep 10 min
Chill 30 min
Cook 30 min
Makes 24
200g good-quality dark chocolate, broken up
40g flaked almonds
40g shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 ball stem ginger, drained and roughly chopped
60g sour cherries
4 medjool dates, stoned and roughly chopped
1 good pinch flaky sea salt
Fill a medium saucepan with water and put on the heat until simmering. Put a heatproof glass bowl on top, making sure the bottom doesn’t touch the water, add the chocolate, and melt. Once melted, remove the bowl and turn off the heat.
Put the almonds and pistachios in a medium-sized frying pan and toast until they smell fragrant. Add the maple syrup, stir, then take off the heat. Add the stem ginger, sour cherries and dates, stir again, then transfer to a bowl.
Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper. Carefully drop tablespoons of the melted chocolate on to the sheet, creating roughly 5cm rounds, six to eight per tray.
While the chocolate is still melted, scatter over a mixture of fruit and nuts. Finish with a pinch of salt and put in the fridge to set for half an hour. These are best enjoyed with your mum, or another brilliant woman.
Salted caramel chocolate pecan tart
This tart needs some time to chill in the fridge, so I’d suggest making it the night before or in the morning, if you want to eat it that evening. I serve it in thin slices (it’s rich) with a little creme fraiche or natural yoghurt, and some sliced blood oranges.
Prep 15 min
Rest 3 hr+
Cook 1 hr 15 min
Makes 14-16 slices
500g shop-bought sweet shortcrust pastry
Flour, for rolling
150g pecans
250g golden caster sugar
60ml maple syrup
300ml double cream
45g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
50g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1 good pinch sea salt
To serve
Creme fraiche or natural yoghurt
Sliced blood orange
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/gas 4, and have ready a 25cm fluted, loose-bottomed tart tin. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to just bigger than the tin, carefully wrap it around the rolling pin and lower it over the tin, gently pressing the pastry into the sides, so it takes on the shape of the tin. Prick a few times with a fork, then put in the fridge for 30 minutes, or longer if you have time. This will help it to stop shrinking when you bake it.
Meanwhile, put the pecans on a tray and roast in the oven for 10 minutes, shaking once halfway – you want them to be nice and darkened. Leave to cool, then roughly chop.
Remove the chilled pastry and cover with a sheet of baking paper, fill with baking beans (or uncooked rice/lentils) and bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully lift off the paper and beans, then return to the oven for a further 20-25 minutes, until crisp and evenly golden. Leave to cool, then trim the edges.
While the pastry is cooking, put the sugar, maple syrup and two tablespoons of cold water into a large pan and put on a medium heat. Once the sugar begins to melt, move the pan in a circular motion to combine – do not use a spoon to stir, or it will crystallise and be grainy. Heat for eight to 10 minutes, until it becomes more golden in colour. Take off the heat and whisk in the double cream and butter.
Put the pan back on the heat and bring to a boil, whisking, for another five minutes, until thickened, then stir in the chocolate and pecans. Carefully pour into the tart case and refrigerate for at least two hours, and preferably overnight. To finish, sprinkle with a little sea salt.
