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Martinshörnchen
Marzipan crescent pastries
St Martin's Day crescent yeast pastries with marzipan and almond filling
On 11 November children in Lower Saxony, Saxony and much of Germany walk through the dark streets with paper lanterns, singing songs for St Martin, the soldier who cut his cloak in half to share it with a beggar. Bakeries sell Martinshörnchen, sweet crescent-shaped yeast pastries, and many families break them in half to share, as St Martin did. This version is filled with soft marzipan and ground almonds and finished with a thin lemon glaze. Chef's tip: roll each wedge from the wide end with a gentle tug so you get at least three turns of dough, which gives the crescents their shape.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the dough
For the filling
- 5 ½ oz marzipangrated or crumbled
- 1 ¾ oz ground almonds
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp lemon zest
To finish
- 1 egg yolkbeaten with 1 tbsp milk
- 3 ½ oz icing sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix the 14 oz plain flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 1 ¾ oz sugar and ½ tsp salt, add the ¾ cup milk, 2 ⅛ oz butter and 1 egg and knead for 8 minutes until smooth and elastic.
10 minStep 2: Cover and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled.
60 minStep 3: Mash the 5 ½ oz marzipan, 1 ¾ oz ground almonds, 3 tbsp milk and 1 tsp lemon zest into a soft, spreadable paste.
5 minStep 4: Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 30 cm circle and cut it into 6 wedges, like a pizza. Put a teaspoon of filling near the wide end of each wedge, spreading it a little but leaving the edges clear.
15 minStep 5: Roll up each wedge from the wide end towards the tip and bend the ends round into a crescent. Set them on lined baking trays with the tip underneath, so they do not unroll. A common mistake is overfilling: the marzipan melts out and burns on the tray.
10 minStep 6: Cover and rise for 30 minutes until puffy. Heat the oven to 375°F (350°F fan) and brush the crescents with the 1 egg yolk mixture.
30 minStep 7: Bake for 12–15 minutes until deep golden and hollow-sounding underneath. Cool on a rack.
15 minStep 8: Stir the 3 ½ oz icing sugar with the 1 tbsp lemon juice into a thick glaze and drizzle it over the cooled crescents.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does martinshörnchen take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 45 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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