Cherry Cake with Shortcrust Pastry, Marzipan and Crispy Topping

Note and tip

1. The classic shortcrust pastry is the 1-2-3 shortcrust pastry because = 1 part sugar – 2 parts butter and 3 parts flour. Depending on the recipe, egg yolks, salt, spices and lemon peel are added. Shortcrust pastry can be stored in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks and in the freezer for at least 3 months without any problems. For this reason, I always do double the amount. One part for immediate processing and the second for storage. I shape the stock either in Sprinform size or in blocks to use it to roll out slice by slice.

the shortcrust pastry

1. First the butter is cut into pieces. This is then mixed well with the sugar and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl with your hands or the food processor. Then they separate the eggs and add the yolks. Knead well together.
2. Mix the flour with the grated almonds and sift over the butter mixture. Add lemon zest. Now everything is kneaded with the hands under the butter mixture. It is important to work quickly, because the longer you knead, the stickier the dough will be. Now preheat the oven. 180 degrees O / bottom heat.
3. Shape the now smooth dough into two balls of the same size (weighing helps) and wrap in cling film. Let relax in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Cooling will make the butter firm again. The dough can then be easily rolled out and then perfectly prepared for the planned storage. Then let the dough adjust to room temperature for about 10 minutes. Take about 50 grams of dough aside and let it get really soft. On a work surface dusted with flour, knead the rest of the dough until it is smooth and roll it out with a rolling pin to a thickness of approx. 5 mm.
4. Now lay out one or two molds with the shortcrust pastry. Press down on the bottom and the edge. Usually the base is pierced several times with a fork so that it does not pull up during baking. Today I do without it. I put a piece of cling film on the dough and press a large ring with a bowl. So I bake the bottom in the following way. 15 minutes at 180 degrees O / bottom heat.
5. While the base is pre-baking, prepare the marzipan base. For this we knead the marzipan mixture with the powdered sugar. Set aside 50 grams of the mixture. Color the rest if desired (I chose pink) and roll out to Sprinform size. Cut out and place on foil. When the base is pre-baked – leave the oven on – the marzipan is placed on top.
6. Mix the retained marzipan and the now soft portion of dough with the remains of the colored marzipan. Fill into a piping bag.
7. Now put the bound cherries – recipe under the link >>>> “rice pancakes” freshly picked cherries and marzipan crust >>>>> on the bottom and sprinkle the marzipan mixture on top. Spread the brown sugar generously and place the almond slices on top, unsorted. Now in the oven again for about 20 minutes.
8. Now let the cake cool down – ideally in the freezer for about 30 minutes. As the cut shows, the cherry filling is very creamy. That is why cooling down is very, very important.

Sweet greetings from “Grandma Spoon” aka Biggi ♥