Dutch Mergpijpjes (Marzipan Pastry)
Making your Mergpijpjes, a Dutch Marzipan Pastry is a challenge? These delicious cakes with a cream layer and strawberry jam, a marzipan casing, and chocolate are high on the list of Dutch delicacies. And for good reason, because every bite is pure enjoyment. Fruity, creamy, airy, and chocolate. And with this step-by-step plan a sweet cookie that you bake yourself in the oven!
Ingredients
Biscuit
- 3 eggs size M
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
- ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
Custard
- 1 egg yolk size M
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
- 2 teaspoons custard powder
- ½ cup milk
Buttercream
- 1 portion custard made above
- 1 stick butter unsalted
- ⅓ cup confectioner's sugar
Filling
- ⅔ portion buttercream made above
- ⅓ cup strawberry jam
Decoration
- 2 pounds Marzipan equals 2 rolls
- ⅓ portion buttercream made above
- ½ pound dark chocolate chopped finely
Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic
Instructions
Making biscuit
- Preheat the oven to 350 ℉.
- Line the baking pan (10 x 10 inches (24 x 24 cm)) with baking paper.
- Mix the eggs, sugar, and vanilla sugar very lightly for 10 minutes.3 eggs, ½ cup sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
- Place a sieve over the bowl with the egg mixture and sift the flour and cornstarch. Fold this very carefully into the batter with a spatula, so that it remains as airy as possible, until the flour mixture is incorporated.⅔ cups all-purpose flour, ¼ cup cornstarch
- Carefully pour this into the baking tin and bake for 25 minutes. Check if it's done by pressing your finger on the top of the biscuit. It should spring back.
- Let it cool, but make sure you cover it with a tea towel so it doesn't dry out
Custard
- While the biscuit is in the oven, make the custard. Mix the egg yolk with the custard, sugar, and vanilla sugar until it is creamy.1 egg yolk , 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons custard powder, 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
- Heat the milk in a saucepan over high heat until hot.½ cup milk
- Pour the milk drop by drop into the egg mixture while continuing to stir. When all the milk has been added, pour everything back into the saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring continuously.
- When the custard starts to thicken, remove it from the heat and continue whisking for another minute.
- Spread the custard on a plate and cover it with plastic wrap.
Buttercream
- Mix the custard with the butter and confectioner's sugar and mix on high for 10 minutes.1 portion custard, 1 stick butter, ⅓ cup confectioner's sugar
- Place the buttercream in a piping bag and set it aside at room temperature. The piping bag does not need to have a nozzle, you can just cut a small piece off the bottom.
Filling mergpijpjes
- Remove the cooled biscuit from the baking tin and cut it in half horizontally with a knife.
- Divide the strawberry jam over the biscuit and then pipe ⅔th of the buttercream on top. Spread it out with a spoon.⅓ cup strawberry jam, ⅔ portion buttercream
- Place the second biscuit on top of the first and press down. Cut the unevenness of the sides with a knife, so that you are left with a square.
- Then cut the biscuit in half and divide each half into 4 equal pieces. *
Decorating Marzipan Pastries
- Roll out the marzipan and spread the buttercream over it.2 pounds Marzipan, ⅓ portion buttercream
- Divide the marzipan into bars that are 1 inch (2 cm) wider on the sides than the cake. Also cut a piece from the bottom, so that you start with a straight piece.
- Place it against the cake and roll it around the cookies. Fold the sides in at both ends and then the bottom and top in.
- Melt ⅔ of the chocolate au bain-Marie. This means that you hang a heat-resistant bowl over boiling water. Melt the chocolate in this bowl.½ pound dark chocolate
- When the chocolate has melted, mix in the rest of the chocolate.
- Pour the chocolate into a small bowl and dip both ends of each mergpijpje in it.
- Place the mergpijpjes on a rack and let the chocolate harden.
NOTES
1. Cornstarch: Mixing flour and cornstarch will make your biscuit fluffier.
2. Marzipan: This is a roll of marzipan that you can buy ready-made at baking shops. You can then cut it well and make mergpijpjes with it.
You could also use cubes of Marzipan and roll them very thin or you can make your own marzipan following this recipe.
Do you find it difficult to roll in, or do you like a touch of marzipan? Then leave the bottom free. You can't see this as long as it's on the plate.
3. Chocolate: For Dutch Marzipan Pastries you use dark chocolate. Use good chocolate, because the cheaper version contains too much fat.
4. Strawberry jam: The strawberry jam is the fruity layer between the buttercream and cake. You can also replace this with raspberry jam or red currant jam.
5. Buttercream: You can also buy the buttercream ready-made, but that is certainly less tasty. You can also replace it with a mascarpone whipped cream mixture. Mix ½ cup mascarpone with 1 cup cream and 4 tablespoons vanilla sugar to a thick cream and use that as a filling.
6. Amount of mergpijpjes: Above, the cake is cut into 8 pieces and you get 8 large mergpijpjes. If you prefer the smaller version, divide the cake into thirds and then each bar into 5 pieces. So you get 15 cookies.
7. Oven
Bake the biscuit at 350 °F (180 °C) in a conventional oven. If you use a convection oven, bake the biscuit at 320 °F (160°C). 8. Storage
Bake the biscuit at 350 °F (180 °C) in a conventional oven. If you use a convection oven, bake the biscuit at 320 °F (160°C). 8. Storage
- Refrigerator: Store the mergpijpjes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezing: Wrap the Dutch cookies in plastic wrap and then in a freezer box or bag. This way they stay good for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 1045kcal | Carbohydrates: 118g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 57g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 28g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 173mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 84g | Vitamin A: 528IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Iron: 6mg
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