Almond cherry blossoms

ingredients

• • 1 cup plain flour
  • 1/4 cup caster sugar
  • 1/2 cup ground almonds
  • 125 gram cold butter, cubed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 - 3 tsp cold water
  • 1/3 cup cherry jam
  • icing sugar, to dust

• Cream cheese filling

  • 200 gram cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup caster sugar
  • 50 gram butter, softened
  • 1 small egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoon ground almonds
  • 2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
  • 1 tablespoon orange juice

method

• • 1

    Place flour, sugar and almonds in the bowl of a food processor. Add the cubed butter and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

  • 2

    Stir together the egg yolk and 1 teaspoon cold water; add to the dry ingredients and pulse to combine. Add 1-2 teaspoons more water, if necessary, and pulse until dough clumps together, taking care not to over-process.

  • 3

    Press mixture into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 20 minutes or until the dough is easy to handle.

  • 4

    Meanwhile, make the cream cheese filling (see below).

  • 5

    Spray two 12-hole mini muffin tins with baking spray. Divide pastry into 24 equal pieces; shape pieces into balls and place in the prepared muffin holes. Press dough evenly over the bases and up the sides of the muffin holes to form pastry cases ready for filling. Chill for 20 minutes.

  • 6

    Preheat oven to 180°C. Place ½ teaspoon of jam into each pastry case. Spoon the Cream cheese filling over the jam. Bake for 25 minutes or until the filling is just set.

  • 7

    Cool in the tins for 15 minutes to firm, then transfer tarts to a wire rack to cool completely. Just before serving, dust with icing sugar.

• Cream cheese

  • 1

    Beat the cream cheese, sugar and butter together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk, almonds, zest and juice, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

notes

• To store, place tarts in a single layer in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They can be frozen for up to 1 month. - Experiment with different jams – try raspberry, strawberry or apricot jam. Or use marmalade to accentuate the orange flavour. PER SERVE Energy 146kcal, 612kj • Protein 2.2g • Total Fat 9g • Saturated Fat 3.9g • Carbohydrate 14.4g • Fibre 0.5g • Sodium 54mg