I don’t do ‘it’s January, let’s diet’, so if you want an incredibly indulgent and quick piece of Heaven, this is the one. Having said the I don’t diet thing, I should say that this treat is in the ‘rare treat’ category.
Flaky, buttery croissants are hard to improve on, but splitting them and filling them with a caramel-filled chocolate, or a mixture of dark chocolate and marzipan and then popping them in the oven to heat. Well. Need I say more?

Of course I can say more. I have no problem with that.
So, Merry Christmas and a very happy, healthy, prosperous New Year to you all. Yes, very slightly delayed, but can you believe I am still readjusting from Christmas? It was such a lovely, busy Christmas and we were out so much with Alex afterwards, that when he went back to school this week, there were a lot of outstanding jobs to do.
I haven’t done a great deal of sitting down. This is also not a bad thing; despite eating more treats than any human should over the festive period, I haven’t gained an ounce!

So take your nice croissants – I do use the nice, more expensive ones for this – and split them with a bread knife.

Then chop some dark chocolate, about 25g per croissant and some marzipan and scatter across the cut bottom.

Or, chop up some caramel-filled chocolate – about 25g per croissant again.

You could also try blueberries and white chocolate or raspberries and marzipan… hmmm.

Put them in the oven on GM3/325/160 for about 8 minutes, until the croissant has crisped and the chocolate is all melty and divine.

Nomnomnom!

Melty, Squidgy, Stuffed Croissant

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croissants, as many as you can eat
25g dark chocolate, chopped, per croissant
25g marzipan, chopped, per croissant
or
or caramel-filled chocolate, or whatever flavoured chocolate you fancy, per croissant

Preheat oven to GM3/160C/325F
Split each croissant with a bread knife and place on a baking sheet.
Scatter each croissant with the chopped marzipan and chocolate, or chocolate alone.
Close the croissant back up – don’t fret if it tries to fall open, just press it back down halfway through the cooking.
Bake for around 8 minutes until the croissant is crisp and the chocolate is melty.

Consider using blueberries and white chocolate or raspberries and marzipan too. Just a thought.

This recipe is from ‘Delicious’ magazine’s Dec 2009 edition. It is very delicious. Very delicious indeed. Mum made it last week; it took just one bite for me to shove the magazine in my handbag and scurry home to make one for us as well.

Moist, moist, moist, plummy, fudgey with marzipan and some chopped nuts for an additional texture.
Not just that, this genuinely works as a cake. It isn’t a ‘best served warm’ cake, it is a proper cake. Likewise, if you serve it warm, it is a real pudding.
A really clever recipe that comes together without a lot of fuss. In addition to all this, it can be frozen. That is pretty marvellous at this time of year – you never know when you’re going to need a cake or pudding on standby.

Preheat oven to GM4/180C/350F
Line a 9″ cake tin with a depth of around 2-3″

Before you start, dry fry 50g nuts; I used almonds – the original calls for hazelnuts. Once they’ve coloured in the frying pan, let them cool on a plate and chop them up.
Take 400g ripe plums, remove the stones and cut each one into 4 or 6 slices.

Cream 200g softened butter and 200g caster sugar until fluffy and pale.

Beat 4 eggs and add them slowly, beating well after each addition. If it looks like it’s going to curdle, add a tbsp of the measured flour.

Fold in 130g ground almonds, then fold in 100g plain flour and 2 tsp baking powder.
Finally, fold in the 50g chopped, roasted nuts and 120g chopped marzipan.

Spoon the mix into the tin and scatter the plum slices over the top – press them down into the mixture just a little. The mixture will rise and engulf them, sending them and the marzipan to the bottom, so don’t be too worried about it all.

Bake for 50-60 mins until a tester poked into the middle comes out clean.

Doesn’t look terribly exciting does it? Note. You can wrap it well and freeze it at this point – a handy cake/pudding for the festive period.

Choice time.

To make this into a cake:
Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make some glace icing by whisking 3-4 tsps water or lemon juice into 100g icing sugar, then drizzle it over the top.

To make this into a pudding:
Serve warm from the oven with ice cream or cream.
Or, make in advance, then wrap in foil and re-heat for around 10 mins on GM6/200C/400F

Anyway. This not so exciting cake?

Have a look inside…. NOW it looks exciting!

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Plum, Marzipan and Almond Cake or Pudding

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From ‘Delicious’ magazine.

200g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
4 large eggs
100g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
130g ground almonds
50g nuts, chopped (I used almonds that I had dry-fried before chopping; the original called for roasted hazelnuts)
120g marzipan, chopped
400g ripe plums, stones removed and each cut into 4 or 6 slices

100g icing sugar
3-4 tsp water or lemon juice

Preheat oven to GM4/180C/350F
Line a 9″ cake tin with a depth of around 2-3″

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale.
Slowly add the eggs, beating well after each addition. If it looks like it’s going to curdle, add a tbsp of the measured flour.

Fold in the ground almonds, then fold in the flour and baking powder.
Finally, fold in the chopped nuts and marzipan.

Spoon the mix into the tin and scatter the plum slices over the top – press them down into the mixture just a little.
Bake for 50-60 mins until a tester poked into the middle comes out clean.

To make this into a cake:
Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. (You can wrap and freeze the cake at this point)
Put the icing sugar into a bowl and whisk in the water or lemon juice. Drizzle over the cake.

To make this into a pudding:
Serve warm from the oven with ice cream or cream.
Or, make in advance, then wrap in foil and re-heat for around 10 mins on GM6/200C/400F

Puff pastry, sweet gooey marzipan, juicy baked fruit and it is ready to dazzle in around 30 minutes.

Oh yeah baby.

My Mum always has puff pastry in the freezer and is a master of fruit tarts; therefore, I have inherited this love and have moved to new heights of pleasure as a result of my recent love affair with marzipan. I can’t get enough of the stuff – it’s most peculiar. Only warm though – I’ll probably still pick it off fruit cakes, but we’ll wait and see what Christmas brings before I commit to that.

You know, if you don’t like marzipan, just leave it out of this recipe; just put the fruit on the pastry and serve – maybe with a little whipped cream? Just a suggestion…

These are SO easy and SO delicious, it’s incredible.

First, get a pack of butter puff pastry from the supermarket (or drive over to your Mum’s and use hers because you have run out and didn’t realise). It really must be butter.

This is one of the 2 pieces in the pack – each weighing 250g.

Roll it out and cut into squares, triangles, circles (use a cookie cutter), whatever size and shape you fancy. You don’t have to be precise and mathematical – it’ll rise and puff in the oven anyway.

Roll out some marzipan to a similar thickness, although that’s not terribly important either, and either cut it to fit like a slightly smaller sheet over the pastry, or cut into thin strips like I did here. Lay it on top of the pastry.

Get some fruit out – I used sliced nectarines, blueberries and raspberries (from our garden!). Consider peaches, figs, blackberries, loganberries, thinly sliced apple, pear,plums? Arrange the fruit on top of the marzipan.

So pretty.

Sieve some icing sugar over them – or caster sugar if you like

Bake at GM6/400F/200C for 20 mins.

Remove to a wire rack to cool and add some more icing sugar if you wish. It’s just so patisserie, but so easy.

They’re lovely at room temperature and positively addictive when still slightly warm from the oven. Of all the things I bake, this is the one thing I have most trouble walking away from. I could clear that wire rack in minutes, I tell you.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

———

Marzipan Fruit Puff Tarts

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500g all butter puff pastry – thawed if frozen
500g marzipan
1 nectarine
some raspberries
some blueberries
icing sugar

Preheat oven to GM6/400F/200C

Roll the pastry out to the thickness of a coin.
Cut into shapes – squares, strips, circles (use a cookie cutter), triangles or just make one large tart.

Roll the marzipan out to a similar thickness.
Cut shapes just slightly smaller than the ones you have cut the pastry into, or cut the marzipan into thin-ish strips and nestle them on top of the pastry.

Arrange the fruit of your choice on top of the marzipan.
Consider most fruits (I wouldn’t recommend strawberries or bananas – they can go a bit weird in the oven) such as sliced peaches, figs, blackberries, loganberries, thinly sliced apple, pear, plums, anything you fancy.

Dust with icing sugar and bake for 20 mins.

Remove to a wire rack to cool. Dust with more icing sugar if you think it could take it. Serve at room temperature or warm – reheat for 5 mins if necessary.