When my dad and I traveled around Europe a couple of summers ago, we biked our way through the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria and Slovakia in a matter of 10 days! I have so many fond memories from that trip, but one of the best was our day in Salzburg Austria, where Mozart grew up. A chocolatier made a treat in honor of Mozart, a rich ball of chocolate filled with pistachio and almond marzipan, called Mozartkugeln. I've been dreaming of it for years, and the other day, I decided to try my hand at creating a cake version of this treat! I also love the flavor combination of chocolate, almond and orange, so I added some orange zest to the marzipan, which really made the flavor pop, but if orange and chocolate aren't your cup of tea, feel free to leave the orange zest out! I'm pretty darn happy with the finished product and I hope you enjoy them too!
Ingredients:
For the Pistachio and Almond Marzipan:
1/4 cup pistachios
1/2 cup almond meal
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
1 egg white
For the Chocolate Cakes:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup neutral oil or butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 egg (plus the egg yolk you didn't use in the marzipan)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon brewed coffee
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup milk (almond or coconut milk will also work)
For the Chocolate Ganache Topping:
1/2 cup chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream mixed with 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Make the marzipan by blending up the pistachios, almond meal, sugar, egg white and almond extract and blend until a paste forms, it'll stick together, and can easily be rolled into a ball.
Step 2: Grease little cake molds, or a muffin tin and line with cocoa powder. Make the cake batter by combining the egg, milk, coffee and oil with the sugar in one bowl, and sifting the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder in another bowl. Once the wet ingredients are combined, add the dry ingredients in two batches, scraping down the bowl with each addition. Then stir in the hot water and vanilla, whisking constantly so the egg doesn't scramble.
Step 3: Roll little balls of marzipan about 1/2 inch in diameter, and flatten them slightly. Fill your little cake pans or muffin tins halfway with cake batter, then drop a ball of marzipan in the center of each well. Then cover with more batter until they're 3/4 of the way full.
Step 4: Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the edges of the cakes are firm and set but the middle is still a little jiggly when you move the pan, but a toothpick comes out clean when inserted just off center (if you insert in the center, you'll just come up with sticky marzipan). Let the cakes cool for at least 15 minutes, until they're warm enough to make the chocolate ganache slide off.
Step 5: Mix together the almond extract and the cream (the chocolate will seize if you add it to the chocolate instead of mixing with the cream first). Make the ganache by melting the chocolate and cream together and stirring until totally combined. Leave that mixture to cool for about 10 minutes. Then, dip or drizzle the cakes in the ganache and let the chocolate set. Decorate with 1 teaspoon orange zest mixed with 2 teaspoons white sugar, a dusting of powdered sugar, or pretty sprinkles. Enjoy!
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