When I asked Justin what he fancied me making for this week’s Cakes & Bakes item, he replied: “I like jam, I like almonds, I like pastry.” So, that was my mission set; I’ve come up with jammy marzipan tartlets.
There are three stages to the method; the pastry, the marzipan and then the filling… four, if you count the bringing it all together.
Consequently, this means you can make the pastry and marzipan days – or even weeks (they can be prepared and frozen) – in advance if needed; making the filling and finishing off on the day.
The recipe is similar to a Bakewell tart – using marzipan rather than frangipane.
I have a cupboard full of my different home-made jams & jellies, so I chose a jar of mixed berry jelly for the bottom layer. If some of your jam/jelly bubbles up and leaks over (like half of mine did), don’t allow the tartlets to cool completely in the tin before trying to remove them. Unfortunately, my jelly set like cement and it was impossible to prise them out in one piece.
Despite this, they were gorgeous, bite-sized morsels of sweetness… and went down a treat with a cup of tea. I’ll be making these again!
Save my jammy marzipan tartlets recipe to Pinterest
- 90g/3oz plain flour
- 36g/1¼oz 'tant pour tant' (18g/⅔oz icing sugar + 18g/⅔oz ground almonds)
- pinch of salt
- 65g/2¼oz very cold butter, cubed
- ½-1 tbsp cold water
- 150g/5oz ground almonds
- 200g/7oz icing sugar + extra for rolling
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 1 egg white
- 100g/3½oz ground almonds
- 45g/1½oz caster sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ tsp almond essence
- 1 tbsp fruit jam or jelly
- 15g/½oz flaked almonds
- Put the flour, icing sugar, ground almonds and salt into a food processor. Pulse a couple of times to combine
- Add the cold butter and pulse again until you get to the fine breadcrumb stage
- Whilst still pulsing, add the ice cold water until the mixture begins to get lumpy - like dry scrambled eggs
- Empty the pastry into ziplock bag and seal
- Form the dough into a ball by bringing it all together, still in the sealed ziplock bag, as if you’re making a snowball
- Chill in the fridge for ½ to 1 hour - you can use this time to make your marzipan (directions below)
- Once the pastry is chilled, grease a 6-hole muffin tin
- Lightly flour your work surface, remove your ball of dough from the fridge, unwrap and divide it into 6 equal pieces (about 20-22g each)
- One by one, roll each piece of dough into a ½cm thick round shape. Cut into perfect circles with a cookie cutter (or upturned drinking glass if you don't have one) that's slightly wider than the hole of your muffin tin. **Rolling each pie case individually means that you don't overwork the pastry by re-rolling over & over again**
- Gently press the pastry rounds into the muffin tin holes (handy hint: use a small lump of pastry to do this if you have long fingernails!)
- Set aside while you make the filling
- Put the ground almonds, icing sugar, almond extract and egg white into a food processor and combine until a thick ball of dough is formed
- Turn the paste out onto a work surface and knead it a few times. Roll it into a short, fat log (you want the diameter to be slightly smaller than the pastry case base). Wrap the log tightly in cling film and chill in the fridge for ½ to 1 hour - you can use this time to make your filling (directions below)
- Put the ground almonds and caster sugar into a bowl and combine
- Add the beaten eggs and almond essence and combine well
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
- Spread a generous layer of jam/jelly onto the bottom of each tartlet pastry case
- Remove the marzipan log from the clingfilm, Slice off 6 x ½cm rounds. Any unused marzipan will keep for a month in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer
- Place a round over the jam/jelly in each of the tartlet pastry cases
- Spoon over enough filling to just below the rim of the pastry case
- Sprinkle the top with a few flaked almonds and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until the filling is baked through and golden-brown all over
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool a few minutes in the muffin tin. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
- Dredge a little icing sugar over the tops