CookEat Recipe
Marzipan Offelle
Scalloped half-moon pastries filled with finely ground sweet almond paste and orange, lightly glazed and dusted with icing sugar.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 520 g plain flour: 500 g for pastry and up to 20 g for rolling; 240 g icing sugar: 220 g for pastry and 20 g for finishing; 195 g softened butter: 180 g for pastry and 15 g for filling; 70 g fresh rendered lard; 2 whole eggs for pastry; 4 egg yolks: 1 for pastry, 1 for filling and 2 for glazing; 120 g blanched sweet almonds; 100 g caster sugar for filling; 15 g candied orange peel, chopped small; 1 tablespoon water for filling, plus a little for sealing.
Step 2
Mix the 500 g pastry flour with 220 g icing sugar. Use a blunt knife to cut in the 180 g pastry butter, lard, two whole eggs and pastry yolk. Bring together gently with minimal handling; use a teaspoon or two of white wine or Marsala only if needed to join dry crumbs. Flatten, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Step 3
Grind the sweet almonds very finely with the 100 g caster sugar. Add the finely chopped candied orange, 15 g filling butter, filling yolk and tablespoon of water. Mix into a soft cohesive almond paste. Do not taste the raw filling. Use only sweet almonds; optional commercially prepared food-grade bitter-almond flavouring may be used in a few drops according to its strength.
Step 4
Heat the oven to 175°C and line baking trays with baking paper. Roll the pastry about 3 mm thick on the lightly floured surface. Cut scalloped ovals about 9 × 11 cm, or similarly sized scalloped rounds if no oval cutter is available. Gently gather and reroll scraps to make approximately 40 pieces, adjusting the count to the actual cutter size.
Step 5
Divide the almond filling among the centres, about 7–8 g per pastry, keeping the edges clear. Moisten the edges lightly with water and fold each piece in half to make a scalloped half-moon. Press the edges together securely without squeezing out filling. Brush lightly with the two glazing yolks and space on the trays.
Step 6
Bake in batches for about 20–25 minutes until golden, cooked underneath and the almond filling is set, reaching at least 74°C in a representative pastry. Keep waiting trays refrigerated. Cool on a rack and dust lightly with the finishing icing sugar. Refrigerate within 2 hours, keep covered at 4°C or below and use within 2–3 days.
Step 7
If candied orange is unavailable, omit its 15 g and use finely grated zest of one small fresh orange in the same almond filling. Keep the other filling and pastry quantities unchanged. This alternative uses only zest, with no added orange juice or fresh orange segments.
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