Florentine

A florentine is a baked confection of almonds held together by a thin layer of sugar. Some versions are coated with chocolate on the underside, so that chocolate, cooled until set, sits against sugar that has been baked until hard. This confection, in which nuts are bound with sugar, honey, dairy products and similar ingredients, is familiar in Japan as a square set on a sablé. In Europe, thin, round versions baked without a base and thin, lace-like sheets broken into pieces are also popular. The name means “something from Florence,” but several theories about its origin have been handed down.

Spreading chocolate on a thinly baked nut layer

Adding candied orange peel or candied cherries to sliced almonds brings the bitterness of the peel and small pieces of fruit in between the nuts and the sugar. In a Le Cordon Bleu recette (the proportions of ingredients and the method), the chopped fruit is first separated with a small amount of flour and then combined with warmed cream, sugar and honey. The flour is not used to make a thick dough; it is dusted over the fruit to separate the pieces so that they do not clump together in one place.

Small mounds of the mixture are spaced widely apart because the heat makes the sugar syrup run and spread. The school’s baking method is a two-stage process: the florentines are heated until the edges bubble, cooled once, and then baked again at a lower temperature. Separating the stage in which the mixture spreads from the stage in which it dries and hardens produces a single thin, crisp piece. In another recette that adds hazelnuts, the warm mixture is rolled out between sheets of paper, chilled and then baked, and the thin sheet is broken into pieces. Whether baked one at a time into thin rounds or broken into irregular sheets, they offer the crisp bite of thinly baked sugar and nuts.

The flat underside is thinly spread with tempered dark chocolate. At Le Cordon Bleu, a first coat is applied and the air is removed, and then a second coat is applied and the excess is removed. Some recettes mix hazelnut spread into the chocolate, so the flavor of the coating and the way it sets vary. Because the baked sugar surface becomes sticky when it absorbs moisture, how the florentines are stored after cooling also affects their crispness.

The sablé base and regional differences

In the sablé-based versions familiar in Japan, a crumbly layer of flour and butter is added beneath the hard, brittle nut layer. Besides versions cut into squares, there are also versions in which the sablé is piped into a ring, chilled almond caramel mixture is placed inside it, and the two are baked together. Because of the ring-shaped rim, the upper layer stays inside it during baking.

FUKU+RE, a confectionery shop in Kagoshima, makes florentines by filling owl-shaped monaka wafer shells with almonds and caramel. This is the shop’s own style, combining the light crispness of the wafer shell, which differs from a sablé base, with the toasty flavor of the nuts and sugar.

The 2025 edition of the German Food Code describes Florentiner as thin almond or nut baked goods with brown edges and a lighter center. Fruit and honey are optional, the flour content is no more than 5% of the weight of the mass that binds the nuts, and chocolate is usually used on the bottom. The related Nussknacker is a separate category that uses larger nuts and is sometimes baked on a shortcrust base with a rim. In Germany, the names are distinguished not only by whether there is a base but also by other features, such as the size of the nuts.

Today, the name appears among small Christmas baked goods at bakeries in southern Germany and among winter items at confectioneries in Austria. Regional differences lie not only in whether there is a base but also in the season in which they are sold.

Origin legends linked to two queens

The French word florentin comes from the Italian fiorentino, which means “a person or thing from Florence.” According to a famous legend associated with this name, Catherine de’ Medici, who was born in Florence, brought florentines to France along with her pastry cooks when she married the French prince Henri in 1533. This is one of a series of legends claiming that Catherine introduced various confections to France. It is uncertain whether the florentine as it is known today was introduced at the time of the wedding.

A story handed down at another confectionery shop centers on an earlier queen, Anne of Brittany. In this account, when Medici guests were to be received at the court of Louis XII, a cook who had worked in Italy created a confection of almonds, orange and chocolate. However, the introduction of chocolate to the French court is associated with the marriage of Louis XIII in 1615, about a century after Anne’s time.

Another naming theory likens the confection’s roundness and golden color to the florin, the gold coin of Florence. This theory is based on the shape and color, but who first made the confection and where it originated remain uncertain.

The 1909 “florentin” took a different form

The “florentin” that appears in a 1909 pastry book is a rectangular confection made with apples and raspberries. A dough of wheat flour, butter, sugar and eggs with added cinnamon is rolled out on a baking sheet and topped with raspberry-flavored apples. The egg-washed surface is scored with a fork in a diamond pattern, baked and cut into rectangles. It differs from the thin nut crisp well known today in both the fruit used and the main ingredients of the dough.

A theory that it was created in Switzerland and its production in Ravensburg, Germany, also appear in the history of the name. Although the name refers to Florence, different histories have been handed down in various places. Present-day florentines also differ in whether they have a base, in the size of the nuts and fruit, in the thinness of the sugar layer and in the chocolate on the underside. Even under the same name, the impression they leave changes depending on whether you enjoy the crumbly thickness of the sablé or the sharp crispness of thin sugar and nuts.

Glossary

Parade'sFlorentin / Florentin

The “Florentin” from Cafe & Sweets Parade Kyoto, a Western-style confectionery shop in Fushimi-Momoyama, Kyoto, is made to be enjoyed for its toasty aroma and satisfying bite.

Roasted organic nuts and seeds (sliced almonds / pumpkin seeds / walnuts) are cut boldly into coarse pieces, and the cookie base is made substantially thicker than in a typical florentin. Caramel is then layered on top, and baking it twice gives it a crisp, pleasant crunch. Crunchy and crisp, Parade’s Florentin is exceptionally satisfying to eat.

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