Thomas Fudge's Milk Chocolate Florentines: the gentler half of the pair

The milk chocolate florentine works by agreement rather than contrast, with caramel and milk chocolate pulling in the same sweet direction. That makes it the easier of the two to love on the first bite, and the one that leans hardest on what is in your cup.

A Dorset bakery's florentine

Thomas Fudge's began in 1916, when Thomas J Fudge opened a bread bakery in Dorset. The business turned its attention to luxury biscuits in the 1980s, is still based in Stalbridge, and now sits within FBC UK, the company formed when Fox's and Burton's merged in 2022. Its florentines were relaunched in 2025 with the almonds left whole and extra fruit and chocolate in the recipe.

The published ingredient list reads like a small patisserie recipe: Belgian milk chocolate at 34%, almonds at 23%, sugar, butter and whipping cream, candied orange and lemon peel, syrups, dried cranberries, sultanas and salt. It names milk, soya and almonds, and the allergen advice warns the pack may contain gluten, peanuts and sesame. Check the current pack if anyone at the table has an allergy.

Milk or dark: which to choose

Both florentines share one construction: a thin caramel set with fruit and nuts, lacy and brittle at the rim, chewy in the middle, finished with chocolate. The difference is what the chocolate does. On the dark version, cocoa bitterness pushes back against the caramel. Here, creamy milk chocolate joins in, so the piece is sweeter throughout, with almost no bitter edge at all.

Choose dark if you want balance and contrast. Choose this one if dark chocolate is hard going for you or your guests, or if younger tastes are at the table. We rate the dark a touch higher for its balance, but this is the one more people will reach for twice. Either way, six pieces is a set for sharing after a meal, not a stock for the tin.

Keeping them crisp and choosing the cup

Damp, not age, is what spoils a florentine, and it takes the brittle rim first. Close an opened pack properly and store it well away from the kettle or a steaming pan. Serve at room temperature: milk chocolate gives off even less aroma than dark when it is cold, so a pack from a chilly cupboard wants a few minutes out before it goes on the plate.

With nothing inside the piece working against the sugar, the cup has to do that job. A robust black tea made with water at a rolling boil, and no sugar, is our first choice, and a short espresso is just as good. A milky mug is the weakest option, piling sweet on sweet with nothing to separate them; if you like milk, keep it to a splash in something robust.

The packs we stock

• Thomas Fudge's 6 Milk Chocolate Florentines, 114g (barcode 072417202063)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Thomas Fudge's 6 Milk Chocolate Florentines, 114g says it contains milk, soya and nuts (almonds), and it may contain gluten, peanuts and sesame. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.

Ingredients, as published: Belgian Milk Chocolate (34%) (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Dried Whole Milk, Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Flavourings), Almonds (23%), Sugar, Butter (Milk), Whipping Cream (Milk), Candied Mixed Peel (Orange Peel, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Sugar, Lemon Peel), Glucose Syrup, Partially Inverted Refiners Syrup, Dried Cranberries (Cranberries, Sugar), Sultanas, Salt.

Ingredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. The pack in your hands is the final word.

What to drink with it

• Yorkshire Tea Gold Blend Loose Leaf Tea, 250g: A strong loose-leaf pot, brewed at a full boil and taken black, gives the sweet florentine the grip it lacks.
• Starbucks Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Dark Roast, Box of 36, 198g: A dark roast espresso capsule supplies the bitterness the milk chocolate leaves out.
• PG Tips English Breakfast Special Blends Speciality Black, 70 Tea Bags: A breakfast blend with just a splash of milk, for anyone who prefers tea with something in it.

Elsewhere in the Thomas Fudge's range

• Thomas Fudge's 6 Dark Chocolate Florentines

The full range is on the Thomas Fudge's brand page.

FAQ

Should I buy the milk or the dark chocolate florentines? Dark if you want contrast and balance; milk if you want something softer and sweeter that dark chocolate sceptics will enjoy.

Are the milk chocolate florentines suitable for someone avoiding nuts? No. Almonds make up 23% of the published ingredient list, which also names milk and soya, and the allergen advice warns of possible peanuts, sesame and gluten.

Can you dunk a florentine? No. A florentine is built for the plate rather than the cup, so eat it alongside your tea and keep the dunking for the biscuit tin.

How should I store an opened pack? Close it properly and keep it away from steam; damp softens the brittle rim long before age does.

Who makes Thomas Fudge's florentines? A Dorset bakery brand founded in 1916 and based in Stalbridge, now part of FBC UK.

Curator's note: Give the pack five minutes out of the cupboard, then pour a strong black tea with no sugar. The florentine brings all the sweetness the table needs. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Thomas Fudge's Milk Chocolate Florentines: the gentler half of the pair

More from the tea wiki

• Tea and Biscuits
• Biscuit Dunking Physics: The Real Science
• Tea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise
• Tea With Cake: The Pairing That Never Fails (If You Get It Right)
• Tea and Food Pairing: The Five Principles
• Tea with Chocolate: Pair by Cocoa Percentage
• Tea and Chocolate Pairing

Download as PDF