Cherries and marzipan go quite well together, I’d say. The tart sweetness of the cherries is complemented by the flavor of the almonds in the marzipan – for me, always a winning combination. These Cherry Marzipan Streusel Shortbread Bars got some additional crunchy streusels on top to make the whole experience even better. Sweet, tart, soft and crunchy – all at once ;P
Summer is cherry season. When strawberries say goodbye, cherries are there to take over. I bet they would both be happy to rule together, but that’s not the case. Unfortunately ;P I wished all types of berries are available all year round from local farms, but that’s not how it works. Any berry season is way too short, in my opinion… so is the cherry season. Once summer is over, so are cherries. This means get them as soon as you can and so something ;P
Well. There is not much you can do about nature, right? Well, you can bake as many cakes as possible with whatever you can get, whenever you can get it. That you can do. Something delicious like this simple shortbread bars, for example. This recipe is perfect for a smaller baking tin (because we don’t have that many hungry people at home), but you could also prepare the shortbread bars with a larger baking sheet – you just need to adapt the amount of ingredients. It’s an easy task.
I’ve accumulated a lot of baking tins over the years. That’s why I have no problem finding a suitable tin in my »arsenal« for just about every type of cake I want to bake. For this recipe, I used a 22x22cm square baking tin*. This is roughly equivalent to a 9-inch baking tin from the US (only slightly smaller). If you don’t have one of these at home, you can use a standard round springform tin. Anything between 24-26cm in diameter should work here.
If you only have a limited selection of baking tins, you always have the option of adapting the recipe and the ingredients you use. There are many conversion tables and small conversion programs on the internet that help in this case. If you know the initial size of the cake you want to make and then check the size of your baking tin at home, you will get a multiplication factor for your ingredients telling you how much more (or less) you need. It’s all very simple. Google is great finding information here ;)
I like to use fresh sour cherries for a cake like this one here – using sour cherries makes the cake less sweet. The marzipan and the streusels add a lot of sweetness anyway. Fresh cherries is the best option here, in my opinion, but frozen cherries or even those preserved in (sugar) water are absolutely fine. Those are actually easier to use because you don’t have to pit them ;P
Anyway. I got much more simple sheet cakes and stuff like that here on the blog. Some recipes are from grandma, some from neighbors, some are results of my own experiments ;P These two here are cakes we do over and over again: my simple (and delicious) German Poppy Seed Streusel Cake and my Easy Apple Cake Tray Bake. Add a cup of coffee (or tea) and the world is absolutely perfect for a little while ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(9 shortbread bars)
For the streusels:
2 cups (260g) spelt flour
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (230g) butter, in small pieces
1 tsp. vanilla extract
For the filling/topping:
17.6 oz. (500g) cherries, pitted
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. sugar
3.5 oz. (100g) marzipan, coarsely grated
2-3 tbsp. sliced almonds
some brown sugar (optional)
(9 Shortbread Bars)
Für die Streusel:
260g Dinkelmehl (Type 630)
100g Zucker
1/2 TL Salz
230g Butter, in kleinen Stücken
1 TL Vanille Extrakt
Für die Füllung/Topping:
500g Kirschen, entsteint
1 EL Speisestärke
1 EL Zucker
100g Marzipan, grob geraspelt
2-3 EL Mandeln, gehobelt
etwas brauner Zucker (optional)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Add the flour, sugar, and salt for the streusels to a large bowl. Add the butter in small pieces, as well as the vanilla extract, and mix everything with your fingers until you get different-sized streusels. Place them in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Place the marzipan for the topping in the freezer to make it easier to work with later.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 9×9 inches square baking tin with baking parchment and grease lightly. Transfer about half of the streusels to the prepared baking tin and press down to create an even layer. Keep the rest of the streusels in the fridge. Bake the streusel base for about 15 minutes – the base should brown slightly around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool down a bit. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 350°F (180°C).
3. While the base is baking in the oven, wash, dry, and remove the stones from the cherries. Add them to a bowl and mix them with the cornstarch and sugar – set aside until needed. Roughly grate the slightly frozen marzipan.
4. As soon as the streusel base has cooled down a bit, distribute the grated marzipan evenly on top, then add the cherries and streusels. Sprinkle with some sliced almonds and brown sugar (optional) and bake for about 45-50 minutes. You want some color on the streusels here and there. Remove the streusel bars from the oven and let them cool down completely in the baking tin. Cut into nine pieces and serve with some whipped cream.
1. Das Mehl für die Streusel mit dem Zucker und dem Salz in einer großen Schüssel vermischen. Die Butter in kleinen Stücken und den Vanille Extrakt dazugeben, dann mit den Fingern zu Streuseln verarbeiten. Für etwa 20 Minuten in den Kühlschrank stellen. Das Marzipan für das Topping ins Eisfach legen, damit es sich später leichter verarbeiten lässt.
2. Den Ofen auf 190°C (375°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Eine etwa 22x22cm große Backform mit Backpapier auslegen und leicht einfetten. Etwa die Hälfte der Streusel in die Form füllen und zu einer Schicht zusammenpressen. Die restlichen Streusel im Kühlschrank zurückstellen. Den Streuselboden für etwa 15 Minuten backen – er darf an den Rändern ruhig etwas Farbe bekommen haben. Aus dem Ofen holen und etwas abkühlen lassen. Die Temperatur des Ofens auf 180°C (350°F) reduzieren.
3. Während der Streuselboden backt, die Kirschen waschen, trocknen und entsteinen. In einer Schüssel mit der Stärke und dem Zucker vermischen und bis zur weiteren Verwendung zur Seite stellen. Das leicht angefrorene Marzipan grob raspeln.
4. Wenn der Streuselboden etwas abgekühlt ist, das geraspelte Marzipan gleichmäßig darauf verteilen, dann die Kirschen und Streusel ebenfalls gleichmäßig auf dem Boden verteilen. Mit gehobelten Mandeln und etwas braunem Zucker (optional) bestreuen und dann für etwa 45-50 Minuten backen – die Streusel dürfen etwas Farbe bekommen haben. Aus dem Ofen holen und in der Form komplett abkühlen lassen. Die Shortbread Bars in neun Stücke schneiden und mit etwas Sahne servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Cherry Marzipan Streusel Shortbread Bars
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 01:00
- Total Time: 01:40
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A delicious treat in summer that everyone loves – Cherry Marzipan Streusel Shortbread Bars. The cherries and the almond flavor are a great combination!
Ingredients
For the streusels:
2 cups (260g) spelt flour
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (230g) butter, in small pieces
1 tsp. vanilla extract
For the filling/topping:
17.6 oz. (500g) cherries, pitted
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. sugar
3.5 oz. (100g) marzipan, coarsely grated
2-3 tbsp. sliced almonds
some brown sugar (optional)
Instructions
1. Add the flour, sugar, and salt for the streusels to a large bowl. Add the butter in small pieces, as well as the vanilla extract, and mix everything with your fingers until you get different-sized streusels. Place them in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Place the marzipan for the topping in the freezer to make it easier to work with later.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 9×9 inches square baking tin with baking parchment and grease lightly. Transfer about half of the streusels to the prepared baking tin and press down to create an even layer. Keep the rest of the streusels in the fridge. Bake the streusel base for about 15 minutes – the base should brown slightly around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool down a bit. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 350°F (180°C).
3. While the base is baking in the oven, wash, dry, and remove the stones from the cherries. Add them to a bowl and mix them with the cornstarch and sugar – set aside until needed. Roughly grate the slightly frozen marzipan.
4. As soon as the streusel base has cooled down a bit, distribute the grated marzipan evenly on top, then add the cherries and streusels. Sprinkle with some sliced almonds and brown sugar (optional) and bake for about 45-50 minutes. You want some color on the streusels here and there. Remove the streusel bars from the oven and let them cool down completely in the baking tin. Cut into nine pieces and serve with some whipped cream.
Notes
Happy Baking!
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This was a very nice, balanced, dessert. I didn’t have marzipan at home, and wasn’t sure where I would find some in August (usually it is readily available at Aldi in the late fall in America), so I googled a recipe, which was quick to make with almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, almond extract, and a bit of water. I couldn’t find the sliced almonds that got shuffled around my freezer, so instead I sprinkled in a few dark chocolate pieces, (you can’t go wrong with chocolate and cherries). And I used a bit less butter in the streusel, so if someone wants to save a few calories, the recipe works well with about 150 grams of butter.