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1
Lightly butter a 20cm square tin or Swiss roll tin and line it with clingfilm; this will make it easier to remove the tiffin later.
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2
Preheat the oven to 170C/fan 160C/340F/gas mark 3 1/2.
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3
Scatter the nuts on to a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 5 minutes, shaking once and watching carefully to make sure they dont burn, then remove and chop into chunks.
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4
Find a bowl that will fit over a pan of simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl does not touch the water.
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5
In the bowl, melt the butter, syrup and chocolate together.
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6
Place the biscuits in a large polythene bag, seal the top, then bash with a rolling pin until very finely crushed.
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7
Add the nuts, dried fruit and biscuits to the butter mixture and stir until all is very well blended.
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8
Spoon into the prepared tin and set in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
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9
Wait until the tiffin is set, then bring to room temperature to make it easier to cut (it might crack if too chilled).
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10
Cut into 3cm squares, wiping the knife with kitchen towel between slices.
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11
The gold leaf needs to be applied very carefully in a room with no draughts.
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12
Take 1 square of tiffin or nugget at a time on to a work surface.
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13
Place the gold booklet close by and slide off 1 sheet, by gently holding the top 2 corners with the tips of the 2 paint brushes, using both hands.
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14
Static will cause the bristles to grip the sheet.
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15
Try not to breathe on or touch the gold before it is on the tiffin!
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16
Loosely place the gold on a tiffin square, or wrap it around a nugget, then smooth it down with a paint brush.
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17
If it tears, it doesnt matter, you can choose to patch it or leave it as it is with the chocolate showing through.
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18
You can either lay the gold randomly over the squares, leaving many of them plain, or wrap each nugget completely in gold.
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19
Store in the refrigerator... or maybe the safe!
