This is probably one of my favourite cakes of all times. I love marzipan, unconditionally. I love it in heavy, decadent Christmas recipes, but I also love it combined with fresh ingredients – such as cherries – in recipes that work well all year round. This recipe for a marzipan, cherry and orange jam tart is everything. If you love marzipan – do give it a try!

Ingredients for the crust pastry:

• 200g plain flour
• 110g unsalted butter, cold
• 60g icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp cold water
• sprinkle of salt

Put the flour and butter into a bowl. Cut with a knife until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the rest of ingredients, stir until the dough holds together.

Press the dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a ∅23cm tart pan (grease the pan with butter first). Refrigerate for an hour.

Using a fork, pierce the dough in numerous places before baking and cover the pan with tin foil.

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C. Bake the dough for ~22 minutes.

How to make marzipan filling for the tart

While the crust for the cherry and marzipan cake is baking, prepare marzipan filling:

• 200g marzipan
• 50g icing sugar
• 85g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 25g plain flour

Using an electric mixer, mix all ingredients.

• 300g cherries, fresh of frozen, pits removed
• ~1 cup of orange jam

If you’re using frozen cherries, make sure to defrost them in a colander to let all the excess water out. In case the fruits are still soaking wet, gently press them between paper towels.

Once the crust is baked, remove it from the oven. Spread a layer of orange jam on the crust. Put marzipan filling on top of it and cherries on top of the marzipan, gently pressing them into the filling. Put back into the oven and bake for 30 minutes in 190°C.

Once the tart has cooled down, spread the rest of orange jam on top of it. Enjoy! 🙂

• Sweet