Mazarin Tarts (Almond Tarts)

 I saw a link to a Mazarin Kage on Facebook and when I read how to make it, my mouth started watering.

But not for the cake per se, I wanted the tart.

It's been years and years and years since I've had a taste of a Mazarin Tart.

 
I did wipe the drool off the keyboard, and continued to my cookbooks and decided to see if I had a recipe in one of them that I could follow.  

There was a Danish baker in the town I grew up in, where we would get all our special occasion 'cakes' or special treat cakes.   They weren't cakes as Americans think, they were more small tarts.

But oh, they were so good.   And the funny part is that I didn't care for this particular tart that much back then, but for some reason, I've now decided I liked it more than I realized.

Confused?  I am.

So I decided to do a search and see if I could find a recipe online.   I found lots for Mazarin Kage. 

I found a recipe here as well as here  and here and now cannot find the original posting I read.   sigh

And then there is this recipe over at My Danish Kitchen.  So many recipe sources and yet...

I wanted a tart recipe!!!  


As I remember the Mazarin Tarts from childhood, they had a pastry bottom and there was a kind of  marzipan for the filling.   And they had a glaze icing on top.  

I found a recipe in a cookbook one of my sisters gave me a few years ago, but it was for the cake, not the tarts.   But, that was the only recipe I found.  (And can I show off my very red face here?  I just got an email from the very sister who gave me the cookbook, showing me the recipe I managed to not see, my first 3 times through the cookbook.)

Amazing...  I do have several Danish cookbooks.   Oh well.  Just didn't have what I wanted.

BTW...   The Mazarin Kage/Tart was named after the French-Italian cardinal and diplomat Jules Mazarin (1602 - 1661), who was successor of the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.   Why it was named after him, I don't know.  But we Danes have fun naming our foods sometimes.  Many times we like to acknowledge where an inspiration came from. 
Just thought I would throw in a mini, very mini, historical reference there.

Back to the recipe.
I found a couple of recipes for tarts and I was happy.   But, since I'm the cook baker here, we're going to do it my way.

And I got to use my new Braun food processor as well.

So here goes.

First off I mixed up the pastry in the food processor and managed to get it out without cutting myself on the blades this time.
It was a personal victory, OK?

I formed the pastry into a flat disk and put it in the fridge to rest a little.
After the workout the food processor gave it, it needed a time out.

I then made the filling, and got to use the processor again.

I think I love it.  ((((Braun))))

Sorry,

 On the way to the fridge to cool off. 

While it is cooling, make the filling. 

Take the dough out of the fridge, cutting  it in half.   Roll out each half on a well floured board. 

Cut circles out,  making sure the dough disks are slightly larger than the depressions of the mini tart pan.

When you have all the depressions covered, try this little trick.
Using a heavy bottomed shot glass, lower it gently into the cut out round, pressing it into the depression on the tart pan.  You do need to be a little careful here that you don't tear the dough.  But you can easily press it together if you do.

See how perfectly they snuggled into the tart depressions?  Cannot believe how easy this was and it's a trick I will continue to use.
Fill the tart shells with some of the filling.

About 3/4 full.   The filling will poof up a little, but trial and error showed me they didn't poof up as much as I thought they might.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes for the mini tarts.

I did have to taste test one of them.

It was good.  And one of those I used a scant amount of filling in.   Oh, and I also used my mini scoop to get the filling into each tart shell.   Love my scoops.

You can see the fine crumb in the tart here.


Mix up some glaze with confectioners sugar, a little milk and some vanilla or almond or other extract.   I    You want it to be able spread out a little but not too much.
I glazed the tarts while they were still a little warm.  If you put the glaze in a pastry bag you can fancy up the presentation just a tad.  I did circles, thinking they would kinda ooze together and form a nice little 'cap' of icing, but they didn't.
Looked pretty though.

 And here they are on a platter at Boat Club.  

All of them were eaten.   But, I have to admit to saving a couple out for myself.
Well...
I did bake them.   I also shared a few with a neighbor, I wasn't totally selfish.

yield: 48 mini tartsAuthor: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking (adapted from Danish Heritage Cook Book from the Granly Lutheran Churchprint recipe

Mazarin Tart

prep time: 15 MINScook time: 20 MINStotal time: 35 mins

These little almond flavored tarts are a just right serving of deliciousness. They look spectacular and taste even better.

INGREDIENTS:

Pastry

• 1 1/2 cups AP flour
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg

Filling

• 1 tube Almond Paste, 6 oz.   I like Odense brand for this. Cut into small chunks or grated.
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 5 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. Lemon Extract or Almond extract.  (I used some of my homemade Lemon Extract for this.  For more of an almond flavour use the almond extract)

Glaze

• 1 cup confectioner sugar
• 1 tsp. Milk
• 1 teaspoon Bourbon (can also use vanilla extract)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place the flour, sugar and butter into food processor or cut the butter into the flour and sugar until it is well incorporated.   Add the egg and process just until the dough comes together.  Form into a disk and place into the fridge. While it is cooling, make the filling. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add the butter, sugar and Almond Paste and mix together, until combined. (if you get the almond paste cold, you can also grate it into the bowl). Add an egg and continue to blend until incorporated, then add the other eggs, blending in between each egg.    Set aside. Take the dough out of the fridge, cutting  it in half.   Roll out each half on a well floured board. Cut circles out, either for mini tarts, which is what I made or for full size tarts, making sure the dough disks are slightly larger than the depressions. When you have all the depressions covered, try this little trick. Using a heavy bottomed shot glass, lower it gently into the cut out round, pressing it into the depression on the tart pan.  You do need to be a little careful here that you don't tear the dough.  But you can easily press it together if you do. Using a small ice cream scoop, fill the tart shells with some of the filling, about 3/4 of the way.   The filling will poof up a little while baking. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes for the mini tarts. Add an additional 5 minutes if baking full size tarts. Mix the glaze up and frost or drizzle a little on top of each tart while still warm.

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