This is an expensive treat to buy, but easy to make at home from store cupboard ingredients. Florentines make a wonderful edible gift.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Place the butter into a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Once melted, add the sugar and flour and whisk continuously until everything is combined and you have a smooth pale paste. Pour in the cream, stirring as you pour until completely incorporated. The mixture should be smooth.
Turn off the heat, add the almonds, mixed peel, stem ginger, orange zest and cherries. Mix with a wooden spoon until combined and set aside to cool.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place teaspoons of the florentine mixture onto the tray, allowing 3cm/1¼in between them as they will spread during cooking. You may need to do this in batches, or use two trays.
Place the tray into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for two minutes before quickly transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
While the florentines are cooling, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Make sure that the base of the bowl does not touch the water.)
Drizzle the cooled florentines with the melted chocolate. Allow to set then serve. Or store in an airtight container for up to three days.
You can use the melted chocolate to paint the bottoms of the biscuits, as is traditional.
