Eisdiele Capri

… yay it’s day 5 of my “La settimana dei biscotti” and I have to admit I didn’t make these cookies on Friday but on Saturday afternoon. The reason for this was that I came along the monthly mingle run by Meeta at What’s for lunch, Honey :-). It’s all about spiced cookies this month so I had to participate. I originally planned espresso chocolates for Friday but to be part of the monthly mingle I changed my plans to these wonderful spiced florentines (so finally something Italian!).

Spiced Sesame Orange Florentines with Cashew Nuts & Fleur de Sel

The recipe I used is from Becks & Posh and the result tastes wonderful. I used fresh ginger instead of grounded one, together with the fleur de sel it’s fantastic :-)!

Ingredients
3/4 cup of Bakers Sugar
1/4 cup of Honey
4 tablespoons of Butter
1/4 cup of Creme Fraiche
Grated Zest of Half an Orange
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/3 cup of sifted plain flour
2 handfuls of hulled white sesame seeds
2 handfuls of raw cashews, chopped into small pieces
Large pinch of Fleur de Sel
2oz dark chocolate

Method
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place nuts and seeds on a baking tray and toast until they are golden brown (about 10 minutes). Put sugar, honey, butter, creme fraiche, orange zest and ginger into a heavy saucepan over a low heat and stir until butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring from time to time. The mixture should thicken and darken slightly. Stir in the toasted nuts, seeds, flour and the fleur de sel. Place half-tablespoon-sized dollops of the mixture on baking trays lined with a slipat or non stick parchment paper. Be sure to leave plenty of room for the cookies to spread. Bake for about 8 minutes until the florentines are evenly dark and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray to cool and harden. Melt the chocolate and then pipe drizzles over the surface of the cookies. Once cool, keep in an airtight container.