My Danish Kitchen

Mandelmusslor

Mandelmusslor is a Swedish dessert which is a delicate little morsel but big enough to satisfy your sweet craving. The shell is crisp and has a wonderful sweet almond flavor which is nicely contrasted with the soft and cool whipped cream and strawberry preserve. I choose to use a strawberry preserve here but you can certainly use any flavor you like.

Pressing dough into shells

This is not exactly a quick and easy dessert to make. It is a bit tedious pressing the dough into the tins, however, the Mandelmusslor can be made ahead of time and stored in a cookie tin so when you are ready to serve them, it’s very quick to whip up the cream and top with a teaspoon of jam. Viola, dessert anyone?

Let Mandelmusslor cool upside down

Word of advise, make sure tins are greased very well and when you go to remove them from the tins try to “bang” them straight down onto the baking sheet to release them. It may take just a couple of tries.

Mandelmusslor (makes 18)

Ingredients:

100 g margarine (3.5 oz.), at room temperature

150 g unsalted butter (5.3 oz.), at room temperature

150 g sugar (5.3 oz.)

1 teaspoon almond extract

30 g ground almond meal (1 oz.)

360 g all-purpose flour (12.7 oz.)

Filling:

1 pint (16 oz.) heavy whipping cream

Strawberry preserves (or use whichever is your favorite flavor)

Directions:

Beat margarine, butter and sugar until soft and smooth. Add the almond extract and the almond meal. While continuing to beat the mixture, add the flour in small increments until the dough comes together.

Preheat oven to 390 degrees F (200 degrees C)

Prepare tins by generously spraying them with baking spray. Pinching off a ball of dough the size of a small golf ball and press the dough into greased tin. You want the dough to be a pretty thin layer. Place tins on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.

After tins are pulled out of the oven, using your oven mitts or a tea towel, turn the tins upside down on the baking sheet and let sit for a couple of minutes. Then lift tins up (careful tins will still be hot) and drop them firmly down onto the baking sheet to release the Mandelmusslor from the tins. Let the pastries cool upside down to maintain their shape.

For the filling: beat the whipping cream just until the cream starts to thicken. Serve Mandelmusslor with whipped cream and a teaspoon of preserve. Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Anne’s Food