Before I begin, I simply must share the fact that Justin thinks these marzipan chocolate brownies were the best brownies he’s ever eaten!
I’ve probably said this in the past, but Justin isn’t the biggest chocolate brownie fan in the world. If he was, I’d be making them every few days, because I adooooore them.
The addition of the ganache and marzipan layers give extra dimensions to the dark chocolate gooeyness.
Justin’s usual grumbles about brownies involve words like – stodgy, claggy or even dry. These additions seem to have banished all those worries!
And I followed this recipe simply as a way to use up left over home-made marzipan from last week’s Simnel cupcakes. What a great result – brownie harmony in the house!
The layers make very attractive slices too – very tempting – perfect for having on the counter of our combined vintage shop & café which we sometimes dream of!
Give them a go – I think you’ll love them!
Click here to pin the recipe for later!
- 175g/6oz butter
- 175g/6oz caster sugar
- 75g/2½oz dark chocolate
- 3 eggs
- 85g/3oz plain flour, sieved
- 40g/1½oz cocoa powder
- 75g/2½oz dark chocolate
- 75g/2½oz double cream
- 150g/5oz ground almonds
- 200g/7oz icing sugar
- 2tsp almond extract
- 1 egg white
- 100g/32½oz dark chocolate
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350ºF/Gas mark 4
- Grease & line a 20cm/8-inch square cake tin with parchment paper
- Melt the dark chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of just simmering water (making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't come into contact with the water)
- Stir to incorporate
- Whisk the eggs and sugar together well
- Mix in the chocolate mixture
- Fold in the flour and cocoa powder
- Pour the batter into the baking tin
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until just baked
- Melt the dark chocolate and double cream together in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of just simmering water (making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't come into contact with the water)
- Stir to incorporate
- Once the brownie layer has cooled, pour the ganache over and spread evenly. Allow to firm up before embarking on the next layer
- 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 ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate whilst waiting for the ganache layer has firmed up
- Liberally sprinkle some icing sugar on a work surface and roll out half of the marzipan to about ½cm thickness
- Cut to size to cover the 20cm/8-inch square brownie layer
- Any unused marzipan will keep - covered in cling film - for a month in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer
- Melt the dark chocolate and pour evenly over the marzipan. Allow to set completely before 'cutting off the crusts' and slicing into portions
Cakes & Bakes: Marzipan refrigerator cookies
I had a large lump of marzipan and some chocolate ganache left over from making last week’s petit fours. I HATE throwing food away, so I decided to make a batch of marzipan refrigerator cookies.
This is a quick and easy cookie recipe.
They can be cooked off in small or larger batches depending on your need – any leftover dough (wrapped in parchment paper or cling film) will live happily in the fridge for a week or so – or in the freezer more indefinitely.
Nothing beats a home-made biscuit – and we loved the sweet, almond flavour of these. If you prefer your marzipan refrigerator cookies to be soft & gooey rather than crisp, lower the heat of the oven to about 150ºC.
Marzipan refrigerator cookies
Ingredients
- 225 g/8oz plain flour plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 110 g/4oz butter cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
- 175 g/6oz caster sugar
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 100 g/3½oz marzipan
Instructions
- Sift the flour & baking powder into a large bowl
- Add the butter and rub it with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
- Stir the sugar, add the eggs and combine to form a soft, loose dough
- Cut the marzipan into small cubes
- Turn the mixture out on to a lightly floured work surface, roll in the cubed marzipan and shape the dough into a log shape about 3cm/1¼inches in diameter
- Wrap the log in parchment paper or cling film and then in foil and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or until required (I put one of the logs in the freezer to use at a later date)
- Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5
- Grease a large baking sheet (or a few if you're making a big batch)
- Slice the dough into as many 8mm/⅜-inch slices as required
- Place the slices on the greased baking sheet, spaced well apart
- Return any remaining dough to the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 6 months
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown
- Leave on the baking sheet to cool slightly for 2-3 minutes before transferring to cool completely
Cakes & Bakes: Honey-roasted fig & marzipan tart
We have some friends that live nearby who are having their kitchen renovated. For the next few weeks, all they’ll have to cook on is a single-burner camping stove.
We’ve been in the exact same position in the past – it’s such a drag! We invited them round to ours for dinner tonight so we thought we’d cook them something that they can’t currently make at home.
Justin’s making the main course – chicken breasts filled with a fennel, pastrami and chicken mousse with a spinach and pine nut lasagne – and I’m making the dessert.
In keeping with the loosely Mediterranean theme, I’ve cooked a honey-roasted fig & marzipan tart. You can buy ready-made shortcrust pastry to make the base, but it’s really easy to make yourself at home – a simple 2-minute job… honest!
I’ve not made this tart before – I hope it’s a hit with everyone tonight!
Honey-roasted fig & marzipan tart
Ingredients
- 500g/18oz pack shortcrust pastry at room temperature or make your own
- 4 ripe fresh figs stalks trimmed
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- 1 tbs clear honey
- 100 g/3½oz softened butter
- 100 g/3½oz golden caster sugar
- 100 g3½oz ground almonds
- 1 medium egg yolk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6
- Grease a shallow, loose-bottomed 20cm flan tin
- Roll out the pastry on a lightly-floured work surface
- Line the tin, carefully pushing it into the base & sides and making sure the pastry comes above the rim. Refrigerate for 30 minutes
- In the meantime, halve the figs lengthways and put them cut side up on a roasting tray
- In a small measuring jug, combine the lemon juice and honey before pouring the liquid over the figs
- Roast in the oven for 10-12 minutes until just soft
- Drain off the juice (if any) and reserve
- Remove the pastry case from the fridge and prick the base all over with a fork, line with a circle of greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for 15 minutes
- Remove the paper & beans and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the pastry is golden
- Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 150ºC/300ºF/Gas mark 2 Leave the pastry case to cool slightly before filling
- In a food processor or using an electric beater, cream the butter and sugar until smooth & pale
- Add the ground almonds and whiz briefly to combine
- Add the egg yolk and 1 tbsp of the reserved fig juice and whiz again until smooth
- Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the marzipan evenly over the pastry case base
- Gently press the figs, cut side up, into the almond mixture
- Bake for 1¼ hours or until the top turns golden all over
- Leave in the tin for 15 minutes before removing sides and transfer to a wire rack to cool
- Serve cool or cold with crème fraîche or clotted cream
Cakes & Bakes: Redcurrant mazarin tart
Last week, you’ll remember that I set aside a small bowlful of fresh redcurrants while I made the rest into jelly.
What I had in mind for this extra was to make a redcurrant mazarin tart using a recipe I found in Secrets of Scandinavian Cooking… Scandilicious by Signe Johansen.
It’s bit of a long-winded recipe to follow – the base, the almond paste (shop bought marzipan is much too hard) and the filling. But do give it a try, it’s worth the effort!
The amount of almond paste that’s produced is slightly over what is needed. I plan on rolling the leftovers into little balls and then dipping them in melted dark chocolate; perfect little after-dinner petits fours!
The original recipe doesn’t call for leaving the tart in the oven while it cools, but I found mine needed a bit of a longer cook and it also helped stop the centre from sinking under the weight of all that fruit.
The sweetness of the almond paste was a lovely match for the sourness of the redcurrants, balancing each other out. A little dollop of fraîche on the side is all you need to serve with it.
Pin the recipe here to try later!
Redcurrant mazarin tart
Ingredients
For the pastry base
- 200 g/7oz spelt or plain flour
- 100 g/3½ oz butter
- 50 g/2oz caster sugar
- 1 egg
For the almond paste
- 150 g/5oz ground almonds
- 200 g/7oz icing sugar
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 1 egg white
For the filling
- 340 g/12oz almond paste
- 100 g/3½ oz butter softened
- 100 g/3½ oz plain flour or cornflour
- 6 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 300 g/11oz redcurrants rinsed and de-stalked
Instructions
For the pastry
- In a food processor, pulse the flour and butter together, or mix by hand in a large bowl, until it resembles breadcrumbs
- Add in the sugar and then the egg, and continue to combine until the dough comes together
- Cover the pastry with cling film and shape into a disc about 1cm/½ in thick
- Put into the fridge for an hour, or the freezer for 20-30 minutes
- Make the almond paste while you wait for the pastry to chill
For the almond paste
- 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 log and wrap in cling film until you're ready to make the filling
- Any unused paste will keep for a month in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer
For the pastry pt II
- Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5
- Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is about 3mm/⅛ in thick (or as thin as you can roll it before it starts to crack) and about 30cm/12in in diameter
- Lift the rolled pastry into a 23cm/9in pie dish, cake tin or tart case (about 3cm-4cm/1¼ in-1½ in deep) and gently press into the sides and edges
- Trim any excess pastry from the rim. Prick the base of the pastry case with a fork, and blind bake on the middle shelf for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown
- Prepare the filling while you wait for the pastry case to cool
For the filling
- Put all the filling ingredients apart from the redcurrants in a food mixer
- Combine until the mazarin is smooth and even, and all the ingredients have been fully incorporated
- Turn the oven temperature up to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6
- Pour the mazarin filling into the cooled pastry case and carefully sprinkle the redcurrants over the top, gently pushing some of them into the mazarin mixture
- Bake on the middle shelf for 20-25 minutes until golden and well risen
- Turn off the oven, leave the oven door ajar and allow the tart to cool slowly in the oven