This recipe came to me as an inspiration when my friend Suzette and I baked her Italian Crostata di Marmelata last year. Using that recipe for dough, I covered the bottom and sides of a square tart pan with a removable bottom with dough, then marzipan, then dark chocolate and finally black cherry preserves. I froze the tart after baking and when I defrosted it a month later, I sliced it into bars or squares. My guests were so impressed. Wow- a surprise hit! .
Chocolate Cherry Marzipan Tart
Servings
36 Servings
Ingredients
- 3 cups plus 2 generous tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup or 2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
- Zest of one lemon
- 3 extra large egg yolks
- 1 extra large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 12 ounce jar black cherry preserves
- 1 8 ounce package of almond paste
- 2 3 1/2 ounce bars of dark chocolate 72%
Instructions
- Measure flour and salt into a large bowl. Cut room-temperature butter into flour, until the mixture resembles small peas, sprinkle in and mix lemon zest, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, using a whisk, beat egg yolks, whole egg, vanilla, and sugar until very thick and light in color. Add lemon juice and combine. Pour whisked eggs into flour mixture and use your hands to mix. Pat quickly into a disc of dough. Do not knead. Wrap disc in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for two hours.
- In the meantime, prepare two 9×9 or 8×8 inch square tart pans with removable bottoms. After two hours, preheat oven to 365°F, remove the dough from the refrigerator and flour your work surface. Cut the dough in half. Return one piece to the refrigerator. Keeping the dough cold is essential; you must work fast. Divide the first half into two parts- about one-third and two-thirds. Take the two-thirds piece and roll out evenly into a square large enough to fit pan. Transfer dough to the tart pan and fit into place.
- Roll out marzipan into a thin square to fit the tart pan. Place in bottom of the pan, or piece it and place in bottom as best you can if it breaks. It is hard to roll in one perfect piece. Break up chocolate bars into thin squares. Scatter chocolate squares over the top of the marzipan layer. Cover this filling with a third layer of spoonfuls of black cherry preserves that you spoon and spread a little bit. Use back of a soup spoon to even out preserves, chocolate, and marzipan by gently pressing.
- Roll out the remaining one-third of the dough. Using shape cutters, cut circles, rectangles, or lattice strips to place on top of the tart. Repeat rolling and layering with second half of tart dough. Place tart pans on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake tart 25 -35 minutes or until puffed and barely golden.
- Let tart cool. Slice into bars when cold or wedges to serve. This may be frozen and sliced later, just before serving. It is wonderful with coffee, tea, or on a dessert buffet.
- Recipe posted with permission from Sephardic Baking from Nona and More Favorites: A Collection of Recipes For Baking Desayuno And More.
This sounds like a winning dessert.