Black Currant Marzipan Swirls

Each summer I try to visit my granny. She lives quite far away from the town I live in and since I (still) don't have a driving license I have to travel by train which is pretty exhausting (our trains are AWFUL!) and expansive. So I'm always happy when my parents have a few days off and we can travel by car together. Also, when we the opportunity to go by car we always bring back some fresh fruit, veggies, eggs and other stuff because my granny has a large garden where she plants apples, cucumbers, apricots, cherries, strawberries and so much more! This time we were given a huge bowl of sweet and tangy black currant. I was pretty surprised that I was able to eat a small bowl all by myself without adding any sugar or something - I mean usually currant is pretty sour, but this time I guess I was lucky :) Anyway, I didn't want to waste the fresh juicy black treasure so I had to figure out a way to use them.

However, this time I really didn't feel like making a simple sponge/pound/whatever cake sprinkled with fruit and crumb. I wanted something new. More sinful. Decadent. Interesting. I browsed through a lot of pages, cookbooks and so on and finally I found a blog by Eddy van Damme. I think his recipe is nice, but it says nothing about the amount it yields and the dough (okay, I know how to make it but it takes so much time and I am quite lazy these days). So I limited myself only to get inspired and made up my own recipe instead.

I don't make swirls very often, especially not the sweet ones. We - I and Mom - usually make swirls from puff pastry with cheese, bacon and fresh herbs and they disappear so fast I don't even have the time to take a photo :D Anyway, they're pretty fast and nothing is pouring out. Unlike these of course. You have to roll out the dough into a very very LARGE rectangle, spread it with THIN layer of filling and carefully roll into a roll. I won't lie, it's quite messy and the filling was pouring out as I tried to cut the roll into swirls. So don't worry if this happens to you. Don't discared the poured-out filling, use a tablespoon to transfer it back into a bowl and then divide this leftover on the top of your swirls - it won't be burned during baking and you won't have any losses.

The part I love the most about these swirls is glaze. I just can't believe that this deep pink color is natural! It's so beautiful. When you look at black currant, it's black, right?! When you bite into one, it's a mix of dirty yellow and green (looks like mud), but when you process them in your food processor the colour is the most amazing bright and deep pink I've ever seen! Now I can say I'm an absolute pink lover (I only miss that perfect body and blond hair to be Barbie :D).

I promise this is the last paragraph :) Probably, maybe, who knows :D The dough is made with fresh yeast so it requires time and patience but it is worth it! It tastes amazing! I also added sour cream to it to ensure it'd be light, moist and simply delicious so don't skip this step. I hope you'll enjoy this recipe and the rest of the holidays :)

Ingredients:
1 egg for eggwash
Dough:
50ml (1/5 cup) milk, lukewarm
42g (1 cube) fresh yeast
500g (4 cups minus 3 tbsp) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
100g (1/2 cup) sugar
grated zest from 1 lime
200g (1 cup minus 2 tbsp) sour cream
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
45g (1/5 cup) butter, softened
Filling:
300g (1 1/3 cups) marzipan, cubed
100-150g (about 1 cup) powdered sugar (depends on your taste)
1 egg
300g (2 3/4 cups) black currant
50g (6 1/4 tbsp) all-purpose flour, sifted
Glaze:
135g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) powdered sugar
45g (1/3 cup) black currant

Directions:
Dough: For the leaven pour lukewarm milk into a small bowl, sprinkle with yeast and add 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp flour. Stir to dissolve yeast completely. Let stand 15 minutes in a warm place or until doubled in size. In another (big) bowl combine the rest of flour, salt, lime zest and the rest of sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the leaven, sour cream and egg yolks. Mix well using a wooden spoon. Add butter and mix once again. Now use your hands to create a smooth dough. Knead using your hands for about 10 minutes until elastic and not sticky. Put into the big bowl, cover with either plastic wrap or a tea cloth and let rest in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Filling: In a bowl combine marzipan, powdered sugar and egg. Mix with a hand held mixer until smooth (about 3 minutes). Add black currant and mix again until (almost) lump free (there'll be pieces of currants). Stir in sifted flour.
Glaze: In your food processor, process powdered sugar and black currant until smooth. If it's too thick, add a few drops of water and repeat.
Assembly: Knead the dough again for about 2 minutes, then roll it out on a floured surface into a large thin rectangle (60x45cm). Spread the filling over the dough in a thin layer (you don't have to use it all) leaving about 2cm free around the edges. Roll the dough from the long side up into a roll. With a floured sharp knife cut about 15-20 slices from the roll, making sure to flour the knife in between each cut. Place the swirls on lined baking trays (I needed two). Spread the top of the swirls with leftover filling (if there is any). Allow to rest for 10 minutes in a warm place. Brush the sides of the swirls with eggwash. Bake in preheated oven to 180C for about 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 160C and bake for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Decorate with the glaze and either eat warm or let cool completely until the glaze is thickened and dry.

• You can use either fresh or frozen black currants. If using frozen, let them thaw and then drain.
• I used marzipan containing 40% almonds. If you use marzipan with lower amount of them, you may want to use less sugar and vice versa.
• They're best the first day (as everything from yeast dough), but they do freeze well (even with the glaze). Simply put them into your freezer and when ready to eat one, let it defrost on your kitchen counter for a few hours.

Verdict:
Simply amazing! I guess I don't have to tell you that these completely ruined my diet! I ate four and couldn't stop thinking about about them and ended up eating two more which means I had them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, too :D The dough isn't overly sweet, but it's wonderfully tender, soft and quite moist, definitely not dry. The filling is sweet with nice touch of currant sourness and almond taste from marzipan. The sugary glaze is the most beautiful part - so colorful and pink :D They disappeared so fast I felt pretty sorry for not making more. These pastries are a perfect summer treat, no matter what :)



Linked to:
These Chicks Cooked 
Foodie Wednesday 
Sweet Treats Thursday 
Sweet Tooth Friday
Flash Back Friday
Sweets for a Saturday
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Whisking Wednesdays